Page 29 of Ahelno
Oh, no no no no. I shook my head. “I really don’t want to impose…”
“Stop, Andie, I know you do not wish to attend, knowing he will be there. You do not need to hide your feelings from me.”
My shoulders slumped as I let out a breath. “I really, really, don’t want to see him.”
“I know Andie, but this is the King’s prerogative. He orders, and we obey.”
She was right. Sometimes I forgot, given how close I’d grown to both him and Kashtinela. The King was pretty indulgent with me. During our weekly lunches, he quizzedme about my life on Earth, my family, whether I was happy in the village. If he thought I wasn’t eating enough, he would send a basket of treats from the Palace chef to my cottage. He placed the Palace guards at my disposal if M’Pak didn’t want to accompany me to the city. One time when I was suffering from what was surely food poisoning, he sent a message to Camavel asking her to check in on me daily. Camavel had been over the moon that King Akapa knew who she was.
But of course, he wasn’t a kindly gentleman; he was the King. No matter how nice he was to me, I owed him everything. The cottage I lived in, the credits in my account, the freedom I enjoyed - I had no means to support myself on this planet on my own. And that, unfortunately, came with a few strings.
I sighed, resigned to a very unpleasant evening. “Ok, I understand,” I told Kashtinela glumly. I would go and just stay on the opposite side of the room. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“Heads up?” she looked at me, confused.
“The warning. Thanks for the warning.”
“Ah yes, another quaint Earthism. Sadly, that is not all.”
I waited silently. Kashtinela was just full of good news today. Not.
“I am here to let you know that Dakleth will be at our luncheon tomorrow.”
“Please tell me you’re letting me know so that I don’t have to come to lunch.”
“The opposite, unfortunately. Father is concerned regarding how you two will handle the shock of seeing one another at the celebration in front of all the guests. He does not wish for you or Dakleth to ‘cause a scene,’ as you like to say. He believes it will be better for you to hash out whatever you needto say to one another beforehand so that you can ignore each other at the gala.”
“I have nothing to say to him. I was very clear with you and your father that I do not want to speak with your brother or see him at all. Very clear, Katishnela.”
“You were, and I am sorry. Your anger is justified and understandable. But my Father is right. We need to present a unified front at the gala. We cannot trust that you and Dakleth would be able to get through the night unscathed, given your history.”
“I can promise you I will 100 percent ignore him. If I can’t take it being in his presence, then I can simply go home.”
“This night is too important for us to take chances,” Kashtinela explained. “Dakleth’s conviction hurt our reputation deeply, Andie. You have not been privy to the political maneuverings we navigate, but our position as the royal family is not absolute. Our people need to have faith in us - faith that we are the right leaders for the entire planet. There are always other noble families who will use any scandal to chip away at the people’s confidence in us. Dakleth’s return is an opportunity to showcase the undiminished strength of our line.
He is next in line to be King, and his behavior must be exemplary. Surely you realize that there are many who believe you are one of the fabled and sacred Lumanela. The fact that Dakleth harmed you has caused unrest among some of the more religious factions. You could quickly become a symbol of rebellion. We need the nobles to see that you do not hold any ill will towards Dakleth.”
My part in this charade became clear. “You and your father’s interest in me has always been about preserving yourpower, hasn’t it? The people needed to see that I had ties to your family to prevent a rebellion.” I was unimaginably hurt by this. For nearly a year, I had looked at Katishnela as one of my closest friends.
“No, Andie, not at all!” Katishnela’s wings fluttered in agitation. “You are my dear friend and sister. Father truly does look upon you as a daughter and as the mate of his son, although he tries not to say that because he knows it makes you uncomfortable. It never occurred to us when we met you that others would try to use you against us. But now that we do know, it is imperative that we show solidarity.”
I had to admit I was relieved. Maybe I was naive, but I wanted to believe that Katishnela was my friend. She had confided to me once that it was difficult for her to form close relationships with others because she always had to question their motives. I finally understood what she meant. It must be exhausting, not knowing who to trust.
“It’s ok, I get it,” I said. “I don’t like it, but I get it. I’ll come to the luncheon tomorrow, and I’ll come to the celebration. I can’t make any promises about how I’ll react to your brother tomorrow. I just…don’t know. I don’t know if I can be in the same room with him for long. Intellectually, I’ve forgiven him, but the hurt is still there. I don’t know if I can physically stand to be around him. I guess we’ll find out. Just, give me grace if I run out of the room in tears, ok?” I asked.
“Of course. You are my dear, brave friend, and I love you,” she said in a rare burst of emotion. “And I told my brother that you are my friend and sister, and not to push you. He should be on his best behavior.”
I shrugged, having no idea what his “best behavior” looked like. I had only seen his worst.
CHAPTER 34
Dakleth
My body was humming with anticipation. After a year, I was finally going to see my mate again. I bounced on my toes, my wings fluttered uncontrollably, and my crest flared then retracted again.
“Stop fidgeting,” my father said. “You are behaving like a fledgling. You are embarrassing yourself. And me.”
He was right, but I could not help it. My stomach felt like I had ingested a nest of live larvae. The bond was pulling hard. A guard had alerted us that Andrea—Andie—my mate, the love of my life, and owner of my hearts, had arrived at the palace and would join us in the receiving room shortly. The anticipation was almost more than I could bear.
