American Queen

“Embry Moore,” I supplied, the sudden rush of adrenaline making my head spin. I felt outside of myself, like I was floating, like I was drifting backwards in time, back to Ash and our kiss four years ago. Back to the courtyard this afternoon, his hand in my hair and his eyes on my throat, like a hungry vampire. God, I couldn’t stop seeing his face in that moment, couldn’t stop feeling his body pressed against mine.

“Right,” Abilene said, letting go of me and clapping her hands together, “Embry Moore. And then you can meet Embry and I’ll meet Maxen, and everybody will fall in love and live happily ever after.” She said it with a laugh that could have been self-deprecating, as if she understood how ridiculous the whole idea was, but all the same, her eyes shone with the kind of dangerous Abilene energy that meant she was about to get her way. I’d seen that energy before every lacrosse game, before every meeting with the headmaster, every night before she’d swung her leg out of the dorm room window to sneak out.

And for the first time in four years, my little lie of omission suddenly seemed a lot less little.

I almost opened my mouth to tell her—well, I don’t know what exactly I planned on saying—but she interrupted me by shoving my purse into my hands.

“We’re going shopping,” she declared. “And we aren’t stopping until we find the perfect outfit.”

And as usual, I let myself get swept up in her plans. Who knew what the night might bring? Ash might change his mind about going, or he might change his mind about talking to me at all. Dread soured my stomach, even as a part of me realized it might be for the best. It would hurt awfully, but it wouldn’t hurt as much as losing Abilene’s friendship.

Would it?

Merlin’s party was on the rooftop of an upscale hotel overlooking the Chicago River, and by the time Abilene and I arrived, it was well underway. While Grandpa went early because he planned on leaving early to catch a late meeting, Abilene had insisted we get there an hour after the party’s start time, so that we didn’t look desperate or worse—get forced into making small talk with inconsequential people. I rolled my eyes at that, but I didn’t argue. I was still twisted up in knots about going—about Ash—and it didn’t take much to convince me to hide in my room for another hour.

But when we got there, I had to agree that Abilene had made the right decision. It was so much easier to step off the elevator and melt into a crowd of boozy chatter than it was to stand around awkwardly and stare at the newcomers walking in. I offered to get Abilene and I each a drink and slipped away from her, tugging self-consciously at the short hem of the raspberry mini-dress Abilene had somehow talked me into buying.

“Miss Galloway,” came a voice from behind me.

Startled, I turned to see Merlin himself standing behind me in line, elegant as always in a three-piece suit. Even the strong breeze ruffling his black hair looked refined. But all that elegance couldn’t hide the dislike that glittered in his onyx eyes or the displeasure pulling at the corners of his thin mouth.

“Mr. Rhys,” I said politely, making to turn back around, my chest thudding with nervousness.

He caught my arm before I could turn away and steered me away from the line, towards the far corner of the patio. “I know you are here because of your grandfather,” he said once no one could hear us, “and because of the love I bear him, I won’t ask you to leave. But you should.”

“You want me to leave?” I asked, stunned. Of all the things to worry about tonight, that had never occurred to me. That I actually wouldn’t be welcome.

“Of course.”

“Of course?” I repeated. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong? Do you…hate me…or something?”

“Hate is a word used by the young,” he said, looking at me with an exasperated, chastising look. “I have no reason to hate you. Surely it must occur to you that I don’t act or speak without a good reason to do so.”

“And there’s a good reason why you don’t want me here tonight?”

At that, Merlin’s face softened, and when I did, I saw that underneath his sharp, predatory gaze, he was a handsome man. Handsome and tired, like Ash had been when I met him. “There is a good reason. And it’s that I don’t want to see you or someone else I care about hurt. But I suppose it might be too late for that.” He sighed and stretched his neck. “Do you remember that night in London, when you kissed Maxen?”

Heat rose to my cheeks. “Yes. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Another sigh. “It is my business. I don’t like that it is, but I can’t help a lot of things I don’t like. You see, I care a lot about Maxen. I believe someday very soon, he’s going to be more than a hero. I think he’s going to be a leader. But a leader is only as powerful as the people around him, and it matters which people he surrounds himself with.”

I bristled at that. “I’m not a bad person, Mr. Rhys. And I’m not a weak or stupid person either.”

“Oh, no,” Merlin said, shaking his head, “you misunderstand me. You are absolutely none of those things. You are too much of the opposite.”

I had no idea whether that was a compliment or a warning, but I did know that I wasn’t willing to let go of Ash, not for Merlin. “I’m not convinced.”

Merlin gave me a sad smile. “The thing is, Miss Galloway, you don’t need to be convinced. It’s over now, for better or for worse.” And then he took my shoulders and turned me to face the other guests, and the noise of the party faded until there was only the sound of my sharp, staccato breath and the wind blowing off the lake.