Page 6 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
Lorelai and Iris had been particularly close. In fact, with more time, they might have even become lovers.
They’d never gotten that chance, though.
She blamed me for Lorelai’s death, and I didn’t hold that against her. If I’d been faster, if I’d done more, maybe Lorelai would still be here, standing right next to us with those bright eyes and sweet smile.
“You’re here,” I blurted, shocked at seeing her.
It had been weeks since Iris and I had even been in the same room. Rankor and Kent had assured me she just needed some time, but it had hurt to know she had gone to them while avoiding me. I understood her pain, of course, but I wanted to be there for her, regardless. I wanted to be the one to help her.
I missed her friendship desperately.
“Yeah,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry I’m late. I wasn’t much in the mood for a party.”
“That’s okay.”
“I just wanted to say congratulations. I know you’ve been working hard.”
Her hands twitched uncomfortably at her side, as if she didn’t quite know what to do with them, and I folded mine in front of me. When did it get like this? Things had never been soawkwardbetween us before.
So much had changed.
“Thank you,” I whispered quietly. “It means a lot to me you’re here.”
Her eyes clouded as she dipped her head. For a moment, we both stood there like that - frozen in silence, both unsure how to proceed with the other. Rankor reached up and squeezed my shoulder supportively.
“How are you?” I asked.
She smiled grimly. “I’m doing my best.”
Her words cut through me viscerally, leaving me speechless once more. Four words with such weight. My beautiful, spritely friend, who danced ateveryparty, who always was ready to joke and tease, who had once been the very embodiment of life, now had to work so hard just to get through her days. What could I say to her? I’d spent weeks wanting to be with her, wanting to comfort her, and now, when she had finally given me the opportunity, I was hopelessly unaware of how to best proceed.
Andthatwas the moment that the Crown Prince entered the room.
The room seemed to dim, the silence heavy and thick, as if mirroring the aching void within me that his presence only emphasized. His blonde hair was longer than he normally wore it, curling slightly around his ears and hanging close to his grey eyes. Now that the weather was cooling, and the days were shorter, it had darkened ever so slightly. His jacket was dark grey, nearly black, with golden embroidery on the lapels. I watched as he searched the room for us, eyes landing first on Rankor, then me, then Iris.His sharp jaw tensed as he assessed the situation and I could just make out the flash of worry on his face before his expression smoothed and he gave a bright smile.
Not everyone could identify the difference between Clay the man and Clay the prince, but I’d always been able to see when he donned that mask.
“You look awful,” he said to Iris, ruffling her hair as he came to stand by her side.
“Gee thanks.” She gave her cousin a soft smile as he pulled her for a quick hug.
“You’re late,” Rankor told Clay, with an edge to his voice that I hadn’t heard him use before with Clay.
Clay, Rankor, Kent, and Iris had grown up together. Despite their longstanding friendship, though, Clay was still their prince and the others never dared to speak against him.
Until tonight, apparently.
“I had some business to attend to,” Clay replied, words clipped and short.
Curiosity flared within me, more intrigued by his irritation than by the words themselves. What business was there to attend to when the entire court was here in this room, celebrating? And yet, the question died on my tongue as Kent began passing around drinks to us all, commenting on how happy he was that we were all back together again.
“We’re not,” I exclaimed, which earned me four sets of wide, confused eyes. “We’re notallback together again.”
Iris met my gaze, and for a moment time stopped, until finally she nodded her agreement. “No, we’re not. But us five are all we have left, and Lorelai would want us to be here for each other.”
Wordlessly, I reached over, took her hand in mine and squeezed. When she applied gentle pressure back, my heartbeat fluttered.
It had been weeks without a nightmare about Hyrax.
