Lunch is with the royal family, except for Faith. Like other times, the queen is a truly charming woman. She makes sure I’m comfortable and gently steers the conversation toward harmless topics, like whether I’m enjoying my stay at the palace or if her son and I plan to join the same group when we form them at the academy.

  Oh my gosh. That question catches me completely off guard. Of course I’d love to be with Vincent and all my friends… but groups can only have five people. And we haven’t even talked about it yet. Maybe Vincent wants to lead his own team and, honestly, I’m not sure I’d want to be under his command.

  Before, sure, because I know he’s a great leader. But now that I’m in Convergence leader mode, I’m starting to not feel comfortable unless I’m the one in charge.

  As for the other attendees, it’s just the king and Sigfrig. Vincent has another sister, much younger than Lily, but she isn’t at the palace right now. She’s staying with her grandfather in a friend’s county. And aside from a few siblings of the king and queen who are married and living in other kingdoms, as far as I know, there aren’t any more members of the royal family.

  The king only joins the conversation from time to time, usually to answer something his wife asks him directly. Sigfrig is the same way. He doesn’t say a word unless his mother speaks to him, and when she does, I notice he doesn’t seem nearly as arrogant or full of himself as when he assumed being his fiancée was the greatest honor a girl could aspire to.

  Hmm...

  The king and queen seem like monarchs with their heads on straight. Maybe their son is faking it with them, to secure the throne? What would happen if they saw his true face? Do they know about Catrina?

  Well, too many unanswered questions. Certainly, during dinner Sigfrig seems like the queen’s spoiled son, but not an egomaniac who could endanger the kingdom to satisfy his own needs. And Vincent treats his brother with affection and respect.

  I have to tell him what Sigfrig intended to do with me. I can’t hide it from him. A relationship can’t be built on deception. But will he believe me?

  If his brother is also faking it with him, maybe he’ll think I’m lying or exaggerating.

  That’s why (and because I was still digesting both the Sigfrig thing and the Sol thing) I haven’t told him anything yet.

  Honestly, my prince’s opinion matters a lot to me and I wouldn’t want him to feel I’ve disappointed him. But one of the things I like about him is his maturity. Maybe a guy his age would take it badly, but I’m sure Vincent will know how to handle the hard truth of my words.

  Decided!

  Later, when we’re alone, I’ll tell him.

  Should I also tell him about Sol?

  Ugh...

  That one goes to Ronan first. He’s the darkness expert. He might even give me advice on how to tell Vincent without him feeling disappointed. After all, they see me as some kind of heroine, with my light magic and my affinity for spirits. And an affinity for darkness feels almost more like a demon king than a heroine. Or maybe it’s me, since I know about the contract, I’m being too harsh on dark mages. After all, quite a few of them hold important positions in the kingdom.

  Whatever, Ronan first.

  I’ll bring it up when we talk about Bloodwynne. By the way, the pup killed an important noble. So far, I haven’t heard anything about his death. How did the cult cover it up? I mean, the church.

  “So, are you going to see your friends this afternoon?” the queen asks us.

  “Could they come see us instead, Mother? Bianca didn’t really like being the center of attention when we visited the capital.”

  “Oh, that’s a problem, dear,” she says, looking at me. Yes, she’s gotten comfortable enough with me that she now calls me that in private. “You see, as the future wife of one of the princes, they see you as a symbol. I know at first it can be hard to go from being able to walk anonymously down the street to having an ever-growing group of citizens wanting to greet you. But that’s what comes with the position. In smaller cities, it happens less, or they might not even recognize you in a remote village. In any case, I think since they just found out Vincent is engaged, they wanted to see and meet you. So don’t worry. I’m convinced all that attention was just a one-time thing.”

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  One-time or not, how do I tell her without offending her that I’m a normal girl and I don’t want to turn into a freaking superstar overnight? Like on Earth, where a superstar can’t even go out for coffee in peace. There’s no tabloid press here, at least. Nobody camps out at the palace gates to see the king or queen leave (I think). But otherwise, going through the capital streets with Vincent felt like being a celebrity, complete with bodyguards and a car ready in case they needed to get us out of there.

