19

The manor was quiet as I made my way to the nearby guest quarters. If I was going to get put in the stocks today, I should tell my escort about it. That was the right thing for a lady to do, wasn’t it?

I cringed. Not that I knew a lot about being a lady, apparently. It’d taken me a grand total of two days to ruin my reputation with the court.

“Barion,” I whispered as I rapped on the heavy wooden door to his quarters. “Barion, it’s me.”

From inside the quarters, Barion heaved a great sigh. After a few moments of rustling around, he opened the doors and squinted blearily at me. “What is it?” “I need your help,” I said.

A furrow of concern formed in his brow, and he stepped aside to motion me into his quarters. They were much smaller than mine, but the bed was still huge, and coals glowed in the hearth. I sat down at the small table, and Barion sat across from me. He was still barely awake, in a loose tunic and slacks. He glanced around the room like he might be able to will some coffee into existence, but instead satisfied himself by packing his pipe with fragrant Efran tobacco and lighting it.

“So, what is it that has you barging in so early in the morning?”

No point in wasting time with Barion. “I may have… I may have run into the king outside of the trials.”

He blew a cloud of smoke toward the rafters. “Okay.”

“I didn’t realize he was the king,” I said. “He approached me in the hallway, and I was alone, and I was—I was rude to him. I was frightened.” A half-truth. I wouldn’t describe what I’d felt as fright. But I was certainly afraid now.

“I see,” Barion said.

“I just—if something happens—I just thought you should know.”

Barion took another long pull off his pipe and exhaled the smoke like a sigh. “Nothing’s going to happen,” he said. “He won’t punish you during the Choice. It wouldn’t reflect well on Nightfall—and saving their reputation from his choices is the entire purpose of this fiasco.” He shook his head.

“So he’ll just eliminate me?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Barion said. “I’ve never been able to predict what the Bloody King will do, no matter how I try.”

“Shh!” I hushed him. “Don’t call him that here.”

“Well, he earned the title,” Barion said gruffly. Then he sighed. “Don’t worry, pup. If the king tries anything suspicious, I’ll stop it in its tracks.”

“But what about Daybreak—”

“All you need to do to defend Daybreak is perform well in this competition, Reyna,” Barion said.

I nodded, then exhaled to center myself. Barion was right. The best thing I could do now would be to try to fix the mistakes I’d already made.

“Besides,” he said, “you think old Barion would let anything happen to a Lady of the Court?” He grinned. “Relax. Maybe the king will be compelled by a bit of feistiness.” “Maybe,” I said as I stood to leave. “Thank you, Barion.” “Good luck,” he said.

I hadn’t even considered that possibility. That the only thing worse than offending the king was piquing his interest.

I made my way back to my room, where Amity and Rue were waiting for me. Amity immediately wrinkled her nose. “Milady!” she gasped. “Were you smoking?”

“Of course not,” I said. “I was around it.”

“You can’t attend the meet and greet smelling like that,” Amity said. “Quick, Rue, heat the bathwater!”

I was already running low on time. I sniffed my arm curiously and couldn’t smell a trace of the tobacco. Perhaps the girls had sharper senses than I did due to all their time spent in their wolf shapes. If they could smell the smoke on me, the king would certainly be able to. I didn’t need to offend him any more. What was worse, I wondered as I rushed through a quick bath, smelling of smoke or being late? I dressed in a hurry, wearing a pale blue gown with flowing sleeves, my hair in a plait, and the tiara tucked into it right before we all hurried out the door.

Amity and Rue escorted me to the solarium at a brisk place. I was the last to arrive, but I wasn’t late, thank the gods—I wanted a moment to speak to Lady Glennis in private, to try to get a quick, private audience with the king. I needed to apologize.

Lady Glennis’ attention was currently being held by Rona, who was speaking to her in a voice so low I couldn’t hear. She looked gorgeous, stunningly elegant in a silk gown of black and deep purple, the same colors of the Nightfall crest. She had perfect posture, and confidence, despite being the only commoner here. I felt a bit frazzled in comparison, with my nape still damp from my brisk bath and my hastily chosen dress feeling a bit plain. Rona glanced over as I walked into the solarium and narrowed her dark eyes. With a curtsy, she finished her conversation with Glennis and strode back to the table.

“Good morning, Rona,” I said.

She shot me a cold look. “You don’t need to play nice, lady.”

My eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

I glanced toward Lady Glennis, but she was already making her way out of the solarium. So much for asking for my private audience. The three other women were out of earshot, chatting among themselves with delicate porcelain cups of coffee in hand.

“Don’t waste my time,” Rona said. “I’m not interested in playing along with your nice little girl act.”

“Excuse me?” I asked again, rearing back. Rona hadn’t been nice to me, exactly, not even at the dinner last night—but I’d expected her to at least be cordial. Her eyes flashed gold at me, and her voice came out low, and rumbling. Internally, my wolf snarled, sensing the threat immediately.

“We all know they call you Ice Princess in Daybreak,” Rona growled. “Cold. Picky. Unfriendly. Unshifting.” She spat the last word like it offended her personally. “The king needs a woman—he needs a wolf. A wolf who isn’t afraid to defend what’s hers.” Her dark eyes roved judgmentally over my body. “A wolf who isn’t afraid of sex.”