Page 4 of Only Hard Problems

Beatrice stared at my father. When it became apparent that he was going to keep quiet, she strode over and thrust a box into my hands. Delicate silver filigree ribboned across the pale, opalescent lunarium in elegant whorls and scrolls. Not just any box but a jewelry box.

My gut twisted with dread, but I cracked open the top to reveal a wide silver choker studded with large blue opals. Even by Regal standards, it was an impressive, expensive piece, and I let out a low, appreciative whistle.

“Aw, Grandmother, you shouldn’t have,” I drawled. “Although it will look absolutelymarvelouswith my new tailcoat.”

Beatrice rolled her eyes. “It’s for Lady Asterin. A summer solstice gift from you is appropriate at this stage of your courtship.”

I rolled my eyes right back at her. “This is not a meregift. Why, there are enough jewels on this thing to feed everyone in the city for at least a month. Two months, if you only dish out porridge and gruel.”

My grandmother rolled her eyes again. “Your exaggerations are excessive, as always. No one serves gruel anymore.”

“Why are you so determined to snare Asterin? I’ve told you numerous times that she openly despises me. I feel the exact same way about her, although I, of course, am too much of a gentleman to let such animosity show.” I finished my thought with a haughty harrumph of disapproval.

My father snorted in disbelief. I winked at him, which only made him snort again, this time with laughter.

Beatrice ignored us both and jutted out her chin in a defiant look I knew all too well. “Asterin might despise you, and you might loathe her, but her family greatly admires the House Zimmer name, fortune, and connections, especially now that you are the head of the Arrows, as you should have been all along.”

Her chin jutted out even more. “Besides, you know I have a sense about these things. You and Asterin will make a lovely couple.”

I groaned. Beatrice was a very powerful telempath who could easily sense other people’s emotions, even over great distances. Every once in a while, she would also have a vision of the future, just like I sometimes did. But worst of all, she considered herself a bloodymatchmaker, claiming that her strong telempathy gave her insight about which lords and ladies would be perfect for each other.

Beatrice had crowed so loudly and consistently about her supposedgiftthat some of the other Regals now came to her for advice when they were trying to marry off their relatives. But it was all simply another sly scheme on my grandmother’s part, a way for her to subtly push certain Regals together and form alliances that would ultimately benefit House Zimmer in some way.

“You should listen to your grandmother,” Wendell chimed in. “After all, shealwaysknows what’s best for our family, even when we don’t know ourselves. Isn’t that right, Beatrice?”

She bristled at his snide tone. My father only called her Beatrice when he was upset with her, something neither one of them thought I noticed. They glared at each other again, and the air crackled with so much tension that I would probably get a violent static shock if I brushed up against either one of them.

“Oh, yes, familyisthe most important thing. Family first, then House Zimmer, then the galaxy can take care of everyone else,” I drawled again. “Isn’t that what you always say, Grandmother?”

Beatrice’s eyes narrowed, the wheels clearly spinning in her mind as she tried to figure out what—if anything—I knew about Vesper. I gave her the same dazzling smile that I always gave the gossipcast reporters.

She arched an eyebrow at me in the same chiding motion she’d used on Father earlier. Like Fergus, my grandmother was not so easily fooled.

“Come,” Beatrice said, smoothing her hands down her skirt. “The carriage is waiting. We don’t want to be late.”

“Oh, no,” my father said, his voice still snide and bitter. “We wouldn’t want to appear to be anything but the perfect Regal family we are.”

He glared at her again, then stormed out of the library. Beatrice watched him go, her lips pinching together into a tight line.

“Father has been upset with you for weeks now. Anything you want to tell me?” I asked, hoping she would finally just admit what was going on.

Beatrice’s lips parted, and she drew in a breath. Then she shook her head, and her breath escaped in a soft sigh. “Nothing for you to worry about, my darling. Just an old problem that has reared its ugly head yet again, despite my best efforts to contain it. Don’t fret. I’m sure everything will work itself out for the best.”

She nodded at the jewelry box in my hand. “Make sure to give the necklace to Asterin during the celebration.”

Beatrice hesitated, then stepped forward, reached up, and patted my cheek, her fingers warm and firm against my skin. “I’ve always done what I think is best for our family, and the best is all that I’ve ever wanted for you and your father. I want you to know that, Zane.”

“Of course,” I murmured.

Beatrice patted my cheek again, then left the library.

I rolled my tense shoulders and shut the necklace box. The sharpsnapof the lid closing rang out as loudly as a Frozon bear trap clamping around my ankle. Despite all my protests to the contrary, my grandmother was still determined to shackle me to Asterin. I wasn’t a seer like Vesper, but for some strange reason, I felt like the trap had already been sprung, and all I could do was snarl and flail helplessly in its tight teeth.

Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps the solstice celebration would go better than the midnight ball had.

I bloody hoped so—for all our sakes.

CHAPTER TWO

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