And by meet her, I meant meet her and the hovering photographers.
Kader kept them away from me as I crossed the street. My mother already sat in the window, chatting with the owner of the shop with a smile on her face. She was blissfully ignorant of the cameras; maybe one day I would be as unbothered by them as she was.
"There's my boy," she said, standing and coming to hug me. I noticed how her hands lingered on my shoulders, but then she stepped back, an overly cheerful smile on her face. "You look tired, honey."
"I've had a long week," I said, sitting down.
The owner placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of me. I smiled and reached for the wad of bank notes in my pocket.
"Don't be silly, dear, I already paid for it," Mom said with a wave of her hand.
The owner bowed once more and left us alone to talk. The cafe was mostly empty, save a few interested girls and one very self-absorbed man leaning over a notebook.
Exhaustion took my tact. "What is Kader doing with you that you can't tell me about?"
She smiled and stirred her coffee. "I don't want you involved in that."
"Mom, seriously," I said, leaning forward.
"I am serious, Galian, I don't want you involved," she answered with a tired look. "I've only just gotten you back, and I don't even have you back. This is the first time we've spoken in weeks. Thank goodness Eli has been keeping me informed."
"Then you're talking to Kader about me?" I pressed. "Is that what you're—"
"Is that Hebendon still working you to death?" She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "I should really see to having someone step in."
"Have you heard from Dr. Maitland?" I asked.
"Oh yes, dear, he's having a lovely time in Baro," she replied brightly. "The Herinese are treating him wonderfully, though he said he could do without the blizzards."
"Are you sure?"
"Why would he lie to me?"
"I'm not saying he's lying, I'm just..." I heaved out a breath. "Are you sure he's still alive? Father didn't...off him, did he?"
She placed her cup down on the table. "Let's just say that Sebastian thought it might be best if he left the country for a while. But he went of his own volition."
I shook my head. All these lives upended to appease one man. "Well, lucky me, I get to deal with his replacement. Father's just not content to see me happy, is he?"
"You think Hebendon is your father's doing?" She tutted and shook her head. "Son, your father has much more pressing things to worry about than torturing his son."
"Like what?"
"The upcoming Summit of Nations," she said, looking out the window. "We've received word that Jervan has invited the Ravens."
I almost choked on my coffee. The Summit of Nations was an annual gathering of leaders from Kylae, Jervan, and Herin. Kylae had hosted the summit almost every year, and had made it clear that none of the other countries was to invite Rave. But this year, Jervan had offered to host and, apparently, expanded the invitation list.
"Wow," I said, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
"Wow is right," Mom said, distractedly watching the street. "Your father is considering not going."
"Oh, come on," I scoffed. "It's about time we at least sat in the same country as them. Might change some things."
"Speaking of changes, I want you to take Olivia Collins on a date."
"I... What?" I blinked. "No, Mom."
"How will you know if you don't try?"
"I don't want to try."
"Son, you're miserable. You survived the island, but you don't live. You just mope around that apartment and go to work and get into fights at grocery stores." The corners of her mouth twitched when I groaned. "It made for a good story, Gally."
"I'm not going out with Olivia."
"And why not? She's a lovely girl."
"She's not Theo."
Mom was silent then asked, "And you think Theo still feels the same way about you? Are you so sure she hasn't fallen out of love with you now that you don't have the threat of starvation hanging over your heads?"
I shifted in my seat and had no answer.
"All I'm asking is that you take Olivia on one date," Mom said, taking my hands. "Not for her sake, but for yours. Galian, you can't waste your life hoping for something that might never be yours again. Go on this date and see if you find the spark with this girl that you found with Theo."
I stared out the coffee shop window at the crowd that was doing its best to jostle for a glimpse of Her Majesty and myself.
"One date, Galian, please. As a favor to me."
I tilted my head back and said a silent prayer. I hated saying no to my mother. So I didn't. "Fine. One date. But I don't have to like it."
She beamed at me.
It wasn't two days later that I found myself staring in a mirror. My attire was semi-formal—crisp black pants, ironed button-up shirt (Thank God for Martin), dinner jacket. My face was a mixture of sheer terror and disgust that I was actually doing this. With a heavy sigh, I walked out into the living room. Martin gave me a once over and thumbs up, his mouth crammed with chips. Kader, who was the lucky one to accompany me on this farce, simply snorted in my direction.
"You're going to be late," he said.
"Yeah, yeah, one second," I said, going to the kitchen and locating the bottle of alcohol Martin always left in there. I took a long swig, then another.
"It's not that bad," Kader said.
"How can you be so sure? Have you done a background check on this woman?"
"She's a socialite. I doubt she's got skeletons," Kader replied lazily.
"She could be a sleeper agent."
"As if Rave has enough resources for something like that."
I closed the freezer and sighed. "What if I just don't want to go?"
"As much as I don't care about your dating life, I think this is good for you," Kader said. "Try and forget about Theo for the night."
It was hard to think about anything but Theo as the photographers had a field day with my dapper outfit as I left the apartment, and nearly wet themselves in excitement when my destination wasn't the hospital, but the fanciest restaurant in Norose. I could just imagine Theo's face when she found out.
