It was time for tea, after all. Tea, tea, and more freaking tea. Thank the gods I actually liked the stuff.
Gemma met me in the hallway and led me outside, quizzing me on the harem ladies the entire way. She showed me portraits of them, then had me memorize all six of their names and match each lady to her princely son.
“Cal,” she fired off, making me think fast.
“Caroline.”
“Dan.”
“Delilah.”
“Ben.”
“Bianca.”
“Rob.”
“Rosemary.”
Thankfully, the princes each seemed to share the same first initial as their mothers, making their names relatively painless to remember.
I mentally rolled my eyes, imagining why the king must’ve chosen the monikers he had. Probably so he could keep track of who he’d knocked up with who. Not that it mattered. Each son also got their looks from their mothers. They were spitting images of them.
“Now the other two,” Gemma prodded.
“Francesca, the Storm King’s first wife.”
F for Francesca. F for first.
“And...”
Damn it. I was having trouble remembering the last lady’s name, as I didn’t have anything to associate her with.
“Ashlynn,” Gemma reminded me. “Remember it like this, the last two ladies are childless AF.”
I grinned. AF equaled As Fuck, equaled Ashlynn and Francesca. Got it.
“Again.”
She drilled me until we ended up deep in the flowering gardens, where a tiny stone patio sat with four umbrella-clad tables. Half of the seats were empty, but the other half held six beautifully dressed women, all chatting quietly and sipping delicately at their porcelain cups.
“Good luck,” she whispered with a bright smile and quickly hurried off to attend to whatever servantly duties she might’ve had. I was beginning to think she’d gotten the better deal out of the two of us.
I paused, sneaking behind a tall, rectangular hedge to muster up a bit of last-minute courage.
No worries, Lex, you’re just meeting your future in-laws. No big deal.
Heart racing, I peeked around the corner and studied them once more. All six of them wore long-sleeved gowns despite the midday heat and wore fancy hats despite the shade of the umbrellas.
One of the ladies caught me staring, a blonde-haired woman with crow’s-feet perched at the outsides of her sky blue eyes. Caroline, Cal’s mom.
“Would you like a cup of tea, Alexis?” she asked, pouring me one regardless of my answer.
“Yes, thank you,” I said, slinking out of my hiding spot and strolling nearer to them. I did my best to remember my morning etiquette lessons, but they were already starting to fade from my mind.
Another lady—Rosemary—gestured to an empty chair across the table from her. I knew who she was because, with her black hair and succulent lips, she looked just like Rob.
“Please, sit,” she said with a gentle smile.
“Thank you, Rosemary.” I nodded, accepting my cup and taking a seat as gracefully as I could manage.
“Your reputation proceeds you, Rosemary,” one of the other ladies teased. “She already knows your name.”
I turned to the woman with tan skin and warm honey eyes and smiled. “As does yours, Bianca.”
She laughed airily and waved a hand at me. “Please, call me Bibi.”
“Bibi it is, then,” I agreed.
As I tipped the cup to my lips, I glanced at the other three ladies. One had a smug grin and pale green eyes—Dan’s mother, Delilah. The other two were harder to place, though one of them seemed more familiar than the other. There was something about her smile...
A memory flitted into my thoughts, one from many years ago, before Adam disappeared and left me forever...
It had started pissing rain out of the blue, so we held hands and took refuge in an empty barn. Sopping wet, I smiled and watched the cascading droplets hammering down, happy to simply be there with him. But when I looked up at him, I realized he wasn’t staring at the rain. He was staring at me with a beautiful, soul-deep smile on his lips...
I blinked and the memory faded, but I couldn’t shake the sudden loneliness I felt.
The harem lady didn’t look like Adam, but if she smiled like he did, then I knew she’d be the most wonderful woman of them all.
Delilah took a sip of her tea and smiled at me. “Are you enjoying life at the palace, my dear?”
I paused midsip and frantically wracked my brain for a suitable answer.
