Page 51 of A Bride for the Winter King
I search the space for the Spring seeds and find them huddled in the back with the Summer fireflies while the Winter brides claimed the rest of the tent for themselves. They make about half our numbers by now.
Wendy Frost, the Winter bride who rescued me from the pool—or maybe entombed me in there in the first place—greets me with both hands on her hips and puts herself in my way. “We thought you were out, Sixteen. What happened to you?” She eyes the robe wrapped around my body with her top lip curled in disgust.
“Let her through. It’s none of your business,” Daisy shouts at her back, leaving her section of the tent to join us.
Wendy flashes me her straight, white teeth. “Weeds stick together, I see.”
Daisy balls her fists at the jab, the blonde more feisty than I’ve ever seen her. “Who are you calling a weed, pointy ears?”
Wendy offers a dismissive wave in response. “All Spring seeds are weeds to me.”
“And all snowflakes melt in spring, dear,” Daisy shoots back.
I slip toward the cots, Daisy quick on my heels, and observe Wendy from the corner of my eyes. The Winter Fae is whispering with the Reds by the entrance of the tent.
I grin. “You really pissed her off.”
Daisy’s eyes shine in the dark. “That Fae bugs me more than you do, which is saying something.”
She’s by far my favorite. The enemy of my enemy makes a great shield, and the thorniest flower in the garden is the perfect spot for a spider to hide.
Chapter 20
Sipping on Regrets
LORI
Excited squeals and bitter sobs pull me from my slumber the next morning. I need a moment to gather my thoughts, the small of my back tingling as though a hand has just been resting there.
Elio’s hand.
For some unfathomable reason, I feel him behind me, hovering between oblivion and consciousness with nothing but a silk sheet wrapped around his midriff, but as soon as I try to focus on the strange tether, it crumbles to dust like it was never there at all.
“By Eros, guys! The results are in,” Poppy announces from the thin mattress next to me, scurrying to her feet. She must have sneaked back inside the tent during the night.
The pep in her voice makes me want to curl into a ball and never wake up, and I bury my face deep in the pillow.
Daisy snatches the end of my sleeping bag and slides it off the camp bed. “Get up, Lori. It’s time to find out exactly how much damage you’ve done to this competition.”
The cold breeze raises all my hairs to attention, and I sit up, rubbing the sleep off my face. “What now?”
Murmurs and glares follow me to the tent flap.
Outside, in the sunny, breezy winter morning, Paul has set up the hosts’ booth between our tent and the Snowhaven Inn. Microphones amplify his relentless chatter, and my stomach twists up in knots at the prospect of hearing his commentary on the kiss I shared with Elio.
Gods.As long as he hasn’t figured out what happenedafter…
“Here they are. The eight lucky women who best kissed our King will be collecting their invitation to the Yule brunch in a few seconds,” Paul says, his clear-cut voice carrying on the wind.
Before my unexpected performance, they were supposed to tally the votes in real time, so I figure the public has already been informed of the winners and losers. Fancy envelopes are laid down on a table right outside the tent.
Paul shoots us a glance over his shoulder, his usual white tuxedo spruced up with a sequined white tie. His gray hair is a little messier than usual, a few strands flying in the stiff breeze. “The brides are now searching for their names on the invitations. For most of them, the journey is over, but I’m sure the stir caused by the kiss-that-ended-it-all made their night interesting.”
Sara joins his side. “Our viewers were pretty clear on their favorites. Only two brides really came out on top from this stop in Snowhaven, Paul.”
“No surprise there, Sara. The public is really leaning into the rivalry between their kin, Wendy Frost—the only Fae to sign up for this competition in years—and the woman that has been on everyone’s lips since her first appearance, Lori Lovegood.”
“Yes. Wendy and Lori are truly this year’s darlings. Wintermere will be heartbroken if—Thanatos forbid—both of them don’t make it to the final round, Paul. The challenge thatcomes directly after the Yule Brunch is always grueling, and neither the king nor our viewers will be able to influence the outcome.”
