Page 76 of The Forgotten Queen
Sydria’s hand went to her head. “Actually, I’m not feeling well. Can we leave?”
The memory had scared her, knocked her off balance. The details were fuzzy, but the feeling was so real.
Marx wrapped his arm around her waist, and an adorable touch of worry crossed over his brow. “Are you okay?”
She smiled up at him in the most reassuring way she could muster. “Yes, yes. I’m fine. Just ready to go.”
“Then we’re out of here.”
He led her through the ballroom to the exit. She looked down at their interlocked hands, so grateful that he was by her side, that he hadstayedby her side. That’s where the déjà vu stopped. The dream had invoked feelings of disappointment and embarrassment. All Sydria’s mind could feel was her partner getting farther and farther away from her, running toward the color red.
23
Marx
Marx paced back and forth, leaving a trail in the sand on the beach. The party had ended an hour ago, and he’d deposited his wife in her room to rest. Scattered cloud cover shaded the sky, making the sunset a hazy eruption of colors.
“I should have done more. I should have stopped Cheney immediately,” Marx said, replaying the events of the day with his friend.
“Eh, it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Kase picked up a seashell and threw it into the waves in front of them.
“I’m a married man, and Cheney was ticklingmyneck.” Marx threw his hands up. “Of course it was a big deal. I should have stopped her as soon as it started.”
Kase paused his actions. “Sydria could have stopped Cheney, but she didn’t.”
“It’s not up to her to stop it.”
“I’m envisioning Sydria wrestling Cheney to the ground and yelling, ‘Stay away from my husband!’”
Marx shook his head. “What?”
Kase’s mouth tilted into an indecent smile. “I think the entire room would have appreciated a wrestling match between two beautiful women.”
He gave his friend a pointed stare as a warning.
Kase laughed as he bent down to pick up another seashell. “Well, if you’re so upset about it, then whydidn’tyou do something more to stop Cheney?”
“I don’t know. I froze under pressure. But I should have defended Sydria and our marriage.”
“I don’t get it. I thought you didn’t want to get married, didn’t care about Sydria. Why do you care now that you didn’tdefendher?”
“It’s the principle of the matter. I’m her husband. I should have proven my loyalty to her. Shown her some respect.”
Kase shrugged. “You might be beating yourself up over nothing. Maybe Sydria didn’t even notice. Or maybe she didn’t even care.”
Thatwas the root of the problem.
Sydria didn’t care about Marx.
Not in the way he had begun to care about her.
Sydria
“Can you believe the gall of that woman?”Sydria asked, walking the width of Dannyn’s room.
“Gall,” Dannyn said. “That’s a great word.” The princess was lying on her stomach on top of her bed, reading a newswriter. She wasn’t actuallyreadingany articles, just looking for the marriage announcements.
Sydria paused. “Dannyn, focus.”
