Chapter 74
His eyebrows shot up as soon as she said his name, as if he hadn’t been expecting it, but she was certain Cassius knew she was speaking about him the moment she said everyone else liked him. Who else fit that description? The other Representatives clapped his back and shook his hand, though some looked hurt or jealous. The rest of the crowd cheered loudly, and Cassius stepped past the few people separating them to take his place on the dais. He kneeled before her, and said, “Thank you, Princess, for this high honor. I am proud to be one of your Representatives and will do all that I can to serve you as one of your Roomed.” His eyes twinkled, and when he kissed her hand, Kit’s heart skipped a beat. For a moment, there was no one else in the ballroom, and she would’ve gladly let him sweep her away from the crowd.
But this journey was just beginning, and as Cassius rose to kiss her cheek, and then turned to kiss her mother’s ring, Kit remembered she had one more important duty to get through before she could enjoy herself at the ball.
Cassius stepped back off of the dais, catching her eye one more time. She knew she’d see him later but was rethinking her decision to ask someone else to her chambers. Her mother’s voice infiltrated her thoughts, and Kit turned her attention back to the queen. It was time to meet her farmhand, assuming that’s who Eastbury had voted for in their second selection.
“As all of you know, the council determined to let Eastbury hold another election after the unfortunate situation with their first Representative.” The queen’s tone had changed. No longer jubilant, she sounded as if she were about to tell the citizens of the realm they must pay more taxes, send more supplies, or give up their first born child to be raised by wolves. “I have been informed that Eastbury has made their selection, and the new Representative is here with us tonight. So let us all welcome the delegation from Eastbury!” She made a flourish with her arm, and the queen’s guardsmen by the doors pulled them open.
When the delegations had initially arrived outside, they’d carried large flags and banners, but in the cramped area in front of the dais, there was no room for that, so the flags were much smaller, and there was only one banner baring the colors and shield of Eastbury in the same red and blue Jecob had worn. It was difficult for Kit to see past the first flag bearer, but then she saw Eli walking in with the rest of them. There were not as many as she expected, and only one older woman who walked with a limp. The rest were all men, most of them middle aged or older, except for Eli, and Kit was confused. Where was her farmhand?
She looked at her mother and saw nothing but ire upon her face. Her arms were straight down to her sides, her hands in fists, and when the woman stopped and bowed before the queen, saying, “Your Majesty, I am Minta of Arnast of Eastbury, and as the Head of Voting for the province, I have been asked to present our Representative in lieu of a family member or nobility.”
“Yes, yes,” the queen said, waving her on with her hand. The little old woman looked confused, but since the queen had dismissed her, she took a few steps over and paused in front of the princess. “Your Majesty, Princess Katrinetta, I am Minta of Arnast of Eastbury...” she began.
Kit wasn’t listening the second time the woman repeated her phrase. Instead, her eyes locked on Eli’s. He was standing next to Minta, and the look on his face confused the princess even more. He looked anxious. She’d never seen him so pale before, not even when he was bleeding all over the infirmary floor. Kit’s eyes scanned back down the line. She still wasn’t sure what was happening and had missed most of what Minta was saying because she thought it was the same speech she’d just given her mother.
Until she went back over the last line one more time in her head.
“Allow me to present to you the new Representative from Eastbury.”
Kit swallowed hard, feeling herself choking on air as her lungs restricted, and her eyes bulged.
“Eliason Goedwig of Eastbury.”
With no air in her lungs and her heart beating out of her chest, Kit took a step backward, bumping into Avinia, whose strong hands steadied her. She looked at Eli, and then back at Minta. “What?”
Her mother cleared her throat, and Kit turned to see her nose in the air, her face tightened like she’d just eaten something bitter. “What?” Kit asked again, not of anyone in particular but of the entire universe, of every goddess in the realm of sky.
“Your Majesty,” Eli said, addressing her, and she imagined he’d already said something to the queen or else he wouldn’t be speaking to her, and her mother’s face might not look quite so puckered. Kit tried to hear his words over the crashing waves inside her soul. “I’m honored to represent my province, and I’m looking forward to... getting to know you better.”
There was an irony in his words she couldn’t conceive of at the moment, something she’d have to ponder later. It was all too much. All this time, all these days and months and years thinking this wasn’t even a possibility, and yet here it was. He was reaching for her hand, to kiss it, to kneel before her, to join her Choosing as a Representative. Kit placed her hand in his, but her thoughts were a jumbled heap of uncertainties as she tried to decipher exactly what this meant. All she knew for sure was from that moment forward, nothing else in her life would ever be the same.
End of Book One: Chosen by the Princess
Keep reading for Book Two Loved by the Princess
