“You don’t know what fireworks are?”
“I know what they are, but I’ve never seen them before. They aren’t really deemed essential.”
Drake’s expression turned cold. “I don’t think King Carver cares what’s deemed essential.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” Renna said, walking slowly through the crowd as she looked up at the colorful sky.
Drake shoved her body to the right, avoiding a collision with an onlooker, but the move put her right in front of the king and Trev—both of them getting a good look at the grease mark on her forehead. The king shot Renna a deadly stare, and immediately her hand went back up.
“Excuse us,” Drake said as he pushed past them. “She’s not feeling well.”
Inside the palace, they made their way to a side bathroom and locked the door. Renna gasped at the dark line across her skin.
“It’s not that bad.” Drake laughed.
“Not that bad? It’s humiliating!” She grabbed a towel and started scrubbing.
Drake laughed harder as the black substance spread all over her skin with each scrub.
Who else in the world would lean against a gate and get grease all over their forehead? Only me, Renna thought. It was an incredibly Renna thing to do.
“Stop laughing,” she pleaded.”It’s not funny.” She hit him with her towel but was already starting to laugh herself. “What is this stuff? It’s not coming off!”
“Leave it. It looks good.” He shrugged his shoulders like he was trying to convince himself.
“Grease marks look good?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I was just trying to be nice.”
Renna hit him with the towel again.
“Here, let me help.” He dipped the corner of the towel in some water and then added soap and handed it back to her.
It took several rounds of scrubbing, but eventually, the grease was gone.
“There. Everything’s perfect again,” Drake said, inspecting her face.
Renna looked back at him. “Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you hated me too.”
His brows bent together. “Why would you think that?”
“You’ve been avoiding me ever since the first night I arrived, and whenever Trev is by me, you look like you want to punch some sense into him.”
“Am I that obvious?” He grimaced.
“Yes,” she said. She leaned her back against the door and slid to the ground letting out a deep breath.
Drake sat down on the floor across from her, stretching his legs out next to hers.
“You really like Trev, don’t you?”
She should lie to him again, tell him that he was wrong, but somewhere deep inside, the answer begged to be let out.
“I like him a lot. More than I’ve ever liked anyone in my whole life. And it’s not because he’s the prince. He constantly makes me laugh. He’s not afraid to be silly just to make me smile, and in case you were wondering, I can’t wipe the smile off my face when I’m with him. But it’s more than just a good time. He’s my friend. He’s thoughtful. He actually tries to get to know me—to find out the things that make up who I am. I can’t explain it. How do you explain—”
“Love?” Drake said knowingly.
Her face dropped into her hands partly from embarrassment and partly from agony. “I hate this. I hate acting like Trev’s relationship with Seran isn’t killing me when it is. I hate that I can’t touch him or look at him or openly laugh at things he says. I hate that I can’t be with him all the time,” she dropped her voice, “because I want to be with him all the time.” Her complete honesty left her feeling bare and exposed. “I shouldn’t have told you all of that.” Her head shook furiously. “I’m mortified I told you all of that.”
“I’m glad you did.” Drake’s eyes were kind, easing her embarrassment. “The thing is, I want Trev to be the king of Albion for a lot of reasons—some of them honorable and some of them selfish. If my best friend becomes king, he will appoint me as commander of the Albion army, which I am more than qualified for. If Joniss becomes king, my future is uncertain. But the truth is, Trev would be an amazing king. The kind of king that inspires people to band together and be united in a great purpose. The kind of king who puts his people first and fights for them.”
“And you think I stand in the way of him being elected king?”
“Yes,” Drake sighed.
Renna’s stomach dropped and she had to look away.
“I want him to be king, but I also want him to be happy, and if he loses you, I don’t think he will ever truly be happy again.” Drake paused, then added, “Maybe you should tell him how you feel so he has a choice.”
“No! I couldn’t do that to Seran. Besides, he told me the first day I met him that he doesn’t believe in a one and only true love.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t even believe in love.”
Drake shook his head. “What else would you say if you had known since childhood that you would have to marry a stranger someday? Sometimes it’s easier to pretend that love doesn’t exist than to acknowledge that it does exist, but you aren’t permitted to experience it.”
Renna thought about the truth that might be lingering in his words.
“Tell him how you feel,” Drake urged.
“What will he do?” She didn’t want to end up even more hurt than she already was.
“He’ll either choose you and lose everything or, if he’s the man and leader that I think he is, he’ll figure out a way to have you and still be elected king.”
“What about King Carver?”
“He’ll hate you even more than he does now. There will be no chance for reconciliation with him.”
Renna took a deep breath.
Drake made it sound so simple. Tell Trev how she felt, and trust he would figure out a way to be with her and not ruin his life or the future of Albion. But what about her mother and Seran? Could Trev figure out a way that wouldn’t destroy their lives in the process?
Outside, the sound of fireworks snapped and popped more furiously.
“You know, I’ve never been in a bathroom with a man before.” She looked at the golden swirled tile beneath them.
“That’s probably a good thing.” Drake furrowed his brow.
“Probably.” She smiled.
He rubbed the smooth surface of the ornate tile with his fingers. “I’ve never sat on a bathroom floor before.”
“Really? I do it all the time,” she confessed, not ashamed of how weird it sounded.
“All the time?” he clarified.
“Not all the time, but . . . sometimes it’s the best place to be alone.” Her eyes wandered as she recalled the times the bathroom floor had comforted her in her life, especially after her father had died. Some nights she had escaped to the downstairs bathroom so she could cry as loud as she wanted without waking her mother. Shaking herself out of her memories with a self-conscious laugh, Renna continued, “No one bothers you when you’re in the bathroom.”
“Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to remember that the next time I’m trying to avoid Trev.”