Dominic's horsey laughter dissolved my anger, and I addressed Erick's refusal with a grin. "You don't get a choice in that. I don't want to be with you."
Erick's jaw tightened, but he didn't flinch. "Unfortunately," Luke said in a voice full of regret, "you must keep him at your side, even after the trials."
"What?" I whipped my head toward Luke, my voice trembling with disbelief. "Why?"
Luke took a slow sip of water before answering, as though he were trying to prepare himself for the huge fit of rage I was about to have.
"Because," he began, placing his glass down, "as part of the role of queen, each consort must have equal time with you each year."
My aunt nodded as if this were perfectly acceptable. "It's a tradition that's been around for centuries, Madeline. The burden of the crown."
"I sympathize with that bread," I muttered, watching as my aunt tore apart a roll with almost surgical precision.
Then, I faced Luke again, my expression turning mulish. "No, nuh-uh, nyet!" I shook my head in case he didn't understand .
Erick's fists clenched around the silverware he held. "I wouldn't make you see me, Hum--My Lady. But since I've been chosen, I mean to take my role seriously." He raised his sleeve and showed me a faded cat-shaped mark. "This was the mark of the geas. As I told you before, it's no longer controlling me."
Beth made a choking noise and twisted in her chair to face away from him. I glanced at her with a twinge of empathy. Betrayal sucked, didn't it Beth?
Despite the geas disappearing, I still didn't want Erick.
"I'm glad you're free, but you could have told me ages ago that you were already spoken for."
My aunt interrupted the beginning of my tirade. "No. If his geas didn't allow it, he couldn't have." She looked down her nose at me. "But someone like you wouldn't understand that."
Luis slammed his palms on the table, making the silverware jump. "Are you kidding me with this crap?"
I reached for his hand, trying to calm him. "Luis, breathe."
But Luis wasn't calming down. His chest heaved with fury, and through our bond, I could feel itâanger, jealousy, a possessiveness so fierce it nearly overwhelmed me.
Regina sneered, clearly relishing the chaos. "It's never ideal when your court is made," she said with thinly veiled contempt. "I don't care for all of mine either."
Her mother nodded, adding her own venom. "If the Brigid had fulfilled her duties, we wouldn't be in this mess. The never-ending winter would never have happened."
That did it. I shot to my feet, waving the butter knife in their direction. "You take that back."
Luke raised a calming hand, his voice cutting through the tension. "The never-ending winter began because they tried to murder my Lady Madeline."
Regina's sneer deepened. "If the Brigid hadn't had Elect Madeline, none of this would have happened."
I opened my mouth to retort, but Dominic's grip on my shoulders tightened, grounding me before I could go off the rails completely. His voice, though calm, held steel. "Why do you two harpies keep calling her The Brigid? Brigid was her name."
Both of the women gasped, clearly upset by a man daring to confront them like that.
Athalia raised her chin, her cold gaze settling on me. "Brigid is the name taken by the Principi. When the Elect becomes the avatar of Lady Duir, she loses her true name. The Brigid broke the link with Duir and sinned when she conceived you."
My blood boiled, and it took every ounce of willpower not to throw the butter knife at her.
Luke's fury was colder than the snow outside. "Elect Regina, I believe you and your mother should leave. Now."
A servant whispered to my aunt and Regina, and they left with him. But before they did, my aunt said, "Despite the prophecies, I am certain Regina will win." She patted her daughter's arm as they exited the dining room.
The way she said it felt... a little ominous.
"We'll remember your name for you," Dominic whispered into my ear. I appreciated the sentiment, but I intended to remember my name, regardless.
I watched the door close behind my aunt and Regina, then shrugged. Part of me didn't care if Regina won. Would it still fix Aleria? Maybe. That meant I could go back to Earth, back to my life. That thought should have comforted me, but something gnawed at meâa feeling that leaving might not be so simple anymore.
I turned back to Luke. "What else should I know before I go to this ceremony this evening?"
Luke sighed, rubbing his temples as if I'd just asked him to solve a riddle with no answer. "Many things," he admitted, his eyes closing briefly. "Far too many things than the small bit of information I gave you earlier."
Great. I knew I was bound to mess everything up. "How about you at least give me a shortlist of the most important things you forgot to mention already?"
"Very well. Rule one, remember, this is the land of the Fae. Do not make any deals or take any gifts. If someone gifts you something, you must either pay for it or owe them a favor. Also, remember not to thank anyone."
"Uh oh."
"Uh oh?" Luke's mouth tightened at the corners. "What do you mean, 'uh oh'?"
"Well... first... I can't remember if I had thanked anyone here. But, second, I uh... already took a gift, I think... and last... well... I made a deal..." I cringed.
"You did all of this... in this house, and within less than twenty-four hours?" He rubbed his face and ran his fingers through his wavy hair. "Explain."
"Welllll.... when I woke up, my aunt gave me my mother's jewelry. Then, this guy named Ciaran appeared and offered to help me if I let him be part of my court - which, I remind you, I had no idea what that meant. So I said yes, and he left." I left out the part about the key he'd left behind, which I now realized was a gift of sorts. Even if I hadn't explicitly agreed for him to be in my court, I still took the key. Dang it.