My palms grew sweaty and I tried to quiet the voices reminding me that I should've been anywhere—Mael, or even the hospital—but this restaurant.
"Ah, Your Majesty, welcome to my restaurant." The hostess was beaming, although she looked a bit old to be a—She owned the restaurant, I realized with a small grimace. "Your date has not yet arrived, but shall I show you to your table?"
"Sure," I said, tossing one final, pleading look to Kader, but he'd already returned to the car. Unless I wanted to brave the photographers by myself, I was stuck.
I didn't have to wait long. Olivia arrived in a dress that was somehow refined and elegant (dare I say, princess-like) and yet still drew my attention to her breasts, her hips, and the shape of her calves in her heels. Her long hair was perfectly curled at the ends, and her perfect smile accentuated the perfect amount of makeup. I stood to greet her, aware that my photo was being taken by the flashes just outside the window.
"You look great," I said, gently kissing her cheek. I gestured to the madness outside. "Sorry about all that."
"It's part of it, I suppose." Ah, test number one failed. There were usually two types of women who dated me—those who hated the spotlight, and those who relished it. Judging by the way Olivia's gaze kept darting around the restaurant in satisfied superiority, I guessed she might be the latter.
Immediately, I heard my mother's voice in my head. Give her a shot, Gally. Her disembodied voice was right; what good was it to meet people if I never gave them more than five minutes?
"I have to admit, I was really surprised when you called," Olivia said, oblivious to my worry. "You didn't seem so interested at my father's party."
"In my defense, I'd just finished a twelve-hour shift," I said, not really hungry for the salad
that was placed in front of me. "And I was dragged there against my will. State dinners aren't my thing."
"Not since your time on the island?" Olivia asked. "What was it like there?"
I grimaced. The island was the last thing I wanted to talk about on a date with another woman. "Uh...cold," I said, my gaze sliding over to the crowd just outside the restaurant.
I jumped when her unfamiliar hand covered mine.
"Galian, I know that it was an ordeal, but you can trust me."
Her eyes glittered, and I caught myself wondering if it was another act. If she was simply there because I was Galian and a prince and she wanted the prestige. I opened my mouth to tell Olivia how it felt to be a piece of meat, but I couldn't force out the words. Would she even understand? Would she care or simply take the tale of woe out to the tabloids waiting outside?
"That sounds lonely." Theo's voice echoed in my head. When we'd talked about life under the spotlight, she'd understood immediately and hadn't judged me. And she, above everyone else, had the right to judge my complaints.
I looked at the fine wine in my glass and the green salad on my plate and I considered all the children at Mael, which continued to crank out weapons as sure as it killed the workers there. I had promised Theo I would save them and I'd done nothing—I didn't even bother to check up on what had happened to the prisoners who'd been there when I'd broken her out.
"Why do I get to live and they don't?" Why indeed, I wondered, gripping my knife with all the anger I felt toward myself. I wished I was the man Theo wanted me to be, but I was too cowardly. There I was on a date instead of standing in the middle of Mael and demanding it be shut down—
"Galian?" Olivia's voice cut through my near breakdown.
I released my grip on the knife and forced a smile onto my face. "Dessert?"
She smiled, but I saw it—that moment of nerves and pity. "You haven't even touched your dinner," she said softly. She thought me to be damaged.
Good, I thought, maybe now she won't want to be with me.
"Right," I said. "It's been a while since I've done this."
"I've made the prince of Kylae nervous. Well, isn't that something!"
We descended into awkward silence, and I began to fidget with the edge of the tablecloth. I had one move left to salvage this horrible dinner.
"So, tell me about your day?"
"Oh, well, it was just exhausting." I doubted that. "I spent all morning with my father, helping him finalize the trade agreement."
"Really?" I said, picking at my salad. "I didn't think you worked with him."
"Oh, Galian, did you think that I simply flitted around and went to art openings and fashion shows all day?"
"Er..." In fact, that was exactly what I thought she did all day.
"Daddy is growing older, and he's starting to groom me to take over the Collins empire in the next decade."
It was odd, then, that my mother was pushing me toward her. When she'd become queen, my mother had to give up her career at the university, as her duties as queen took most of her time. Then again, perhaps the wife of a spare prince was less busy than that of the queen of Kylae.
"This trade agreement has been the result of ten years' worth of work," she said, excitement lacing her voice. It was nice to see some sort of humanity from her for once. "We will be transporting five thousand tons of Jervanian wheat across the Madion Sea every year. Your father has spent millions of crowns on improvements at the port in Duran. It's created hundreds of jobs there, you know."
I nodded. Duran was a shithole of a port city last time I'd checked, so I was glad my father had invested in them.
"Unfortunately, the Jervans have seen fit to throw all that away," she said, her face growing darker. "They've invited that falsehood of a government in Thormondia—"
"Veres," I corrected quietly.
"Veres, Thormondia, whatever they wish to call their capital. It's a sham government. Corrupt as the day is long."
"Uh-huh." If I sounded anything like this when I was on the island with Theo, it was a small miracle she hadn't shot me dead with our flare gun.
