I turned to see Delphine approaching me. Her hands were clasped, and she wore a demure expression, which put me on my guard. She stopped beside Tennin, and for the first time, there was no scorn in her eyes when she looked at me.
“I wanted to thank you for what you did last night.” She swallowed nervously. “You saved my life. I am sorry you were injured helping me.”
I was not expecting those words from her. It took me a few seconds to reply. “You don’t have to thank me for that. I’m glad you’re okay.”
She smiled timidly. “I am happy you are well, too. If you ever need anything, please ask.”
“Thanks… that’s very nice of you.”
I was saved from figuring out what else to say when Rashari called for her friend. Delphine smiled at me, curtsied to Roswen, and went back to the group she’d arrived with.
I stared after her, not sure what to make of this transformation. Rashari’s frown told me she was as confused as I was and not happy about her friend’s little defection.
Roswen raised her eyebrows at me. “That was unusual.”
“Not if you know her mother, Maraja,” said Ellette, who had joined us. She looked at Tennin, and he shrugged good-naturedly.
“There is very little about my aunt that will surprise me.” To me he said, “Delphine’s father and mine are brothers. My family prefers to live at our estate in the north. Delphine’s parents prefer court life.”
I had been at court long enough to know the meaning in his words. Delphine’s parents were courtiers, who cared only about status and gaining the favor of the royal family.
“What does Maraja have to do with it?” Roswen asked her friend.
Ellette leaned in. “I saw Delphine’s brother Aslan this morning, and you know how much he hates his mother’s scheming. Aslan told me Maraja was livid when they came home from the dinner last night. She’s been grooming Delphine for years to be the prince’s consort, and she knows that will never happen now. Everyone at the dinner saw how Vaerik looked at Jesse and the way he ran to her when she was hurt. There is no way he will take Delphine as a mate.”
Happiness bubbled up inside me. I thought about kissing Lukas and what we had almost done in his bed this morning. Parisa gave me a knowing smirk, and heat crept up my neck.
“Maraja told Delphine they’ll have to make the most of it,” Ellette continued. “If Delphine can’t be the prince’s consort, she will be the consort’s friend.”
“Are you serious?” I shook my head as my happy buzz turned to anger. “Lukas is a person, not some object they can use to get what they want.”
Roswen smiled, looking pleased by my outburst, and Parisa asked, “Why do you call him Lukas?”
“That’s the name he gave me when I met him, and no one” – I glared at Tennin – “cared to tell me he was Prince Vaerik. I got to know him as Lukas and I keep forgetting to use his real name.”
Tennin laughed. “You already know why I couldn’t tell you. And look at it this way. No one can accuse you of getting close to him because of who he is.”
His comment made me think of how angry Lukas had been when he’d thought I had done exactly that. Now that I’d seen what he had to deal with here, I could understand why he had reacted so strongly when he’d believed I had betrayed him.
“Speaking of getting close to Vaerik.” Cyrene cocked her head sideways in Lukas’s direction.
We all turned our heads to follow her gaze. I felt a flicker of irritation when I saw Rashari standing beside Lukas. It faded when he shifted, putting some space between them.
“I think Lukas can handle it,” I said lightly. “Let’s get this picnic set up.”
It didn’t take long with all of us helping to unpack the baskets and put out the food and drinks. Roswen called everyone to join us, and I smiled when Lukas detached himself from Rashari to sit by me. Conlan and Faris sat on his other side, and Kaia suddenly appeared to lie beside me.
Lunch was fun and the conversation light. No one talked about last night except when Tennin said he had come back to Faerie before the travel ban. He was staying at court for a few days before he traveled to his family home.
After the meal, Lukas stood and extended his hand to me. “Will you walk by the river with me?”
I put my hand in his and said playfully, “I would love to, Your Highness.”
He pulled me to my feet so we stood mere inches from each other. “I am Lukas to you, or Vaerik if you so choose. But never Your Highness.”
My stomach fluttered at the tenderness in his eyes. “A walk would be great, Lukas.”
I could feel all eyes on us as we walked away from the picnic. That was something I’d have to get used to if I wanted to be with Lukas, but it was a small price to pay.
Footsteps behind us signaled that Conlan and Faris had accompanied us. They stayed back out of earshot but close enough to react to any threat. Kaia sped past us, darting in and out of the tall grass and making me smile at her antics.
“It’s so peaceful by the river,” I said when we were out of sight of the group and all we could hear were birds and the water lapping at the bank. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
He took my hand, lacing our fingers together. “Then we’ll come back soon but without bringing half the court with us.”
I laughed at the trace of vexation in his voice. “Oh, come on. Roswen and her friends are fun. And we’re alone now.”
“Not quite.” Lukas changed course and pulled me down into a large patch of calaech flowers growing along the river. Before I could utter a word, we were lying on the mossy grass and hidden from sight. Above us, the reddish blooms looked like a ring of fire against the blue sky.
Lukas rose up over me and brushed away the hair that had fallen into my face. “Now, we are alone.”
My lips parted eagerly, and he did not make me wait. He brushed his mouth against mine once, twice, with agonizing slowness before he swept his tongue inside. I kissed him back fervidly as if it had been weeks, not hours, since we made out on his bed. My fingers raked through his hair, and the answering rumble in his chest made me want to roll him over and climb on top of him.
Lukas suddenly let out an “oof” and fell forward, crushing me with his weight. I wheezed as he pushed up on his hands and something landed on the ground behind him. Instead of the alarm I expected to see on his face, he was grinning.
Then he rolled off me to lie laughing in the grass with Kaia standing over him. He scratched the side of her neck, and that was all the invitation she needed to squeeze into the sliver of space between us.
I laughed and turned my face toward Lukas. “This is the third time someone has interrupted us today. Do you think the universe is sending us a message?”
“Yes. It’s telling us we need to get better at hiding.” He propped himself up on his elbow again and gave me a sensuous smile that promised no one would disturb us next time.
A thrill of anticipation went through me. It was probably for the best that Kaia had stopped us before things got more heated. Lukas and I couldn’t have gone any further out here in the open with Conlan and Faris standing guard. The thought of them knowing what we were doing in the grass sent heat straight to my cheeks.