"Mother Duir, help us..." Luke swore in a whisper. "Your cousin is your rival, and your aunt may use her leverage over you to gain the upper hand. And Ciaran? I believe I know this man. Can you describe him again?"
"Pink hair, Asian, loud dresser, flashy attitude." He was also pretty attractive, but I kept that to myself. Now that I thought about him, I had a strange longing to see him again.
Luke rubbed his face again. "I know him. He is a known trickster, but your agreement that he is part of your court will stand. Your agreement may likely have made him bound to you in the same way the rest of us were."
"Well, if it did, that means I had already found another consort right? One down, one to go?"
He didn't look comforted by my statement. "While that my be, the part where you received something from your aunt? This may hurt our chances of winning."
"How did her aunt gain access to her room?" Luis asked as he rose to stand next to me and put his hands on my shoulders. The roots were definitely doing something weird to us. Luis had never wanted to touch me this much.
Beth paled and took a sudden interest in the silverware pattern. Of course. Her again. The blonde thorn in my side.
Elsie addressed Luke. "May I suggest something, My Lord?"
"Speak, banmuinen," Luke said.
"It must have been Emerlee," Elsie continued and I resumed my attention on her, but not without a growing annoyance. Beth was going to spill all her tea, or I would shove the teacup down her throat. "She was the original owner of that room, after all. No one gave us our task to wait on The Elect Madeline until the morning, My Lord."
"Very true." Luke exhaled wearily. "What did Duchess Athalia give you? Perhaps we can return it."
"My mother's jewelry box." I wouldn't be returning it.
"How clever," he said grudgingly. "You can't return it. I'm sure there must be some condition your mother placed on the box when she gave it to your aunt. You would break it by giving it back."
I was glad he agreed with me, but even if he hadn't, Aunt Athalia wouldn't be getting her hands on it ever again.
I shrugged. It sounded like I was screwed, but maybe she'd done me a favor? Well, I didn't have time at that moment. "Okay, we'll table this new fresh hell for now. What else do I need to know?"
"You will first meet the nobles of the land, and there will be those that wish to curry favor with you. There might be a last-minute bid to be part of your court. Never be rude to anyone there. Keep in mind that as an Elect, you have a station slightly above the Nobles, so no need to kneel to them. However, in the Goddess's presence, you must kneel. Keep veiled at all times as it is a gift to look upon a woman's eyes, and none of them are worthy, My Lady."
I made a rude noise at that. I already hated wearing a veil, and this all sounded like the bag of hoo-ha that people told women about why they had to follow a bunch of rules that men didn't have to follow. At Luke's weary expression, I huffed out a "Fine."
He stared at me with doubt for a minute or two, and I glared. Then he continued with his lesson. "The first act that you do once Duir asks you to approach her is to receive the slice of the blade of glory. If you are impure, the blade will cut you. If you succeed, Duir will assign you your three trials. One is physical, one is mental, and one is spiritual. We won't learn what they are until after the Becoming ceremony. The first trial will be announced at the Temple the next day."
"What are you talking about with this blade thing?" Adrian sounded affronted on my behalf, and I smiled at him.
"All the participants have to submit to a purity test. I will try to prevent it, but it is part of the ceremony." Luke pinched his nose as he waited for the ensuing outrage.
"Oh, Heck No, Matt. They can all freeze their asses off if they want to. You ain't doin' that," Adrian said as he shot from his seat.
I grimaced. No way would I endure something like that.
Adrian addressed Luke. "Dude, what do you think you're doing? First, you kidnap my Ace, then you try to make her into something's she not? Why does she have to do this crap for you?"
I was touched that Adrian was standing up for me and that he'd called me his Ace, "The only reason I'm doing this is for you guys. I'm mad too, but if any of you three got hurt because of me, I'd die."
Adrian's shoulders slumped. "I don't care about me, Ace. This ain't right."
I could tell from the feeling of hopelessness twining between us like a rough rope that he knew we were stuck for now. I walked around the table and hugged him. "Thank you. With you helping me out, I know we'll figure it out."
"With all of us together, Matty," Dom said as he raised a roll at me in salute. I nodded at him in agreement.
As he rose from the table, Luke bowed. "I will do what I can to help you avoid being given the blade. For now, spend the rest of the afternoon with your banmuinen preparing for the party. They will help teach you dance steps and basic table manners and make sure you are presentable."
When he left, I released Adrian from my hug and looked around with false cheer. "What are you guys doing? We're stuck here, so we better at least eat something. If we escape, we'll need our strength."
Beth scraped her chair back and turned to leave.
"Where do you think you're going?" I said as I plopped back down onto my chair.
She turned and gave me an icy glare. "Back to the my room?"
"You heard Luke. You're staying and making me look nice. I have to get hitched to your fiancé, and I don't want to get my wedding ring with dirty fingernails. And I think you meant to say, 'Back to my room, My Lady,' right?"
Was I petty? Yes, I was. Since I was stuck with this situation, for now, I could be petty, right?
Right??