27

The man speaking tilted his head curiously. “I was asking you about the well-being of your Lord in Daybreak,” he said. “Since I am the ambassador to Daybreak and know him well myself.”

“Oh!” The whiplash made my head spin. “Of course. You’re Lord…”

“Skorupski,” he said. “Niles Skorupski.”

“Of course!” I said again. “Lord Skorupski. It’s wonderful to see you again.”

The Lord looked put-out. It was clear I hadn’t recognized him at all—even though we’d almost certainly done business in the Daybreak court.

“Ice Princess,” Rona hissed under her breath.

A scowl flickered over my features before I was able to steel my face back into neutrality. I felt so frazzled and rough around the edges, so unlike the carefully self-managed lady I was used to being in Daybreak. Something about being in Efra was making me too sensitive, too reactive. I had to get myself under control.

The rest of dinner passed in a pleasant haze. The food was good, the wine delicious, and the conversation boring but still somewhat unnerving. The Nightfall wolves were boisterous, and at the far end of the table, there was laughter and raunchy jokes, even a flash of teeth here and there. Barion was among them, as were the other competitors’ escorts, but he was holding his own just fine. Rona watched that end of the table with envy. The king went back to his conversations with his council members, but throughout the dinner, I kept feeling his eyes on me, returning to me over and over and over.

After the meal, the servants guided us into the small ballroom just off the dining room. A band was already playing high-energy strings and drums in the corner. The servants quickly refilled wine glasses where necessary, and a few of the more inebriated court members began to dance a quickfooted jig to the music. It was so different than Daybreak—going straight from a fine meal to dance like this? I’d expected some waltzing, something elegant, but these rapid movements were like something I’d see at Marco’s Tavern in the late-night hours.

I took a sip of my fresh wine glass and beelined for Fina and Adora, deftly avoiding Lord Skorupski heading towards me with a look like he wanted to dance.

“Hey,” Fina said as I approached. They were standing near the edge of the room, watching the dance with the same curiosity I felt.

“Have you ever seen a dance like this?” Adora asked. “It’s so fast. Do you think they do it as wolves, too?”

The thought made my eyes widen. “Do you?”

“Hey,” Fina repeated, and swatted my shoulder. “What is going on with you? You were being so weird at dinner.”

I cringed. “Was it that obvious?” “Definitely,” Fina said.

“A little,” Adora said.

I leaned against the wall behind me. Maybe that wasn’t perfectly ladylike behavior, but I was so tired. “Rona called me Ice Princess,” I muttered.

“Isn’t that me?” Adora asked, half-teasing and half-confused.

“It’s a nickname from Daybreak,” I admitted. “I don’t know how she knows it. I don’t have a lot of—or really, any—friends in Daybreak. I just do my duties as a lady. My father—he’s not so…”

“He keeps a tight leash,” Fina provided. “Yeah,” I said. “That’s one way of putting it.” “What do they mean by that?” Adora asked.

“That I’m cold,” I said. “Off-putting.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Fina said. “You’ve been nothing but kind to us.”

Yeah, I thought, you didn’t see how I spoke to the king. It was men I repelled. Sometimes on purpose, and sometimes not. I didn’t trust them—they always wanted something from me, either sex, or court favors.

“I’ve just…” I swallowed, fighting back a sudden prickle of tears behind my eyes. “I just don’t have any friends like you two at home. I never have. So, just, whatever happens with this Choice, I hope… I just hope we can stay in touch.”

“Oh, Reyna,” Fina said. “Of course we will.” She pulled me into a hug and smoothed her hand up and down my back.

“Of course!” Adora said. She tugged me away from Fina to give me a hug, which made me laugh, breaking the tension building in my chest. “You can’t get rid of us now.”

I pulled back. “Thanks. Both of you. Really.”

“Do you need me to fight Rona for you?” Adora asked.

“She would kill you,” Fina deadpanned. “Like, she’d kick your head off in one move.” “I can hold my own,” Adora huffed.

I laughed. “No, no, no one needs to do anything. I’ll be fine. This will all be over soon, anyway.” “Yeah, once I marry the king,” Fina said with a grin.

“Not if I get to him first,” Adora teased.

I laughed again, feeling a little dizzy, like the bubbles in my wine were fizzing around in my chest. At home, Griffin was my only comfort, and my sole supporter. He was the closest thing I had to a friend, but it was only now that I realized how different it was to be friends with other women. I hadn’t known this was what I was missing out on.

Then my wolf snapped into sudden alertness, like a scent had caught her attention.

“Funny,” a deep voice rumbled, “I thought this competition was about competing. I didn’t expect to see you three spending time with each other instead of the council members.” We all turned to face the king.

My heart pounded hard in my chest. Even though Fina and Adora were flanking me, the king’s dark gaze only landed on me. It was like he was able to erase the rest of the world with his attention.

There was such an effortless handsomeness about him—he wasn’t dressed as elegantly as the other council members, but his mere presence was overwhelming and confident and strangely attractive. My wolf longed to show submission. Not that I would ever do that—not until I absolutely had to. And that would be hopefully never.