Page 88 of Forsaken Royals

But I wasn’t ready. I had never envisioned myself sharing a mate. I was a fucking Royal. I could have virtually any fae I wanted. My thoughts always came back to Arden, though. I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted any other female.

I glanced across the open-air temple. The white wood of the seats, the columns around the space, and the altar in the middle glowed in the setting sun. The only bright spots of color were the female fae in their formalwear, as the males were in plain white robes.

The chatter quieted in waves, starting from the front of the temple. The three had finally arrived, Arden on Jagger’s arm and Lex keeping a safe distance from her, as if he hadn’t just gotten off to her. Lex caught my eye and nodded, and I nodded back.

The priests noticed all the Royals had arrived and herded the guests into their proper seats. The robes that Lex, Flint, and I had been given shimmered also, like sunlight on the water.

Lex looked me up and down and raised an eyebrow when we met up in front of the altar.

“What?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“Nothing.”

Lex turned to face the altar and kneeled. Jagger and I kneeled on either side of him. The ceremony was more or less the same as the other ones we’d been a part of throughout the years—a lot of incense, a lot of chanting, a lot of flashy spells. Before I knew it, the priest was finished, creating a spell that came down on everyone in the temple’s shoulders like a soft blanket.

The priest gave each of us Royals a golden coin to commemorate the event and to keep with our jewels, which were in a safe deep in the palace. Once he let everyone move from their seats, we handed the coins off to our aides, who were escorted to the safes by enforcers.

“Finally, we can take these off,” Jagger said, pulling off his robes to reveal his dark suit underneath. He handed it to a waiting aide. Lex and I followed suit.

The rest of our security details escorted us outside of the temple to the open-air ball space in the gardens a short walk away. The aides had done everything to our exact specifications. Tall hedges enclosed the space, and all the plants throughout were flowering. Music played just loudly enough for us to hear it over the crowd. One half was a dance floor, while the other half had tall tables for mingling and enjoying drinks. Since the sun had set, the aides had created floating balls of light above the space to illuminate it in a gentle glow.

“This is beautiful,” Arden said, running her fingers along a rose. It bloomed open a fraction of an inch. It wasn’t enough for someone who wasn’t aware of her abilities to notice, thankfully. She pulled her hand away and ran it along the voluminous bottom of her dress.

“I’m glad you like it,” Jagger said, sliding an arm around her waist. A few guests eyed the couple, but Jagger glared at them so intensely that they looked away. “Come on, let me get you a drink.”

They peeled off toward our table at the far end of the space, leaving Lex and me alone. A waiter appeared by our side and served us drinks before tending to the other guests.

Lex sipped his drink, his hand in the pocket of his pants. He had something on his mind, something I’d usually ask about, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. I followed his gaze, and my heart froze in my chest.

Kathrin.

I hadn’t consciously thought of her in decades, but she’d always lingered in the back of my mind, subtly steering my decisions. Why hadn’t I prepared myself to see her? Her family was one of the most prominent in the entire kingdom, the line going back nearly as far as a Royals’. Of course she was going to come.

She looked almost the same as she had before, though she’d dyed her blonde hair a golden brown. It tumbled down her back, pinned away from her delicate face. Objectively, she was beautiful, but knowing who she was underneath made her repulsive to me.

She smiled at me, and I grimaced back.

“Want a distraction?” Lex asked.

“Yes.”

We walked toward a Lord and his wife, a distant cousin of mine, and struck up a conversation. The Lord was pleasant and kind, but Kathrin’s presence lingered in my periphery. She was like a weight around my neck, pulling my attention in two different directions.

Was she really interested in talking to me? Why? What could she possibly have to say to me after her betrayal?

The Lord eventually excused himself and his wife to dance to a song that was special to them, leaving us exposed.

“Let’s go to our table,” I said to Lex. Kathrin was still watching us, waiting. I turned toward one of my enforcers and said, “Make sure that woman over there doesn’t come near us.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“She probably won’t stop,” Lex said, following me to the far end of the ball space. “You know how she is.”

I did, but at the same time, I didn’t. We had been together for years. I thought we were going to marry, eventually. But then I was blindsided one morning when I’d visited her and found her with another male in her bed. All of her protests, claiming she had “just made a mistake” and that we could “make this arrangement work,” had haunted me for years.

The questions I’d asked myself back then came back in a familiar loop. How had I not known? How had I misjudged her? How did she think that I could live with her being with someone else when I’d entered our relationship thinking we were the only ones in each other’s lives? Kathrin didn’t deserve anything from me—especially my attention.

Fuck her.

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