“I have minimal complaints so far, Delilah. Thank you for asking.”
“So formal!” Bibi tittered. “You should call her Dilly.”
Delilah smiled and raised her teacup in a toast. “Call me Dilly and see what happens.”
For some reason, I had absolutely no desire to find out.
“I’ll stick to Delilah, thanks.”
“Smart girl,” she said with a wink, as a few of the other ladies chuckled.
“So, Alexis,” Rosemary began, while delicately stirring her tea, “what do you think of our boys so far?”
I coughed and nearly shot tea out my nose. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been expecting a question like that. It’s just, I hadn’t been expecting it right then.
“They’re nice.” I hummed, trying to buy myself more time to think of some better words. “Handsome and quite charming, all four of them.”
That’s the best you can do, Lex? Gods, you suck.
Rosemary shot me a knowing look. “Charming is not a word I’d use to describe my Robert. But you mustn’t be too hard on him. His powers make his life a bit... difficult.”
Don’t be hard on him? Did she even know that cock sucker? He was the biggest dick I’d ever met. Though, if she was telling the truth, then it sort of seemed like there might’ve been a reason for his bad behavior.
What were Rob’s powers, anyway? Cal was the Sky Prince; I’d known that my whole life. And it sounded like Dan was the Sea Prince, if what he’d said earlier was the truth. I didn’t know what Ben’s powers were, or my own, for that matter. Something with fire, obviously, but what was anyone’s guess.
“I’ll try not to,” I replied. It was the best I could offer her.
Caroline sighed. “Even without their powers, the life of a prince is hard. They’re forced to grapple with and solve difficult problems every single day. Nothing is simple. Nothing is easy. And their actions, no matter how good or how bad, always result in serious consequences.”
Which was, like, such a “Cal” thing to say. So wise and solemn.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I haven’t seen much of the political side of things yet, but I’m sure you’re right. I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
“Ben is the kindest soul you’ll ever meet,” Bibi chipped in. “And even he is forced to make unfavorable decisions sometimes. Try to judge the man based on who he is inside, not by what he does on the outside.”
I pursed my lips slightly as I contemplated her words. If a man is good, his exterior actions should mirror that goodness. Right? And likewise, if he’s evil, his actions will be just as vile. I didn’t know if she was trying to say something similar and just got mixed up, or what the heck, but I couldn’t find an honest way to agree with her, so I merely nodded.
“Any advice on Dan?” I asked Delilah.
She smiled fondly. “My boy’s a charmer. What can I say? It won’t be hard to fall for him. And if you do, he’ll give you the most gorgeous babies. It’s in his genes.”
Bibi blew an unladylike raspberry, and Delilah giggled, using the wide brim of her hat as a spit-shield.
“What about you two?” I asked, smiling between the “AF” ladies who I couldn’t seem to keep straight. “Any secret princes I need to worry about?”
One of the ladies smiled softly. The other turned up her nose.
“No. I was never able to have children. It’s probably why my husband decided to take on so m
any other wives.”
Ah. Francesca. First wife. Got it.
“And you?” I asked the softer-featured lady with the wonderful smile, the one who had to have been Ashlynn.
She shook her head. “My son has been gone for a long time now.”
My mouth went suddenly dry. “Gone as in travelling or gone as in—”
“Gone, gone,” Francesca cut in, her tone harsh. “As in, our husband ended his own son’s life, gone. Don’t you realize you’re asking too many personal questions? Have they taught you nothing about etiquette yet?”
I jerked back as if I’d been slapped. “I’m... so sorry.”
Gods, I fucking sucked at this. Where was Gemma with my alcohol so that I could drown my stupidity away? Or better yet, where was she with some string to stitch my damn mouth shut?
“Hush,” Ashlynn cooed. She was still smiling, though admittedly it was a little dimmer now. “It’s all right, child, you couldn’t have known.”
