“I don’t care about the competition,” Nova added quickly. “I care about you. I wanted you to hear that from me before I agreed to participate. But I’m honored that you would fight for me.” Honestly, Chael had already fought for her. He’d slayed a queen, fought ghosts, and wiped tears from her cheeks. He’d already proven himself to her.
Chael gathered Nova’s hands in his. He brought them up and pressed them to his chest. “I am royalty, Nova.”
Nova stared at Chael’s face in the dark. “What’d you say?” Had she heard him wrong?
“I’m a king. The Allard family was . . . is royalty. It’s just that I’m the only one left.” Chael ran his thumb across Nova’s hand. “I don’t have a kingdom. I don’t have riches or an army. But I do have an earthan, and that would qualify me for the trial.”
Nova swallowed. “You’re a king?” Nova shook her head, reminding it to work. “And you didn’t feel like telling me that before?”
“It wasn’t important before.” Chael cocked his head at her. “Would you have cared if I told you before today?”
Nova honestly considered his question. “Yes.”
Chael’s ice blue eyes were steady on hers. “It would have made a difference to you whether or not I was a king?”
“It’s not the title I care about, but the truth certainly makes a difference to me,” she replied, wondering how long Chael was planning to keep this secret from her.
“It’s not that I was lying to you,” he said. “I don’t consider myself a king. My kingdom, the one I grew up in, is gone. My family is gone. Murdered. My title only reminds me of what I lost. Before this conversation, I didn’t care to utter my title ever again.”
Nova bit her lip, hearing the hurt in his voice. She’d jumped to conclusions. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it like that.” She gave his hands an apologetic squeeze.
“So, will you allow me to be part of the myriad of men that will be fighting for your heart?” He gave her a smile as though she didn’t need to apologize.
She linked her fingers with his and eyed him like he hadn’t already stolen her heart. “I want you to do this with me. And I think the trials are an opportunity for me to make a difference for Sterling. For us to make a difference.”
Chael’s hands traveled up her arms and grazed the curve of her neck before his fingers slipped into her wild, rat’s nest of bedhead. Instead of responding with words, Chael stepped into her. He gently pressed her back against the stone wall with his proximity.
Then he did that thing. The thing where he held her face temptingly close but wouldn’t kiss her lips. It was as though he was assessing something so precious, he almost couldn’t bring himself to touch it. It drove her nuts. All she wanted was to press her lips to his. Her mind flipped back to the night they spent in the Iugo’s home. The first kiss they ever shared was backlit by a warm fire and urged on by a tension Nova hadn’t fully understood, until Chael lowered his lips to hers. She’d never felt anything like his kiss. Chael made her feel a way that couldn’t be ignored.
“Will you kiss me already?” she whispered, knowing there was an empty bed just a few feet from them. Nova was tempted to curl up in it and spend the night wrapped in Chael’s arms.
She felt his smile as he pressed his lips to hers. His fingers dug deep into her hair, and a flutter washed through her like a wave. It started in her head and rolled out through her curled toes. She splayed her fingers across his chest and wished there wasn’t a tunic between her hands and his flesh.
She pulled back from the kiss, just slightly. “Why are you wearing clothes?” As soon as she asked the question, she realized how it sounded and blushed. “I mean, it’s after midnight. Weren’t you sleeping?”
“It’s hard for me to sleep here,” Chael said. Nova was reminded that Chael only came back to Sterling to be with her.
“You can’t sleep?” She knew what Chael had endured in this castle— at least what he had told her. Katrina had attacked his kingdom, killed his family, and taken him prisoner. She’d used magic to control him and Chael had been forced to hurt innocent people, on her behalf. Returning to a place with such horrible memories was a huge sacrifice. “Do you want to leave? Do you want me to leave with you?”
“I want you to find what you are looking for,” he said, and took back the kiss. He had avoided her questions, and she knew he was putting her needs before his. Nova had confessed to Chael that she wanted to understand her past— her true past— and the answers she needed where hidden somewhere within the castle walls. He was here for her. She was acutely aware of that, but Chael’s lips cleared her head of further questions, for the time being. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed her chest fully to his. She wanted to stay there, melt into him.
But just as the kiss deepened, the door opened and a wedge of sunlight fell on them both.
Nova squinted and pulled back when a guard’s head popped through the opening.
“Your Majesty, is everything okay?” the guard asked. He sounded as if he didn’t really want to ask the question, but needed to be certain of the answer.
Chael’s embrace released and he glowered at the door.
“Everything is fine,” Nova said and smoothed the front of her tunic, wanting the guards to stay out of her business but also knowing she should probably remove herself from Chael’s bedroom— especially if Chael was looking to impress her dad. Nova knew her father would have a fit if he discovered his daughter had spent the night in Chael’s room. Even though they’d already spent a few nights wrapped in each other’s arms.
Chael reached out and closed the door on the peeping guard.
“Do you want me to walk you back to your quarters?” Chael kissed her again. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t want to go anywhere.
“I have plenty of escorts,” she replied, unwillingly. “Besides, if my dad noticed that I left in the middle of the night, he’ll be looking for me.”
Chael nodded and Nova gave him one more kiss. She held it like she wanted to burn it into her memory.
“I’ll tell Jade that I’ll partake in a suitor trial. And you will as well.” She smiled softly and reluctantly let her fingers fall from his chest. Then she slipped out the door. Her entourage followed her back to her quarters.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jade
The day the suitors arrived, Jade’s head was a mess. Usually, a fancy gown could lift her spirits, but today her ballgown felt heavy and constricting. Her hair was twisted into an updo that was too tight. She’d spent hours primping, wanting to make a strong first impression on the suitors, and Jade hoped the emerald ballgown and sparkling jewels would mask the nerves swirling within her.
She was about to meet thirty men that had come to her kingdom to compete for her heart. But what if she didn’t live up to their expectations? Chael was the only man Jade had spent a significant amount of time with and he hadn’t returned her affections. Was Jade putting herself in a situation where she could be rejected again? Would the suitors find her interesting? Pretty? Boring? Weak? Would she fumble over her words and make a fool of herself? Let her kingdom down in the process?