Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(37)

“He has. He’s just getting ready for the interview now, but he has no clothes to wear.”

“Surely, he had some clothes with him when he left Thalia?”

“That was days ago now. They are all dirty. I don’t think he packed much. We left in rather a hurry, if you remember?”

“Can’t he conjure something up?” Luca asked irritably.

“No. Magic doesn’t work like that. To conjure a suit, he’d have to make it disappear from somewhere else. He isn’t a thief.”

“I never said he was,” replied Luca defensively. I realized I’d gone too far.

“I was hoping he could borrow something of yours.”

“He can’t wear my clothes. The public would know.”

“So?”

“So. I am a prince, he is a servant. They would know in a second that he was wearing my things.”

“He’s telling the truth there,” piped up my mother who had suddenly started to take an interest. “It wouldn’t be right for him to be wearing Luca’s clothes. If you like, I could ring down to the servant’s quarters and see if we have any of his old uniforms?”

“No,” I sighed. That’s exactly what I wanted to get away from.

I pondered over it and then remembered there was another man in the house. A man who always dressed smartly, no matter what the occasion.

I searched the whole palace before finding Leo in the Library. He was sitting in one of the leather-backed chairs, with his nose in a book.”

He seemed surprised to see me as I ran through the library door.

“Charmaine! What a pleasant surprise. I’ve barely had a chance to see you in the past few weeks what with everything going on. How are you doing?”

“I need to borrow one of your suits,” I replied, out of breath from running up and down the palace corridors.

“Ok,” he said without even asking why. “Go to my room and take one, but first I need you to look at this.”

He handed me an old photo. The young man in the center of it was undeniably Cynder. Beside him were two women. Both were dressed in the finest clothes money could buy, but despite this, they managed to look extremely unattractive. The photo was old, probably taken about five years or so ago. Cynder looked so young in it.

“What is this? Where did you find it?” I asked.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on things for a while now. When this whole thing with Cynder cropped up, I thought I’d look into him. I found out that he was the member of The Freedom of Magic group. They are a group of Magi, who have been trying to overthrow the monarchy for a number of years now.”

“I already know. He’s told me all about it. Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about everything, but it’s been so hectic these past couple of days. I’ll have to make time to have a meeting with you and bring you up to speed.” I turned to leave, desperate to get back.

Leo grabbed my arm to stop me.

“What is it?” I asked, noticing the serious look on his face for the first time.

“Did he also tell you he is already married? That’s his wife.”





The Revelation


I looked down at the photo again. I wanted to ask which one, but it didn’t really matter.

“Who is she?”

“As far as I can tell, she’s one of the daughters of the Countess Bloom. The other woman is her sister.”

I barely heard him. Cynder was married. He’d kept his involvement with the Freedom of Magic group from me, and I’d forgiven him for that, but this? Not once had he mentioned having a girlfriend, let alone a wife.

He looked so young in the picture; he couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. Neither woman was holding his hand. They both pouted into the camera while he stood in the middle looking sullen. Nothing about the photo shouted out that he and one of them was a married couple. They looked quite a few years older than him for a start. It didn’t add up at all, and yet, when had Leo ever been wrong? He had friends in high places, and when they couldn’t help him, he used money to do the talking. Not once, had he steered me wrong, and what reason would he have to lie about it?

“Are you ok?” Leo asked in concern. “I thought that if you knew about him, it would make it easier for you. Both Elise and I thought having Cynder back was a mistake. Elise is really worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” I lied. I was anything but. Leo was right though. Knowing Cynder had lied to me, or at least not told me the truth about having a wife, would make this ridiculous competition a whole lot easier for me. I’d do what I had to do and when the time came to pick, I’d not have a problem choosing Luca again. Maybe I’d even show the photo of Cynder and his wife to the public. They’d understand then, why I couldn’t marry him. No one would blame me, and maybe the Magi would stay.

“What else do you know about her?” I asked, fingering the corner of the photo between my fingernails. I had to resist the urge to rip it into shreds.

“Not so much. The Countess Bloom is a very wealthy woman, and her two daughters have been trying to marry into royalty for years. I’m not sure what prompted Drusilla to end up with Cynder when her taste in men, much like her sister’s, is one of position, power, and money, of which, Cynder has none. Her sister, the one on the right is still unmarried as far as I’m aware.”