The hardest part will be getting out of the hotel without anyone noticing me. I don’t expect them to since I barely recognize myself. My guard and I have the whole floor to ourselves and when I go down the back staircase instead of the elevator, that solves the problem of seeing anyone. The stairway is empty and each step I take echoes. I look in every direction as I step into the parking garage, not sure where I am. We never enter through the main lobby, so it takes a minute to get my bearings.
Not a single person stops me or does a double take like they normally do. My hair has always given me away; I’ll be using this wig a lot more often if it gives me this anonymity. Being seen as an equal by my father and my freedom are always just out of my grasp. I spend most of my time sheltered at home with guards twenty-four hours a day. I never do anything to cause my father worry, so doing this now gives me an incredible rush, but at the same time, I feel like I’m doing something horribly wrong.
You’re twenty-two and have never done anything wrong in your life, live it up for once, I try to tell myself. And while it does feel exciting, I know the guilt of all of this will eventually catch up with me.
I take the train to Ivalis and it’s around nine p.m. before I’m settled into my room for the night. The room itself would make Papa shudder, but it’s not bad. It’s not luxurious, but I’m sure there are far worse places out there. I think about the next day and how I’ll get out of here undetected. I think I’ll wear the wig and take it off right before I see Jadon. I want him to know exactly who he’s dealing with when we meet for the first time.
Chapter Three
Jadon
I arrive in Ivalis early and check into a quaint hotel by the mountain. Quincie checks in for me, so I can stay as hidden as possible.
“Do you need me any longer, sir?” he asks once I’m in my room.
“No, I’m good for now, thank you. I’ll be ready to leave tomorrow morning around this time.”
He lowers his head and leaves the room, most likely wondering what I’m up to but too much of a gentleman to ask.
I’ve only been to the Cave of Stars once and it was when my father was king. I was fourteen and the cave felt otherworldly, the type of surroundings you’d find in a fairy tale or see on a fantasy show. Just as it sounds, it’s a neutral location between royals in the caves of Ivalis with a ceiling of tarmagalcite that sparkles like a backdrop of endless stars. I arrive there an hour before I’m supposed to meet Princess Delilah, wanting to get a good look around.
I was surprised when she suggested this place. There are only a few territories such as this, where any of us could meet for as long as necessary without any threat to our kingdoms. Mostly used in a time of war, a noncombatant spot when it’s a matter of life and death, it feels strange to come here when we’re not in the middle of a crisis. But I suppose Farrow and Alidonia have been in a semi-crisis for years now. I’m still hoping it isn’t pointing toward war, but with the recent threat on my life, I know better than to trust anyone.
When I step into the last opening before the Cave of Stars, I feel a wave of nostalgia for my father. I can still see him standing here, his excitement and dread about meeting with Titus Catano giving his eyes a crazed glaze.
“I brought you with me to have a witness, son,” he said. “He cannot harm us here, but I’m sure the veiled threats will be flying. Just knowing you’re with me will keep me levelheaded.”
I remember my nerves rattling, the roar of my blood pumping in my head as we waited for his arrival. When Titus walked into the cave, he came alone but had enough swagger to fill a colosseum…sort of the way Luka was before he married my sister and she brought him down to earth a few hundred pegs or so.
Something Titus said stuck with me and I still think of it frequently. He told my father: “The problem with you, King Neil, is that you rule with your heart, not with your mind. You extend grace before justice and mercy before wisdom. If you keep it up, your kingdom will not stand.”
And my father said something then that has also stayed with me. It’s what I strive for as king. He said, “I’d rather die with my integrity intact and to love first, act later, than to inflict an iron fist on those who might have made a bad decision in haste. It might not always be the wisest decision, but it’s the reason I can sleep at night with a clear conscience.”
My father is dead now and I believe either Titus Catano or Vance Farthing was behind it—most likely the two of them were working together.
Do I still think my father was right? To rule with love first, thinking the best of people?
Yes and no.
I strive to love first, thinking the best of people, while also watching my back for them to do the worst.
So far, it is serving me well.
I hear her footsteps before I see her and I brace myself. Her tone on the phone was confusing, to say the least. Playful, but threatening? Almost like I’m a recreation she’s decided to indulge in.
But when she steps through the entrance of the cave and is illuminated by the light of the stones, my breath catches in my throat despite all of my bravado.
The legend of Princess Delilah Farthing of Alidonia’s beauty is no legend at all. It is unequivocally fact that she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Pictures don’t do her justice. In person, she is a force of nature with her shocking hair and violet eyes, and despite being petite, she looks like she could take on the whole world and still be the last one standing.
When she sees me waiting there, a small smile graces her lips and my fingertips dig into my palms to remind myself that I can’t let her beauty get to me.
“You look like you were born to be showcased in the tarmagalcite, King Jadon,” she says, her voice like music. “Perhaps I should’ve chosen another location where I would not be at such a disadvantage.” She’s teasing, but her appraising eye could almost make me think she likes what she sees as much as I do.
“Trust me, Lady Delilah, you are clearly in the advantage here. Your beauty quite precedes you. If we weren’t sworn enemies, I would be forced to admit that you take my breath away.”
Her chuckle is low and sets an explosion in my chest. “I wonder how candid you would be as a sworn friend.”
“It’s a shame we won’t be allowed to know,” I say softly. The words make me sad even as I say them in the same playful tone she’s using. I shove those thoughts down deep where they can’t surface again and clear my throat. “Why did you call this meeting, Lady—”
“Please, call me Delilah. That should be the one benefit of this divide between us…titles can surely be set aside here in the stars, no?”
“Very well. I’ve never been much for titles anyway.”
She stares at me for a long time, long enough that I want to squirm but manage to fight it. I could force my agenda, but she called this meeting and I respect her for it…no matter what manipulation may lie behind it.
“It’s no secret that my father hasn’t been well and my cousin is becoming more of a leader in my kingdom every day. I have wanted to do my part for so long, but my father insists on protecting me.” She shoots a rueful look at me and walks to the wall that has the most light bouncing off of the tarmagalcite. “I don’t want him to have to work so hard. Keeping him healthy is very important to me and my cousin has taken on enough responsibility…that’s why I’m here. I would like to extend a peace treaty among our kingdoms and have your assurance that you will forge the way with not only your people but the people of Niaps. The two of you are our biggest adversaries and if I had your word that we will not come to war, it would put my mind at ease.”