“My lady, you don’t have permission to go to the stables—”
“Then come with me, and watch my every move because I am going out there. Now.” I brushed past the sentinel through the doors.
He cursed, but at least he followed me.
“Thank you.”
I sighed in relief as we reached the large, white barn and sprawling stable. I’d missed the horses, and the peace and tranquility of this place was just what I needed after yesterday’s disaster.
I’d cried myself to sleep, again. And Evangeline had pretended not to notice, again.
“I’ll wait out here,” the sentinel said at the stable doors. “But you mustn’t stay too long, my lady. They’re being very strict about the rules. You don’t want to get into trouble.”
“I’ll just be a few minutes. I need to check on the horses.” In fact, they were most likely better than I was, but I needed to see them for mental health reasons. Inside the barn, I stopped and spoke to each horse. I patted each of their soft coats, slipping them the sugar cubes and carrots I’d snuck from the kitchen.
I hadn’t been able to drag myself to the common room this morning for breakfast. I knew Shaye would be upset about what I’d done, and I couldn’t blame her. That didn’t mean I wanted to face her.
I finally reached Maeve, and she whinnied in recognition. “Hello, my friend. There’s a good girl.” I gave her a carrot. “I’ve missed you, you know. I’d take you out riding, but everyone at the castle is being a bit cautious so no riding for us. We’re like prisoners, I tell you.” I gave her a sugar cube in consolation.
“Your Highness! Please!” I heard shouts from outside the stable. “That is excessive, Your Highness. Ow!”
Dallas strode inside, his face set with a grim fury.
He dragged a squawking Tariq behind him.
The prince dropped him onto the ground and Tariq looked up at him, seething. “Quite unnecessary, Your Highness.” He struggled to his feet and dusted off his clothes to the best of his ability. “I said I’d come willingly.”
“Do. Not. Speak. Unless spoken to,” Dallas bit out. He turned to me, eyes blazing. “The royal emissary and I have just spoken about your performance during my date with Shaye.”
I clung to Maeve. “Oh?”
“My intelligence indicates that the royal emissary chose that dress for you and sent you on the mission to interrupt my date.” Dallas’s nostrils flared. “Is it true?”
I looked at Tariq, not knowing what to say. If I admitted the truth, did that mean Tariq would run to the king?
“I… Uh…”
“Are you worried about him?” Dallas pointed, a bit wildly, at Tariq. “Don’t be. He won’t be whinging off to my father any time soon.”
“I might have spoken with him about it,” I finally admitted. When Tariq didn’t flinch, I grew bolder. “And he totally picked out that dress.”
Dallas grabbed Tariq by the ear, and the smaller man cried out in pain. “Do. Not. Ever. Pick out a dress for Miss West again.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” he squeaked.
Dallas released him, but anger still rolled off him in waves. “I’d have you both know something. I do not appreciate being manipulated under any circumstances.”
“Your Highness,” Tariq said, “the king has voiced concerns about Miss West—”
“And I have spoken to him in return,” Dallas said, his voice now deadly calm. “I do not need, or want, you meddling in my family business, Tariq. It is called family business for a reason. You are an important member of our staff, but you must learn to butt out. When you try to insert yourself where you don’t belong, you make a mess of things, as you did yesterday.”
Tariq’s brow furrowed. “My apologies, Your Highness. I thought I was helping both you and Miss West.”
“That deserves a more convoluted explanation than I care to hear.” He pointed to the door. “Go. And if you ever instruct the camera crew to ignore my request to stop filming again, I will have your head on a spike.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” With a formal bow to both of us—and no trace of irony whatsoever—Tariq fled the stable.
“Now you.” Dallas’s gaze burned into mine. “What on earth were you playing at, listening to Tariq and making a fool out of both of us?”
I still clung to Maeve, hoping she’d give me strength. “He said he was worried about you. And about me. And the rebels.”
Dallas frowned. “Explain.”
“Tariq said that the king did not approve of me, because of my history with the rebels and Benjamin Vale. He said the king would send me home, and then you would cancel the competition, and that basically, the whole world would come crashing down if I didn’t crash your date with Shaye, have you reject me, and make it seem as if there was some distance between us.” I scrubbed a hand across my face. “At least, those are the parts I understood.”
Dallas shook his head. He suddenly looked weary. “I’m worried about you, Gwyneth.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m worried about your judgment. You should have come to me with your concerns, instead of blindly following Tariq’s scheme.”
“Tariq said he’d tell the king you’d been protecting me. He threatened me.”
Dallas cursed. “I’ll have his head on a spike yet.”
“Don’t. He’s not all bad.” Just a large chunk of him.
He raked a hand through his hair. “But there’s another problem here, a more vexing one. You’ve let these people bully you—Tariq, Tamara. You’ve let your emotions run away with you when you saw the episode with Shaye.”
I stiffened. “I am human, you know.”
Dallas cursed. “Yes, I’m aware. But you need to be strong, Gwyneth. Solid. If you want to be in this world, you have to keep your game face on, put people in their place, and stand up for yourself. Instead, you’ve been manipulated. You went along with a plot you didn’t author.”
“And you never do that.” Sarcasm dripped in my voice.
“I told you before, I have a role to play.” He understood me perfectly. “The contest has to seem fair.”
“Is jamming your tongue down Tamara’s throat necessary for fairness? Or is it something else?” Again, my temper was getting the best of me.
“They asked me to do that, to add drama to the competition.” His eyes flashed. “I want many things, Gwyneth. One of them is for this contest to be fair, so that the people in the settlements are not disappointed. I wanted this to be a good thing, for the good of the people. The settlements’ future depends on it.”
“I understand.” I tried to calm down before the moment got away from me. “But it’s still hard to watch. And then I haven’t been able to talk to you… I felt like I was going crazy…”
“I told you it would be like this, for now.” Dallas looked sad. “I also told you not to doubt me.”
“I didn’t.” But it sounded like a lie, even to me.
“I suppose I was asking too much. I am sure that, were the tables turned, I would be jealous. I would have a hard time watching you with other suitors.” He tapped me under the chin, so that my gaze came level with his. “But I would give you the benefit of the doubt. At least, I hope I would.”
“Dallas—”
“I have to get back to the palace.” He sounded cold, distant, even though he was touching me. “I am sorry this happened and that Tariq used you in this way.”
“I did it for you. I wanted to protect you.”
He stroked my face, and then released me. “I did not need your protection, Gwyneth. I needed your trust.”
And with that, he was gone.