For the remainder of the day, I stayed in my room, brooding, and not sure what I was supposed to do with myself.

I almost regretted not accompanying Allera and Brentley on their walk. Then again, I also didn’t. Who would want to tag along for that kind of awkwardness?

But it all left me distinctly alone.

A servant brought lunch to my room. I ate it by myself, not knowing the name of any dish on my tray. The food here didn’t taste the same as it did in High Cliff. It wasn’t worse, but the flavors were definitely different, rich with foreign spices. If I were in any other frame of mind, I probably would’ve enjoyed the explosion of new flavors. But I mostly just picked around with my fork, shifting the meal from one side of my plate to the other. It was hard to concentrate on food when the urge to seek out my one true love took up so much of my thoughts.

When dinnertime came, I planned to do much of the same, moping around my room, but the servant who showed up at my door didn’t bring a tray of food this time. He brought a summons. I guess when you were royalty, it was mandatory to dine every evening with the king, whether you wanted to or not.

After taking one look at my dusty clothes, the servant discreetly cleared his throat and recommended I change my attire into something more appropriate.

And so commenced a crapload of grumbling as I climbed into my stiff formal wear, not at all happy I was going to be forced to do this every fucking night. By the time I entered the dining hall a quarter of an hour later, I was the last royal to arrive, a fact which did not sit well with the queen.

“Prince Urban,” she greeted in a scathing voice as she sent me an icy glare. “So nice of you to finally grace us with your presence. You do realize dinner starts at half past six every evening, do you not?”

I sent her a bored glance, trying to ignore the way my blood heated from merely seeing the elbow of her sister from the corner of my eye. “Apologies, Your Majesty,” I droned out as I paused to present her with a low bow I didn’t feel like giving. “But in fact, I did not know. Thank you for informing me.”

She narrowed her eyes but didn’t reply, so I turned my attention to the empty space between Allera and Princess Nicolette.

Figuring this must be my assigned place from here on out, I went to seat myself, only for my sister to lean toward me and hiss, “What is wrong with you?”

I sent her a short glance, whispering back, “Nothing. It’s nice to see you too.”

The meal began around us, and everyone else promptly dug in. Apparently waiting on me had truly strengthened their appetites. There was definitely more eating than talking, a gusto which I did not replicate. I picked up my spoon, but instead of tasting whatever kind of lumpy white sauce sat in my bowl, I simple stirred it idly, not really hungry, as I attempted to ignore the incessant prickling from my mark.

Another two courses passed before Allera leaned toward me, murmuring, “You’re going to offend everyone if you don’t eat something.”

“Bite me,” I muttered, just loud enough for Nicolette to hear.

The young princess blurted out a laugh and promptly reached for her napkin to cover her mouth, muffling the sound.

The king and everyone else on the other side of the L-shaped table glanced our way.

Blushing, Nicolette cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me,” to the room at large. “Must’ve swallowed something that tickled my throat.”

The others went back to eating. Allera cast me a telling scowl as if she knew Nicolette’s embarrassment was my fault before she returned her attention to her meal. I moodily stabbed my fork into a white piece of rubbery, meat-like substance and lifted it closer, frowning.

Jerking my elbow Nicolette’s way, I lightly tapped her on the arm to get her attention. “What is this, anyway?” I asked under my breath.

On the other side of me, Brentley had engaged Allera in conversation, and she was speaking avidly to him. I furrowed my brows as I watched them. Huh, they truly seemed to enjoy each other’s company.

I guess that meant their walk in the gardens had gone well.

“It’s scorpion,” Nicolette said from my other side, answering my question.

I zipped her an incredulous glance. “Scorpion? Seriously?”

“Yes.” Her lips tightened as she worked to keep in another laugh. Then she nodded encouragingly, her eyes dancing with humor. “Try dipping it in the butter sauce. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

I squinted my eyes warily, then shrugged and did as she suggested. Once the morsel hit my tongue, my eyebrows shot up. It tasted rather like lobster. And Nicolette had been right; slathered with spiced butter sauce, it was simply decadent. I finished the rest of the scorpion on my plate in moments.

“Thanks,” I told the young princess, flashing her a grateful grin. “Your suggestion proved quite fortunate.”

Nicolette beamed as if she’d accomplished a heroic deed. Then she asked, “How was your first full day at the Iron Castle?”

I glanced toward my sister again as she laughed over something Brentley said. In response, his face turned bright red with pleasure, and he grinned back.

“It was…lonely,” I said before I could quite check myself.

Thank goodness, Nicolette was the only person to hear me, but still, it was mortifying enough to turn her way and find her looking sympathetically sad.

“Oh, but there’s so much you can do here,” she started, nodding with encouragement. “Why, you could… Or… Or there’s…” A small frown-wrinkle appeared between her eyes as she thought about it. Then she blew out a depressed breath and leaned closer. “Truth be told, I get bored to tears every day, which is probably why I get into more trouble than I should.”

I gave a low chuckle. “I understand completely, my lady. It’s as if you just described my childhood at High Cliff entirely.”

“Truly?” She beamed up at me as she realized I did comprehend her plight. “But I’m sure there are plenty of things for old people to do here.”