“What was his name?” I asked, because apparently I couldn’t help myself.
Francesca glared daggers at me, and I finally understood the meaning of the phrase “if looks could kill.”
Ashlynn put her arm out to stop the other woman’s impending tantrum. “It’s okay, Francesca. I don’t mind. Honestly, it’s been so long since I’ve talked about him, it’s nice to revisit his memory.”
She then took a deep breath and directed her attention back to me.
“His name was Asher. And he was the sweetest, kindest, handsomest boy ever. He was a shifter.”
I’d heard of many godly powers, but never that. “What’s a shifter?”
“It means he had the ability to shift into the form of an animal.”
What a badass power!
“What animal?” I asked, anxious to hear more about this boy she was never able to speak of.
“Any animal,” she said with a wink. “He was very powerful. Most shifters are limited to one alternate shape, but not my Ash.” She shook her head, lost in her own imaginings. “Gods, I miss him.”
I wanted to ask how it happened. What had made the Storm King snap and murder one of his own sons, but I had a feeling Francesca was right; I’d been asking way too many personal questions. That last one would have been inappropriate—even for me. I’d have to ask the brothers later instead.
I smiled timidly and took a sip of tea. “Thank you for telling me about him, Ashlynn.”
“Thank you for asking.”
Francesca and I shared a tense glance across the table, but neither of us said another word.
Chapter 8
Once tea was over, I sat through a brutal two hours of politics and history.
The lesson was largely focused on the chronicles of Blackwood—a version quite dissimilar to the one my mother had told me—but it also consisted of a little trivia involving the kingdom of Timberlune.
Nothing stuck, though. The information just went in one ear, bounced around in my totally vacant head, and sprang out the other side.
“So, which part of Blackwood is Timberlune closest to?”
My mind went completely blank. “Eastern Blackwood?”
The gray-haired teacher—Professor Samson—pinched the bridge of his spectacled nose.
“No, Miss Ravenel, it borders Northern Blackwood, where Prince Calvin rules at Nightshade Castle. I thought you were from the north?”
I nodded, amazed at my stupidity as well. “Yep. I am.”
By the end of class, I thought Professor Samson had finally realized how hopeless I was. Sighing, he sat down and scribbled out a list.
“Just take this sheet and memorize it.”
I smiled faintly and took it, making my way in the general direction of the stables for my picnic lunch with the princes. When I stepped out onto the back lawn, I glanced down at the paper still tucked into my hand.
The ambassador is a fae named Julius Florien, but always refer to him simply as “Ambassador.” Do not say “thank you” to a fae. Instead say, “you have my gratitude.” Do not say “sorry” to a fae. Instead say, “my apologies.” Do not hold or wear iron around a fae. They’re allergic to it, and it’s highly offensive. Do not mention the Great Sky War where they lost to the harpies; it’s still a sore subject.
Blah, blah, blah.
I rolled my eyes. Gods forbid I step on anyone’s toes. They might trip and cram the sticks even further up their asses. It was astounding to me how hurting one person’s feelings had the potential to bring about war for entire kingdom. Weren’t we supposed to be adults? Because that sounded a lot like the squabbles Gem’s younger siblings used to get into.
“Whatcha reading, Jewels? Gold-Digging for Dummies?”
The snide voice hit the air just as the scent of manure did. I glanced up, surprised to find I’d successfully stumbled upon the stables, just as Rob’s cruel but beautiful face came into view.
I crumpled my cheat sheet into a ball and threw it, marching closer to him. “First of all, dickweed, if there’s anyone here who knows how to dig gold, it’s me. And second, I was actually reading a short story called, ‘Hi, I’m Rob, and I have my mommy stick up for me because I’m awful at being a decent human being all on my own.’”
He blinked, but in that moment of shock, he let a smile slip. And, fuck me, it was gorgeous. It was a look I wanted to see burned across his features forever.