"But now Jervan has invited them to the Three Nations' Summit," Olivia replied, placing her fork down. "As if they belong there like some real country. Your grandfather started that summit, you know. And for them to spit in our face like this is just..."
"I don't think that inviting Rave is spitting in our face," I mumbled, unable to keep my opinions to myself.
"Oh..." Her eyes widened, and a blush crossed her face. "I didn't realize you were one of them."
"Them?"
"You're right. It's not a slap in the face." Her face was a mask, but I guessed she was weighing whether being a princess was worth having to pretend she cared about the lives of a few hundred thousand people.
"You're free to have your opinion, Olivia," I replied. In fact, if she differed from me instead of acquiescing all the time, I might actually consider dating her. "You were saying something about the trade agreement going to hell?"
"Y-yes. We had planned on finalizing the agreement between Kylae and Jervan at the Summit. But now we have to make alternate arrangements. Your father is...well, he has mentioned he might scrap the entire deal. We might make the agreement with Herin instead. They don't have as much wheat, but they're willing to compensate in wood."
"Seems a bit of an overreaction."
She barked a laugh, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "You can't be serious, Galian. By inviting our colony, Jervan is giving them legitimacy. That's... They can barely keep their country together as it is."
"Maybe that's because we keep bombing them."
Again, her eyes widened. "Because they won't come back—"
"But why do we want that land in the first place?" I asked, sitting back. "Barethium? My father's ego?"
"Because it's ours."
"It was theirs first. And don't even start that line of thinking that they can't possibly be trusted to establish their own government. That's some Kylaen media bullshit to make the war easier to stomach."
Her mouth opened and she stared at me for a minute. "I see. It's no wonder you aren't speaking to your father."
"That and other reasons."
I was sorely tempted to tell her the truth, that my father had left me on the island to die. But I didn't. For one, I was fairly sure she was so far up my father's ass she could see out his nose. And for another, our argument had attracted the attention of some of the nearby tables. If I didn't want the media painting me as an abusive date, I needed to salvage this and fast.
"Olivia, I'm...sorry. This isn't really great date conversation," I said, sitting back. To smooth things over even more, I added, "I'm a little rusty at this."
Her eyes softened a little. "I understand."
"Why don't you tell me more about this art gallery your mother is opening?"
She graciously took the conversation change, and we spent the rest of our dinner in the realm of the civil. The further we veered from the war, the happier she looked. By dessert, she was back to the gaga eyes that might grace the front page of the papers tomorrow.
I was thankful that our dinner plans included a play, because it meant I didn't have to talk to her. I would've napped during the whole thing, except that Olivia seemed keyed into every move I made. She wrapped her arm around mine and rested her head on my shoulder. I almost imagined Theo by my side, but then I realized that Theo would never drag me to a play. She would consider it a complete and total waste of time.
"So what is this play about?" I whispered to Olivia as the orchestra began warming up.
"Based on an old Kylaen legend," she replied with a smile. "A story of two lovers from disagreeing families."
"Of course it is," I replied.
"Relationships are hard enough without even more complications," Olivia said, tightening her hold on me. "I'm so glad our families get along."
So we were in a relationship now? I prayed she wasn't expecting a ring
at the end of our first date.
Thankfully, the play began and our conversation ended. I watched it for a bit, two Kylaen actors bellowing flowery words of love and longing. In my opinion, it didn't hold a candle to breathless lovemaking in a cave and the quiet whisper of amichai on her lips. The conflict was that their families didn't see eye-to-eye, which elicited a hefty eye roll from me. If only our problem was simply our families and not two entire countries, life would be so much simpler.
"Oh, it's romantic," Olivia said, catching my expression. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed loudly enough for those around us to know she was happy.
Olivia was the definition of a wealthy Kylaen—poised and well-educated, with an undeserved sense of ownership over Rave. What would it take to change her mind, and the minds of the rest of the Kylaens of her status? She spoke about Rave like it was nothing but a petulant child, digging its feet in and demanding dessert. She had no idea about its fierce patriotism, its culture, the country's beautiful brown eyes shimmering in the firelight.
And yet, I wondered: if I'd never met Theo, if I'd never crashed on the island, would I have married Olivia? Would I be on this date with Olivia, wondering if sitting through this play would result in a hefty sexual favor?
I gave myself a little more credit. Even before Theo, the war hadn't sat well with me, and I doubted pre-island me would've stood for what Olivia had said.
Pre-island Galian would've sat quietly and let her talk, simmering in silent anger and not doing a damned thing about it. So the only change was that I'd learned how to speak my thoughts to those who had no power to change anything.
Pathetic.
When the play was over, the tabloid photographers were there when we walked to my car, but Martin was the one waiting for me instead of Kader. I didn't ask why the sudden change in guards, as I didn't want to arouse Olivia's suspicion and Martin was too busy keeping the photographers back.
I slid in next to Olivia and heard Martin slam the driver's door. He'd been nice enough to raise the divider, and I wondered if he truly thought that this date was going to go that well. Or maybe he was just encouraging me.
The Complete Madion War Trilogy Page 25
