The Crown (The Selection #5)(35)

Mom looked up at me, smiling.

“‘When the five remaining gentlemen in the Selection instantly rose to their feet and applauded at the announcement of the princess’s ascent, I will admit, that was not this reporter’s initial reaction. I was worried. She’s young. She’s distant. She’s not in touch with her people.

“‘But if these boys, all but one of them strangers to her up until recently, immediately decide to celebrate, then there must be more to our upcoming queen than a pretty face. Recently the Elite spoke of her being considerate and engaging. Are these qualities she’s had all along that merely haven’t been easy to translate on screen? Is she a genuine leader, prepared to sacrifice for her people?

“‘The nature of her rise to the crown would suggest the answer is yes. The king and queen are still young. They are still physically and mentally able to continue their reign. To see the princess take over early so that they can enjoy their time together as a married couple shows not only her love for her family, but her commitment to her work.’”

I could see Mom’s eyes welling with tears now.

“‘Only time will tell if these assumptions prove true, but I can say that my faith in the crown has been—at least temporarily—restored.’”

“Oh, honey,” Mom exclaimed.

Dad passed the newspaper back to me. “Eady, this is great.”

“It’s the most encouraging thing to happen publicly for a long time,” I agreed with a contented sigh. “I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high, but it makes going to work today that much easier.”

“I hope you’re planning to take it easy this morning.” Mom gave me a pointed look. “I don’t want you getting burned out before you even start.”

“I’d tell you I have a simple morning planned, but it’d be a lie,” I admitted. “I’m off to a Finnish lesson right now. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to count in Finnish?”

Dad sipped his coffee. “I’ve listened to it for years. I applaud you for trying.”

“Henri’s very sweet,” Mom commented. “Not the direction I was expecting you to go in, but he’ll certainly make you smile.”

“Pfft.” Dad turned to her. “What do you know about picking husbands? Last time you tried that, you got stuck with me.”

She smiled and hit his arm.

“You two are so gross, you ruin everything.” I spun and headed toward the door.

“Have a great day, honey,” Mom called after me, and I raised a hand in acknowledgment before pausing by Henri.

“Umm. L?hte??”

He beamed. “Yes! Good, good!” He dropped his napkin by his plate and took my arm.

“Wait up!” Fox called, and Kile was right behind him. “I’m looking forward to this. I think I did pretty well last time.”

“Erik’s such an encouraging teacher. Though you could just be stringing together random sounds, he’d tell you ‘nice try,’” Kile said with a laugh.

I nodded. “Maybe it’s a Swendish thing? Poor Henri was stuck helping me last time, and he had to grab my face because I was making the shapes wrong.” I mimicked the action, and Henri caught on, smiling at us. “But was he bothered? Nope.”

A second after I brought it up, I remembered that Henri and I might have been on the verge of a kiss in that moment. And while I was relieved to see neither of them seemed to have noticed it, I was struck by the fact that I hadn’t thought about that almost kiss at all.

When we got to the library, Erik was already in there, writing on the board.

“Good morning, Professor,” I greeted, walking over him.

“Your Highness. Or do we say Majesty, now?”

“Not yet!” I exclaimed. “Just thinking about that gives me the shivers.”

“Well, I’m thrilled for you. We all are. I mean, they all are,” he corrected, nodding toward the Elite, including Hale and Ean, who were walking in behind everyone. “I didn’t intend to lump myself in with them. I just get to see everyone’s reactions up close.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re part of the gang.” I laughed, looking around the room. “Sometimes this feels more like a weird little club than a competition.”

“You’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is.”

His somber tone drew my eyes back to his face, though he was avoiding my gaze. Instead he picked up a handful of papers and gave them to me.

“And how lucky am I to be able to say I got to help the new queen learn Finnish?” His eyes glowed with pride.

I peeked over at the others, watching them choose seats, and stepped a little closer to keep my words between the two of us.

“I’ll miss you, too, you know. When it’s all over. You mean as much as the others. More than some.”

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t say that. I’m not like them.”

“You are exactly like them. As common and as elevated, Eikko.”

He stilled at the sound of his given name, and, just barely, the corners of his lips hitched up into a smile.

“Hey, Eady,” Kile called. “Want to be my partner?”

“Sure.” I walked over to him, and Erik followed.