Page 44 of The Kings Game

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I wonder if these visions would be considered my own past. It feels wrong for Galen to trigger my memories—but can I even call them mine? They seemed that way at first, but now they feel as though they happened to a different person.

I decide not to return to the party; instead, I take off the ruined dress and throw it in a corner. My hair is still wet and smells like the sea, and I suddenly want to wash the memories of the day away. I go to take a second shower.

I turn the temperature all the way to hot until the flush on my skin is from the heat of the water and not the memory of Galen inside me. These memories, for lack of a better term, feel wrong, but maybe that’s because I’m getting them before I’m supposed to. Finn all but admitted that something is going to happen at the ball—something besides Essos choosing his bride-to-be. I chew on my lip, trying to find a spark of emotion from these new memories the way my dreams of my mystery man—of Essos?—left me feeling so bereft. There’s nothing but a sense of embarrassment over being so carnal with Galen. My current feelings are so twisted that even I’m having a hard time figuring out which emotions are real and which are reactions to the memories and dreams.

I scrub my body and look at my ankles, glad that they’re only bruised and not blistered the way they were when I first woke up on the beach. As I change into my pajamas, I catch sight of the flowers on my nightstand. I expected them to take days to bloom, but they’re all colorful and open now. I lean close to them, inhaling their floral scent, and gently stroke the bright pink petals. I wonder if Essos’s magic extends to these, or if maybe it’s my own power.

It seems too farfetched, too strange, to consider that I had abilities—or have abilities? I want to curl up and have someone explain what the hell is happening to me. Finn, Sybil and Essos seem unable to do so, but since Galen isn’t as constrained by the rules of the Calling, maybe I should let him help me.

I go into Cat’s room and wait for her, hoping to talk to her about what a walking train wreck of a person I have become.

While pondering this, I decide that I have to tell her about Galen. This is something that I can’t keep to myself, and I know that her loyalty is to me and not Essos. She won’t tell anyone and get us kicked out. I trust her with my life.

I fall asleep waiting for her, and somehow manage to not dream about Galen or Essos. Instead, the monster from the water continues to drag me down, down, down to the bottom of the ocean, where it meant only to have tea with me. The sea squid keeps offering me a choice of two teas. I can take my English Breakfast tea black, or I can have a lighter tea with milk, but every time I make a decision, I forget what it was.

I wake when Cat enters the room, laughing, and she stops short upon seeing me in her bed. Beyond her, I can see Tiffany continuing on to her own room.

“This bed was juuuusst right,” I snark, as she launches herself at me.

“Goldilocks, get to your own bed,” Cat grumbles into my neck.

I push her away from me, scoffing. “Hey now, if anyone is Goldilocks here, it’s you, the one who keeps making herself at home in my bed.” Cat rolls her eyes but climbs off and changes quickly into leggings and a T-shirt. “How was the rest of your night?”

She looks at me in her vanity mirror, where she’s removing her makeup. I still. There is discomfort on her face, but I reason with myself that we’re best friends and we should get whatever it is out in the open so it doesn’t fester.

“Actually, I do have something to tell you.” She sounds nervous, so I sit up, waiting for her to continue. I’m trying to keep my expression open and calm, but it occurs to me that she’s about to tell me she’s leaving, and if she doesn’t hurry up and spit it out, I might throttle her. “Essos and I actually kissed tonight. It was really an accident,” she rushes on. “He was leaning down to kiss me on the cheek, and I turned my head, and it was like barely even a kiss, but I wanted to tell you because I think the Calling means a lot more to you than it does to me.”

My emotions are so all over the place that I need a second to process what she said. The fear of her leaving almost choked me; the news that she isn’t is such a relief that I almost sag into her mattress. When it finally sinks in that she kissed Essos, I’m back on a dramatic upswing that now he’s kissed ZaraandCat, accident or not. She doesn’t sound excited about the kiss or even that it happened—could this mean that she’s no longer proceeding? My hands twist in the comforter as the terror that this might mean she’s leaving recaptures my focus.

“So, are you…?” I let the sentence trail off, not wanting to think about being left here with Zara and Tiffany. She turns to face me fully, her brush in her hand.

She points it threateningly at me. “Babe, you’re my ride or die. It actually happened after we had a long talk, mostly just him checking in with me about the process. It sort of forced me to admit that I don’t actually feel anything for him. Being queen would be cool, but I’m not as invested as some people I know. I was honest with him, and since he knows how close we are, he agreed to let me stay until you’re through with this whole process. He explained that he has some latitude, including letting girls stay until they’re ready to move on to their afterlife. As King of the Underworld, he should encourage them along. He’s supposed to provide an update to whoever on the Council is overseeing the Calling, mostly to confirm he’s following through with it for real. It’s why he’s been periodically dismissing girls, but somewhat irregularly.”

I have noticed that. After one month we were down to twelve girls, and since then, only Becca chose to leave, after learning of her half-sister’s death.

“I have grandparents I could go to, but that wouldn’t be nearly as fun as staying here with you.” I could cry at the thought of her staying, and I almost do. “But no one can know that’s why I’m still here. It’s not breaking a rule, per se, but the women remaining are supposed to be contenders. So, we have to play it cool, as if I’m still interested in him, even though Essos admitted that Tiffany has the same deal for Zara.”

I climb off the bed and hug her tightly from behind. “You know your secrets are safe with me. I almost took them to the grave again today.”

She whacks me hard with the flat side of her brush. I wince and rub the spot.

“Too fucking soon,” she says, hitting me again on the same spot, guaranteeing it’s going to bruise. “So, tell me about your night, and your second swim of the day.”

I groan, falling back on the bed, staring up at her ceiling.“I learned something today, and it’s really weird. I need to know that I can tell you and know thatyou’lltake it to your grave. I mean, you remember what Sybil said, how certain information can get us kicked out?”

Cat nods, putting down her brush and giving me her full attention.

“So, when Galen touched me earlier today, I got a sort of memory flash. First, it was like, just us kissing, but then a few other times, we were more…intimate.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Intimate, or likeintimate?”

“I’m not sure of the difference in emphasis, but I’ll go withintimate.He also told me that he can’t tell me everything outright because of those stupid rules. He can only answer yes or no, so if I don’t ask the right questions, I’m not going to find out anything more substantial. But he admitted we were married.”

She gasps and clutches at her chest dramatically. I’m not sure if it’s mocking. “That is so weird. Why would Galen let you stay in a contest to marry his brother—also, why would Essos let you stay if you were married to his brother? Also,also,why can’t Galen tell you anything—that’s, like, extenuating circumstances. Andfinally—you have like past lives? Were you mortal, or immortal like them? I am so confused.”

I laugh, glad to hear all of my thoughts come from Cat, because if anyone will be able to help me figure it out, it’s her. It’s a relief knowing that these questions aren’t as outrageous as I thought.“And!He also made it seem as though Sybil is not to be trusted. He insinuated that what happened today with the sea monster was Sybil’s doing. Also, I…might have powers?”

The look Cat gives me could make a grown man weep. “You might havemagicand you lead with boy troubles? What am I going to do with you?”


Tags: Nicole Sanchez Fantasy