Contents ( 48)
- Dedication
- Map
- Contents
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Three Months Later
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- About the Author
- Books by Kiera Cass
- Back Ad
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
She stood behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “No one ever wanted to make you choose, Hollis.”
“Etan did.”
“Well, Etan has taken several blows to the head at tournaments over the years, so ignore him. You can be both, Hollis. You can embrace both.”
I inhaled. “That would be nice.”
“You have plenty of time to work on it. For now, we have a banquet to attend.”
I quickly got into my gown, and Scarlet laced me in. It felt like learning to breathe again, looking at the girl who had swept Jameson off his feet.
I walked confidently into the main room to meet the family, arm in arm with Scarlet.
“Don’t you two look lovely?” Aunt Jovana said, placing her hand to her heart. “It’s done me so good to have girls around again.”
Etan was watching this all unfold as well. The stubble from this afternoon was now gone, and his hair was slightly tamer than usual since he’d cleaned himself after the joust. He was still wearing that air of confidence that came with a big win, and, surprisingly, he was smiling as I approached.
Our family chattered away as everyone pulled at each other’s hems and straightened collars. We all needed to look pristine. I shook my head at them, loving them, even in a state of nervousness. And then I turned to Etan.
He wasn’t so terrible looking when he smiled. Some might even call him handsome. And it made me calmer somehow, knowing I was walking into that room with someone I could trust.
“You do look lovely,” he commented quietly.
I sighed. “And you’ll do.”
He chuckled, and I slid my fingers into his waiting hand.
Twenty
ALL EYES WERE ON ME as we entered the Great Room. Rather, all eyes were on my escort.
“Good evening, Etan.”
“Nice to see you again, Etan.”
“Why, Etan! How well you look tonight.”
It was a chorus of compliments raining down on him with every painful step to the front of the room.
He acknowledged them for as long as he could, then retreated by looking at the floor, laughing to himself.
“Never going to marry, my eye,” I spat.
“It’d be a shame for me to break so many hearts,” he joked.
“It’d be a shame for you to breed,” I retorted. He laughed so loud, it seemed like half the room turned to see what was so funny, only to see the hero of the day shaking his head at a girl from Coroa.
As predicted, the mood in the room was light. It was also much noisier in here than it had been the night before, and growing uncomfortably warm. But the musicians were playing, and the courses were spilling from their plates, and so I tried to enjoy the evening while I could.
There was only one small problem.
I had expected that Valentina and I might have to wait a long time to meet, or that more eyes than I could guess might be watching us. What I hadn’t expected was the possibility that Valentina might not be there at all.