  I imagine it’s because they’re like fairy tale monarchs, very beloved by their citizens and very high up in social status.

  “I understand, Eleanor. Do you go out in the capital very often?”

  She tilts her head, takes a sip of her white wine, and answers:

  “Actually, not much. Besides, we usually give notice and stop at the main square, so they can greet us. Mothers like to show us their babies. They think it’s lucky if we hold them. Some give us handmade gifts; others just want to greet us. We’re a symbol and we have a policy of charging the minimum possible taxes, of filling our coffers with the dungeons, something neighboring kingdoms don’t do. That’s why they hold us in such high esteem.”

  “Darius and Karina can come, right?” Vincent repeats, seeing we’re getting off topic.

  “Of course, Son. You know Karina has always been welcome, ever since she was a child. I don’t know much about Darius—his father has lands near the border—but I’m sure he’s a good boy, being your friend.”

  “And he’s defending the honor of your necromancer friend,” the king intervenes without his wife asking him.

  Uh, does that mean he’s interested in Ronan?

  “Ronan is a very good friend. He may have dark magic, but he cares about us.”

  “Duskmere has spoken to me about him. He assisted him in an investigation. I was going to ask you this in private, Vincent, but we’re really among family now.” He looks at me, and I get the impression he wants me to hear this as well. “I’d like you to continue being his friend. The kingdom would benefit greatly from having such a skilled necromancer working with us.”

  “Father, you already know what I think.” Vincent’s expression hardens slightly. “I can help you and my brother with diplomatic matters, but friendship is another thing. Ronan is my friend because he is, not because I want anything from him.”

  Good for my Vincent!

  “Besides, he already rejected the contract you offer students with special potential,” I intervene, somewhat worried. Ronan won’t like it if they try to pressure him.

  The queen places a hand on her husband’s arm and intervenes. I see Sigfrig watching us with great interest.

  Bad.

  Sigfrig should leave Ronan alone. When he finds out what Sigfrig tried to do to me, I’ll probably have to order him not to kill the crown prince and raise him as a zombie afterward. He doesn’t need any more reasons to do something I’d end up regretting later.

  Yes: me, not Ronan.

  Because Ronan’s moral boundaries are clearly marked in his head and, from what I’ve seen, they’re different from mine.

  (Maryyy, where are you when I need you?)

  “Son, don’t worry. We would never ask you for something like that. Thalador only meant to say it’s wonderful that you’re friends with a young man who can do so much good for the kingdom.”

  I see Sigfrig look at his brother in a calculating way. The queen notices and frowns slightly.

  “Ronan is Ronan. In fact, the one he gets along with best is Bianca. They’re such good friends that at first, I thought there might be some romantic interest between them,” he says while looking at me apologetically.

  I smile at the absurdity of the idea.

  Me and Ronan... not a chance. That boy only came after me because of my contract with the divine beast. Mary, however, is another story. I’ve seen the special tenderness with which he treats her. And vice versa.

  “You know it’s always been you,” I answer somewhat self-consciously, seeing everyone watching me expecting a response. I even notice my cheeks burning.

  Because it’s true. It’s always been him. I didn’t care about guys and my prince snuck into my heart almost without me noticing.

  “How beautiful, the love of young betrothed,” the queen sighs. “A shame Faith had to leave, Son. You’ll miss her.” She looks at Sigfrig.

  “Of course, Mother. But she’ll be back soon.”

  I can’t imagine him faking love in front of his family. His thing with Faith, as he’s shown me, is a marriage of pure convenience.

  In any case, lunch ends and, when the time comes for Darius and Karina to come see us at the palace, the first thing the blonde girl says, true to her impulsive fire personality, is:

  “Have you heard the latest? They almost delayed tomorrow’s duel. Black Death, the famous duelist, had an accident. They’ve canceled all of today’s duels in mourning.”

  “Wasn’t that Damien’s father?” Vincent asks.

  “Yes.”

  I try to keep a poker face as I ask:

  “An accident? What happened?”

  What did the cult do? Did they throw his corpse on a road or something?

  Because it’s been almost a day.