“I trust you are good enough for her,” the king said.
It was like he had thrown a knife right into Trev’s heart. He laughed his guilt off. “I doubt anyone is good enough for your daughter, but I will try every day to be worthy of her.”
“That’s what I want to hear.” The king slapped Trev on the back. “Besides, if you don’t treat her well, I have an entire army that I’ll send after you.”
The king laughed, but for some reason, Trev didn’t feel like it was a joke. His eye caught Seran’s. She looked uncomfortable.
“Let’s go down to dinner,” Seran said, clutching her father’s arm, practically dragging him out of the room.
43
Renna
Renna sat as far away from the royal table as she could. She was alone at her table so far, but whoever came to sit by her would be a better dining companion than King Carver.
Chills went to the back of her neck as someone whispered in her ear. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”
She turned slightly, seeing Joniss out of the corner of her eye. “That’s funny. I haven’t missed you at all.”
Joniss laughed her insult off, taking the seat beside her. Maybe the royal table would have been better than this. “Are you sure you want to sit by me?” she asked. “I’m kind of a lot to handle.”
“Lucky for you, I’m good at handling things.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You look ravishing tonight in blue.”
“This old thing? It was supposed to be the dress I wore to the ball last week.”
“Really?” His eyebrows raised in interest. “Honestly, I prefer the red dress. Do you still have it? So I can take it off you later?” His smile was steamy and wicked.
She glared at him, trying to decide if Joniss was refreshingly fun or if she wanted to punch him in his handsome face.
“Now that we have a groom, we can finally get this wedding out of the way. I was beginning to worry Ezra wasn’t coming back.”
Renna choked on her drink a little bit.
“Ahhh,” Joniss said annoyingly. “You didn’t know he was back?”
She cleared her voice. “Why would I know anything about the prince?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you get over Ezra.” Joniss winked at her. “I’m really good at what I do.”
Renna didn’t dare ask what, exactly, it was that he was really good at.
The trumpets sounded, turning all eyes to the stairs, except Renna’s. She focused on the table, her napkin, the ground, anything but the royal family.
Everyone took their seats, and King Carver motioned for dinner to begin.
Maxwell Doman and a few other prominent men Renna recognized joined Joniss at their table. There was a lot of political discussion, making it easy for Renna to hardly ever speak. Overall, she considered it a very successful dinner. Now she just needed to get out of there before she ran into Trev.
“Leaving so early?” Joniss asked as she scooted her chair back to go.
“Yes.” She didn’t plan on staying a minute longer than she had to.
He stood with a smirk. “I’ll join you.” Renna placed her hand on his chest to stop him. He raised an eyebrow at her intimate touch. “Is that an invitation?”
Quickly her hand shot to her side. “Not in the least. I’m leaving alone tonight.”
“I’m up for a challenge.” He cocked an eyebrow.
I’m sure you are.
She turned to leave, but behind her, a familiar voice almost stopped her in her tracks. He was still a distance away, but she recognized Trev instantly. Her hands began to shake, nausea swelling in her stomach.
After all the convincing she had done in her head, he still made the world shake, still made her heart race. She moved through the crowd in the opposite direction as fast as she could, but she heard Joniss behind her.
“Ezra, what kind of man abandons his fiancée right before their wedding?” Joniss said loudly.
“I was in Axville helping the people,” Trev bit back.
“Did you find the missing girls?”
“No.”
Renna heard Joniss’s response before slipping out the side door. “Perhaps I’ll visit Axville as well. See what I can do to help.”
A soft knock tapped on Renna’s door. The dinner party had long since ended, and Renna was getting ready for bed. Nora opened the door.
“May I speak with Miss Renna?” Mangum’s voice was timid, quiet.
Renna sat up in bed, nodding to Nora to let him in.
He stepped into the dim room. “Forgive me if I woke you.”
“Not at all. What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I’m coming to Wellenbreck with you to live. I’m sure you don’t want a babysitter, but I agree with your mother that you shouldn’t go alone, even though Nellie and Preetis are there. You are still part of the royal family, and you should be protected.”
Renna processed his words. “You’re going to come to Wellenbreck Farm with me?”
He nodded. “Is that okay?”
She couldn’t help it; she jumped out of bed and threw her arms around Mangum’s neck.
Ever since the ruins, things had been different with Mangum. There was a tenderness in the way Mangum looked at her. Renna’s father used to look at her like that—like she was the most special girl in the world. “I would love for you to come to Wellenbreck!”
Mangum laughed freely, awkwardly hugging her back. “I can work too, you know. I used to work on the Swire Farm.”
Renna stepped back to see him. “Just as long as you don’t tell my mother everything I do there.”
He laughed a full, hearty laugh. “Some things are best kept just between us.”
44
Trev
Every hour it seemed like another distinguished guest arrived. The prince of Cristole, the queen mother of Enderlin, and now King Adler of Tolsten walked toward the palace’s front steps where Trev stood with his father.
Adler was tall and big, with straight black hair slicked back. His olive skin added to his already striking looks. The resemblance between him and his older sister, the late Queen Avina, was evident. Adler was twenty when Avina had moved to Albion to marry King Carver. Trev had sometimes wondered if Adler knew how much Avina’s stepson loved her. If Adler knew how Trev locked himself on the roof of the palace and cried for hours after her funeral.
If Adler knew all that, would he still hate Albion so much?
“Are you surprised to see me, Carver?” King Adler spoke with an edge of anger as he greeted him.
“Not particularly.” King Carver’s brows furrowed. “We invited you to the wedding, and you accepted our invitation. We’ve been expecting you.”
Adler laughed his answer off. “Was that before or after you tried to have me killed?”
King Carver froze. “Excuse me?”
“Enough with the games, Carver. You sent someone to my room at the Dawsey Inn the other night to have me killed. What did you do? Pay off the hotel staff?” Adler asked.