Solis interjected. “Only one of you needs to fall in love and honor your earthan’s rule. Only one heir is needed. However, if you both participate in a suitor trial, I am certain you will attract the best suitors from far and wide. There’s never been another kingdom with two queens holding court at the same time, pulling magic from the same source. You will surely have a breath of suitors to choose from. But in the end, only one of you needs to choose a king.”
“And have a baby,” Nova added, like Solis intentionally forgot to repeat that piece.
“Can’t you just play along?” Jade asked, thinking Nova was being unreasonable. “I’m not asking you to get married and have a child, but could you at least pretend to participate in a suitor trial? I realize I’m the one that needs to follow the sequoia’s rules. I am the one that needs to find my true love. I am the one that will continue our lineage, at the mercy of our magic.” I will be the one to rule this kingdom, and protect it no matter the cost.
Nova stared at Jade for what felt like an eternity. Jade wasn’t sure if she was repulsed or surprised.
“Can I have a moment to think about it?” Nova replied.
Jade sighed, knowing Nova was thinking of Chael. “Then go talk to him. Go talk to Chael and meet me in my quarters when you’re done. But please remember . . . this may not be important to you, but this will affect my whole world, my entire life. You can go on without magic. I cannot. If I lose the Larkspur magic, I risk the demise of Sterling. I’m asking you to help the kingdom, not just me.”
Nova was quiet, soaking in Jade’s words. Jade hoped Nova fully understood what was being asked of her. Nodding, Nova turned and left Cor Montem. The numbers above the door seemed even more ominous when she was gone.
CHAPTER THREE
Nova
Nova padded down the hallway toward the south tower, still barefoot and wearing the tunic she’d been sleeping in. A flock of guards followed her. The march of boots sounded like a ticking clock. Nova wanted to tell the guards to back off, but couldn’t summon up the energy. The only person she wanted to speak to was Chael.
Nova tugged at the chain that hung around her neck, pulling it free from her tunic and grabbing the key that dangled on the end. She stopped at the first door in the south tower and clicked the key Chael had given her into the lock. Leaving the guards in the hallway, she stepped into the quiet, dark room and whispered Chael’s name. She felt him before she saw him.
Two hands took hold of her arms. “You okay?”
Nova had come to expect Chael’s speed, but in that instant, it startled her. “I’m fine,” she replied. “I think.”
Chael clicked the door shut. “You think?”
Her eyes were adjusting to the dark. She discovered the strong line of his jaw, the intensity in his stare. “I’m fine. Not hurt. Just need to talk to you.” She reassured Chael, so he’d come out of fight-mode. If she was truly in trouble, he’d do anything to protect her.
His grip loosened. “What are you doing up at this hour?”
She considered telling him of the glowing orb that woke her and led her to three witches that wanted to marry her off and get her pregnant.
“Jade woke me,” she said instead, feeling like that was enough of an explanation for now.
“Something is wrong,” he replied, pressing her. “What is it?”
Nova gathered her thoughts and decided to spill them, knowing there was no way to avoid this strange conversation. “Jade asked me to take part in a suitor trial. It’s this bizarre competition where men fight to win a queen or something. I don’t really understand and I don’t want to—”
“I know what a suitor trial is.” His voice was flat, and Nova was taken aback.
“You do?” She’d never heard of such a thing. Then again, there were a lot of things she’d never heard of, but had come to learn in the past few months.
“It’s a way for a king and queen to marry off a son or daughter and make an alliance with another kingdom.” Chael let his hands slip to Nova’s elbows. He shifted, like he was pulling back.
“Jade thinks she needs a king, and she thinks I need to participate in the trial as well,” Nova said. She felt a strong urge to explain, though she was going to leave out the part about bearing a child, for now. “Jade said a trial would bring the best suitors from all across Fractus— because of the chance to fight for two queens at once. She wants me to participate, to help her find a king, but I don’t have to pick a suitor in the end.”
Nova searched Chael’s face, wanting to tell him that she didn’t want to pick a suitor because she already had these swirling, pulling feelings for him. But she couldn’t quite make that come out of her mouth. Some of her reluctance came as she remembered what Solis had said. When you find your true love, that number will disappear. It will be replaced with a painting that will include your name and the name of your true love.
If these feelings she had for Chael weren’t true love, what did that mean? That they weren’t supposed to be together?
Chael broke into her thoughts. “You said you want to help Jade rule, right? That you want to help the people of Sterling?”
Nova nodded. She’d told Chael that she wanted to help the people of Sterling, but didn’t really know what that meant. She was in a castle— her castle— and had a title she didn’t know if she even wanted. Everything around her had been dug up and torn apart since her dad brought her to Sterling. She was kidnapped by the man that stood before her, the one she now cared about. She’d since discovered she had magical powers, and that the past she thought she knew was a lie.
Nova looked down, at Chael’s chest. “Yes, I want to help the kingdom.” She did. She wanted to help the people, if she could. She also wanted to understand her place in this new world she was discovering.
“Then you should participate in the trial.”
Nova’s heart jerked and she swallowed, hard. There was no resistance in Chael’s answer. Didn’t he care that other men would be fighting to win her heart? Would he give her up that easily? Did he want her to fall for someone else so he could leave her and Sterling behind? Disappointment quickly sizzled into anger. Maybe she didn’t understand how Chael felt about her at all.
“You don’t have a problem with me participating?” Her words had an edge to them, and now she wondered why she’d asked Chael in the first place. She didn’t need his permission to do anything.
Nova took a step back and Chael stopped her with his hands.
“If your heart is on the line, then I will fight for it.” He held her in place, but it was his words that made her pause.
Her anger cooled. “What do you mean?”
“If you participate in a trial, I want to participate as well,” Chael replied. “Then I could properly win your heart, and show your father I’m worthy of it.”
Confused, she took a breath before speaking. “I don’t think you can. I think the trial is only for royalty, but I’d just be pretending. I’d only participate for Jade’s sake, for the kingdom.”
Chael’s lips turned down at the corners and she realized she’d insulted him.