I swallowed hard and turned away, unsure how to properly digest the strange thoughts and emotions bubbling in my stomach. Was I or was I not attracted to Rob Storm?
No. Of course I wasn’t. How could I be? He was an asshole. Women never fall for assholes.
Right.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked, anxious to change the subject. I couldn’t see their heads poking above the stalls inside, nor did I see them hanging out around the palace grounds.
But apparently Rob was still stuck on our previous conversation.
“What’d you think of her? My mom.”
I glanced at him, intrigued to find a look of sincere curiosity on his face.
“She’s beautiful,” I admitted honestly. “And she’s a hell of a lot nicer than you.”
He grinned and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Did she say anything about me?”
Gods, he was hot with messed-up hair...
“Um...” I licked my suddenly dry lips. I was thirsty, like a bitch trudging through the blazing hot sands of the Obsidian Desert, and he was a tall, tatted, tantalizing glass of water. “I think she might have.”
“You think? Or she did?”
I shook my head to clear my muddled thoughts. “She might’ve said something about your powers being difficult. Or that you were difficult because of your powers. I don’t know. Something like that.”
His expression darkened once more, and his plump lips thinned. “I see.”
Then he spun on his heel and gestured for me to follow him.
“Ben and Dan are already on their horses out back. We’re just waiting on Cal now. Choose a horse, and I’ll help you saddle it up.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re going to help me? That’s a bit out of character, isn’t it?”
He glanced at me over his shoulder, one brow raised. “I walked you to your room last night, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t count. You said you hate me.”
He shrugged. “I might hate you, but I love...” He trailed off. “Let’s just say, I’m interested in getting to know you better now.”
Something was not adding up. There had to have been more going on behind the scenes that I was unaware of. I wondered what it could possibly be, even contemplated asking him, but I eventually thought better of it. He’d probably just get all broody and huffy and refuse to answer anyway.
I scanned the twin rows of horses, halting at the one with the gentlest look in her eyes. She was a creamy tan color with a blonde tail and mane. The nameplate tacked to her wooden gate read: Caramel. My inner fat kid stirred to life, pleased t
o find her name was associated with sweets.
“This one,” I decided.
Rob sighed but pointed to the back door as he unlocked the stall gate. “Wait out there with the others. I’ll bring her out once I saddle both of our horses up.”
I nodded and started walking away, but the bad-boy Storm prince was apparently feeling talkative today.
“Oh, and, Jewels?”
I rolled my eyes at the crude and annoying nickname but spun back around and crossed my arms. “What?”
“Do you even know how to ride a horse?”
I scoffed. “Of course, I do.”
Which, no, I most definitely didn’t. I’d never been on a horse in my life. Why did he think I picked the gentlest-looking mare in the barn? I would just watch what the princes did and copy their movements. Easy-peasy.
I marched from the barn and over to Ben and Dan who sat perfectly poised on ginormous stallions. One was midnight black. The other was a speckled sort of gray.
How the hell had they even clambered up there? I could just see me slinking up one of the creature’s legs like a pole, dress riding up my thighs, boobs falling out the front, trying to figure out how the hell to get to the top.
Fuck, this was going to be embarrassing. Even more so once Rob realized I lied. He was going to have a heyday making fun of me. He might even change my nickname from Jewels to Jockey, or something equally as condescending.
“Afternoon, Alexis,” Ben said with a warm smile.
He steered his horse around and over to me, and Dan did the same. I had no idea how they did it. Maybe it was with the big knob at the front of the saddle?
“Good afternoon, boys,” I said, faking a confidence I most definitely didn’t feel. “Great day for riding.”
Dan quirked a brow and glanced at the sky. “I think it might rain, actually.”
I glanced up but saw nothing except empty pure-blue skies. Not a single cloud in sight.
I smirked at him. “Maybe you better leave the sky stuff to Cal. You’re probably better off sticking to the sea.” Then I winked at him.
Taken by Storm (Storms of Blackwood Book 1) Page 8
