Page 27 of The Broken Elf King
FOUR
The next three days were full of meetings, and healings at the infirmary, and private dates with Raife’s top five. Each and every night a note slipped under my door.
They all said the same thing. The girl’s name and the wordNo.
Tonight was the last girl, the final night.
Lottie Sherwood.
The council had just left the meeting. Their concern that the king had not announced an engagement after four dates had been evident.
I moved to stand and leave to taste the king’s dinner before his final date, when he let his head drop onto the desk with a loud thud.
I grinned. The king and I had become friendly, showing his personality to me more and more. We didn’t speak of what had happened in the healing caves and the deep emotional transference we’d shared there, but he’d been more relaxed around me.
“You look like a man excited for a date,” I joked. “I think Lottie Sherwood is the one.”
He raised his head to look at me, a red mark on his forehead from where the table had indented it. “When I think of spending the rest of my life with any one of the women I’ve spent a mere hour with, I want to meet an untimely death.”
I snort-laughed and then cleared my throat to cover it. “My lord, they can’t have beenthatbad.”
He gave me a serious glare. “You have no idea. Come tonight and you’ll see. She’ll have some flaw that I can’t live with—thatyouwouldn’t be able to either.”
I raised one eyebrow. “You’re asking me to crash your date?”
He shrugged. “They aren’treallydates. Gertie brought her father. It’s a formal, stuffy thing. Me bringing my assistant won’t be a problem.”
Attend the king’s date to find a wife? This felt weird, but I was also intrigued, so no way in Hades was I saying no to that.
“I’ll be there,” I told him and stood.
He nodded and his eyes ran over my red silk dress with black lace. “Maybe dress down a bit. Don’t want to make her jealous.” He winked.
My entire body warmed at his compliment. Itwasa compliment, right?
I laughed nervously. “Of course, my lord.”
After a slight curtsy, I left the room and headed for my sleeping quarters.Dress down. That meant I was dressed too nicely, or just that I might show her up? All of my gowns were made with palace approval—I was told to dress this way as the king’s representative…
Was he calling me pretty? My mind was so frazzled that I walked past my door and had to circle back.
Twenty minutes later, I wore a navy-blue silk gown with dramatic sleeves that covered my arms to my elbows. The fashion lover in me couldn’t allow this outfit to be too boring, so I paired them with lime green high-heeled shoes. The clothing allowance the crown provided me basically allowed for a new dress every other day. I was constantly going to the seamstress to be fitted or look at new fabrics. It was my favorite part of the week.
After stepping into the kitchen, a new chef greeted me.
I frowned. “Where is Brulier?”
“His mother fell sick. He’s gone to travel to Winding Meadow to visit her. He’ll be back next week. You the taster?” He eyed me up and down with scrutiny.
I nodded, and he set two identical plates of food before me. I’d taken to tasting the prospective wives’ food as well. I might as well get used to it, since no one else had come forward and applied for the job. As the king said, no one wanted a twelve-month clock on their life. I tried not to think about it.
Digging into the large hunk of meat, I cut off a small slice from the corner and ate it. Next I grabbed a green bean and then a half a spoonful of some sort of gravy. I did the same to the next plate quickly, eager to meet this woman and attend one of the king’s dates. Once my watch had shown that a full minute had passed since my last bite, I took the two plates through the double doors and spread a smile across my lips.
“Good evening,” I greeted the beautiful woman before me, and then curtsied to the king. Lottie was wearing a peach ballgown with white lace trim; her bright blond hair was tied up into a cascade of curls with braids down the side. She was breathtaking. I instantly felt jealous for some reason.
Setting the plate before her and then the king, I made my way to my seat, where I saw a plate of food was already waiting for me.
“This is my personal assistant, Kailani,” he told Lottie. “I thought it would be nice for her to join us. I spend a lot of time with her, so I’d like for you to get to know her as well.”