My eyebrows rose. “Old?”

Her cheeks immediately brightened. “I mean… You know… Merely more advanced in their years than I. Your age.”

“Ah,” I murmured thoughtfully. “I’m old, then. I hadn’t realized.” When she covered her face with her hands and moaned an apology, I had to laugh some more. Her embarrassment was adorable. Princess Nicolette was a sweet kid.

“We have board games,” she rushed to say, trying to save herself. “Like chess and… And…”

But she needn’t say more. She had me at—

“Chess? You play that here, too?”

Thank God! Chess was something I could actually do to help pass the time.

“Well…” Nicolette winced ruefully. “I’ve never actually played it myself; I don’t know how. But I know Brentley can, and sometimes Caulder will.”

“Do you want to learn?” I asked. “I could teach you.” Teaching chess might actually take up more time than simply playing against someone who already knew how. I hoped she was willing. I needed something to fill my days, or I’d go mad.

Nicolette’s face lit up. “Would you? Really?” She gazed at me as if I’d just saved her life. “That would be marvelous. Thank you. We can start directly after dinner if you’d like.”

“I’d be honored,” I started, only for the queen to clear her throat loudly enough to gain the attention of everyone at the table.

“Don’t you have math or spelling lessons or something with your tutor after dinner, Nicolette?” she asked pointedly.

The princess wrinkled her nose as she stared back. “No. All my tutoring sessions end before noon, Your Majesty. And I believe you explicitly forbade my tutors from teaching me my numbers past adding and subtracting.”

Yasmin merely lifted her nose. “Yes, well. Like I said, there’s no need for a lady of substance to learn such frivolous subjects. You’ll thank me one day when your husband wishes you to sing a pretty tune for him, when all you would’ve been able to do otherwise is divide four from twelve.”

“It’s three, you old hag,” Nicolette muttered under her breath.

No one else could hear her but me, of course, but that didn’t mean the queen hadn’t seen her lips move.

“What was that?” Yasmin demanded, narrowing her eyes.

Flushing, Nicolette cleared her throat. “I said, yes, I understand completely.”

Yasmin clearly didn’t believe her. Scowling haughtily, she opened her mouth to say something, but her sister suddenly blurted, “Princess Allera!”

I’d been doing so well at mostly ignoring her presence in the room. But the moment her voice entered my ear, a jolt of need flushed through me, chilling and heating my skin like a lust-filled rash. Damn, but I liked her voice. It was low and melodious, like a mother singing her child to sleep. And yet, despite the peaceful qualities infused within it, it stirred an anxiousness in me, a want and need that fueled my blood like a drug.

I was instantly aroused.

Next to me, my sister jumped to attention before turning from Brentley and wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Yes, my lady?” she finally said.

Lady Vienne’s smile was tense as she glanced cautiously between Nicolette and Yasmin. As she turned her gaze back to my sister and pressed a hand against her heart, I realized she was trying to divert the queen and princess’s attention away from having an argument. “Sorry for the interruption,” she started. “But I just remembered I wanted to thank you for the gift you left outside my chamber door today.”

Oh…shit.

Realizing this could go south so very quickly, I sank lower in my seat and became quite fascinated with the salad a servant had just set before me.

Next to me, Allera froze solid before slowly saying, “G-gift, my lady?”

“Yes.” Vienne’s voice was filled with rueful embarrassment. “I didn’t realize our conversation about my passion for grumpackers would prompt you into leaving two heaping baskets of them outside my bedchamber, but I’m most delighted by them. Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness.”

“I…” Allera started slowly, only for Brentley to exclaim, “Oh! Is that why I had to show your brother the way to the market square earlier? So he could procure the baskets of fruit for you, my lady? Now, it makes sense.”

Allera stared at him blankly a moment before she sharply turned my way. I sent her a quick, mute—guilty—glance. The scowl she returned told me I was going to be in so much trouble as soon as she got me somewhere alone.

But then her smile bloomed, and she turned back to Vienne. “Well, I was just… I was inspired, my lady, by…by our conversation this morning. And I… I wanted to make a good impression on you.”

Vienne nodded gracefully. “Well, it worked. Thank you again.”

“Anytime.”

Under the table, Allera grabbed my leg and sunk her fingernails harshly into my thigh, warning me of what I already knew was coming.

I wasn’t wrong, either. As soon as the meal finished, and it seemed safe enough for me to leave without “offending” anyone, I rose from my chair and strode—not fled, but very masculinely strode—from the hall.

Once I found myself alone in the corridor, I picked up my pace, thinking that if only I could make it back to my room before Allera did, I could bar the door against her for the rest of the night. Because I definitely wasn’t in the mood for another lecture from my sister, again.

I hurried around one corner, and then another before I almost plowed directly into the woman who stood, waiting for me, scowl in place and arms crossed over her chest as the toe of her slipper peeked out from the hem of her dress where she tapped it ominously against the floor.

Dammit. Why did she have to learn her way around this place faster than I had?

“Sister,” I said casually, even though my breath was a bit winded from the pace I’d been keeping.

“Brother,” she bit out before she reached forward and grabbed my ear. “Have you lost your damn mind?”