Page 93 of A Bride for the Winter King
“Lori! You’re home!”
By Morpheus…
Nell is wearing her Shadow huntress uniform—a form-fitting black jacket and pants with knee-high boots, identical to what I’m wearing—but an entirely new aura of darkness slithers around her.
“You’re…” I kneel in front of her out of instinct, the magic inside me bowing to the power that now drums in her veins. “My Queen.”
“What are you— Get up!” Her entire face flushes with a deep shade of red at my allegiant impulse.
I chuckle and pull her into a hug. “Enjoy it, Old World. Royalty suits you. Truly.”
“Oh, Lori! What are you doing here?” Cece shouts from the second floor. The Lil’ Bit descends the stairs two at a time and races across the room to join the huddle, her long brown mane flying behind her.
But instead of celebrating my return, she pinches my arm. “Don’t tell me you accepted this ridiculous disqualification?—”
I shake off the sting of pain. “Erm… What?”
“Marrying Daisy is the worst idea in history. You could see on his face that he didn’t want to do it,” Cece says with a scowl. “I still can’t believe Wendy was a spy. I bet she’s the one who tried to drown you.”
My eyes bulge, Cece’s nails now digging deep into the flesh of my arm. “Wait…” I look between the two women. “Have you been watching the pageant?”
“Of course! Nell was on the fence for a while, but I’ve been rooting for Elori since day one,” Cece declares.
“Elori?”
Her hazelnut eyes sparkle. “It’s your couple name.”
“My what?”
Nell’s lips twist in a sheepish grin, like we’re not having the weirdest conversation in the history of time. “Royals are allowed to watch the feeds, and even though no one knows about me, yet, I asked Baka to install a television in Damian’s room—my room. I can’t believe you’ve been watching television your whole life, it’s absolutely enchanting!”
“You’ve been watching the pageant,” I repeat, flabbergasted. I’d rehearsed a half-assed explanation on my way back, expecting to give Nell and Cece the cliff notes of what had happened back in Wintermere, but Ineverexpected this.
Cece boosts herself up on the desk, her legs dangling from the edge. “Is Elio as gorgeous in person? What did it feel like to kiss him like that? What happened between you two off screen?”
“Cece! Give the woman some space.” Nell scolds her sister with atake it down a notchmotion.
“I—I need to lie down,” I say, moving to the back of the room and settling into Nell’s usual reading nook. My friend follows at a distance. “So… you’ve seen it all.”
“All that was broadcasted.”
I stare at the ceiling for a moment, hands braced over my stomach. “The dunk tank?”
“Yes.”
“The kiss?”
“That, too.”
“The kiss was the best part!” Cece chimes from afar.
I sit up with wide eyes. “You should know I had no idea I was wearing Iris’s actual wedding dress at the ball.”
“That’s what we thought.” Nell grips my hand. “Oh, Lori, I’m so glad to see you in person. When the feeds cut after you disappeared in the avalanche, I sent Damian to Wintermere, but Sarafina assured him that you were okay. How is the bite? Has it finished healing?”
Her healer gaze falls to my side, and the knee-jerk reaction to lie and ease her worries grips me. “Yes. All better now.”
“What about Elio? Is he really going to marry someone else?”
