“Are you well, Miss Rayne?” he asked, one perfect eyebrow raised in such a way that he looked more handsome than ever. Is he playing games with me?
Realizing he was staring at her, waiting for a response, she quickly cleared her throat and replied, “All is well.”
Then, careful not to meet his gaze too directly, she crossed the room and took the seat that he’d offered her. Having to pass close by him, she expected he might move out of the way, but when he didn’t, she realized she was close enough to reach out and touch him if she just moved a finger.
Get a grip! Rayne scolded herself. She’d been reminding herself all morning that she couldn’t fall for him, not again. And yet here she was, the moment she saw him again, wanting to throw herself at him and let him have his way with her.
“Please, don’t leave on my account,” Rayne forced herself to say the words, hoping she might glean some idea of the king’s true feelings by his response. When he smiled at her again, Rayne couldn’t help but feel as though something was awfully wrong. How could he be acting so pleasantly after everything that’s happened?
“I wish I could stay, but I have a very busy schedule today and I can’t afford to be late,” he explained, and Rayne felt disappointment jar her at the thought he had to leave. At least, she consoled herself, he isn’t leaving because he wants to.
It was then that Rayne realized that Elia had been watching their entire exchange closely. The little princess demanded, “What is going on?”
Asher looked just as surprised as Rayne felt at the accusing tone of the little girl’s voice. They glanced at each other before turning to look at her. Elia was glancing from one to the other, looking more than a little suspicious.
When neither of them made any attempt to speak, she demanded, “What has happened between the two of you?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, little one,” Asher responded, his voice cautious as though he was trying not to give too much away. Elia instantly turned her glare on him. She scowled and crossed her small arms over her chest, puffing herself up to show him his response had irritated her.
“I’m not stupid,” she snapped back at him, “I’m three years old, and I can see how strange the two of you are being.”
Not for the first time, Rayne marveled at how mature the little girl was. There were three-year-olds in her village who couldn’t even string a sentence together, and yet Elia was capable of having entire conversations. She was also clearly able to pick up on the feelings of others, and it appeared that they weren’t as good at hiding their thoughts as they thought they were.
“You can’t hide it from me,” the little princess continued when neither adult made any attempt to protest, “I can tell something has happened.”
Rayne felt the king looking at her then, and she forced her eyes away from Elia to look back at him. There was longing and even a little questioning in his gaze. It was clear he had no idea what to tell his daughter.
Don’t look at me, Rayne thought grimly, she’s your daughter.
Yet even as she thought it, she couldn’t help but think of the fact that over the last few weeks, Elia had begun to feel like her own daughter. Although there was no blood between them and there might never be anything else between them either, she had bonded with the little girl, and there was no denying that she would do just about anything for her.
“I’m a big girl,” Elia insisted, “you can tell me.”
“There’s nothing to tell, my sweet,” Asher said. His response disappointed Rayne. She wasn’t sure what she’d been hoping for. All she knew was she’d been hoping for more. All she could do was watch as the king stepped up and leaned down to press his lips against his daughter’s forehead.
“Adults are so dumb sometimes,” Elia huffed when her father pulled away. She tightened her arms around her chest, looking more irritated than ever.
“What is that supposed to mean, young lady?” Rayne asked, seeing that Asher was already looking flustered enough to scold his daughter. Rayne knew from her own experiences that yelling at a little girl when she was simply trying to express herself would do no good for any of them.
“What I mean is, adults are so dumb sometimes because they can’t just admit the truth to each other!” Elia snapped at her. “Why can’t you both just be honest?”
Her little outburst caused Rayne to turn her attention back to the king just in time to see his own reaction of astonishment. His eyes met hers and it was clear there was something he wished to say. Rayne opened her mouth to tell him to just spit it out, but he turned his gaze away, breaking the spell his eyes had been casting on her. She quickly closed her mouth and watched him cross the room to the door.
“We will talk about this later,” he promised his daughter, “but for now, please refrain from talking about things you don’t understand.”
Rayne wasn’t at all sure that Elia didn’t understand what she was talking about, but she decided it was best not to argue with the king. He was clearly in a much fouler mood than he’d been when she’d arrived.
“Have a good day, Your Grace,” she forced herself to say, hoping it might ease his mood slightly. He didn’t respond as he grabbed the door handle, yanked open the door and disappeared. The door slammed shut behind him, causing both Rayne and Elia to flinch.
Elia opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but Rayne quickly cut her off, “Why don’t we go out into the gardens this morning and see if we can find some butterflies for your collection?”
Butterflies were just about the only thing that could distract the princess from anything. Elia’s eyes lit up at the mention of them and she practically bounced off her chair. She hurried away to find her net, returning a few moments later to say, “Don’t think this means I’ve forgotten what we were just discussing.”
Again, Rayne felt as though she were talking to an adolescent rather than a three-year-old, and she couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the stern expression on Elia’s face.
Wondering whether she might regret it, she asked, “What exactly do you think is going on, princess?”
Holding her net in one hand, Elia placed her hands on her hips and glared at Rayne. “It isn’t what I think is going on but what I know is going on.”