Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(39)

With great reluctance, he let Cynder up from his chair. Both Alezis and I let our eyes fall to the towel. Cynder was whisked away to the room with the dresses in it where he would no doubt be getting dressed in Leo’s suit.

As Alezis had taken so much time with Cynder, I had to be content with a quick style. He pulled my hair up and loosely put it up into a high bun. It was not what I was used to with him—Alezis liked extravagance, but I liked it. I looked a little like a smart secretary with my smart suit.

I glanced at my watch and noticed how late it actually was. We would miss lunch if we weren’t careful.

Cynder appeared from the dressing room. I heard Alezis gasp as he took in the sight of Cynder in a suit. He looked breathtaking. The suit was a little too large for him as Leo was slightly more muscular, but it made such a difference to see him in something so smart and distinct from the uniforms and rags I was used to seeing him in.

“Purple flower or not?” asked Xavi.

“Sorry?”

“The suit is black. Do you want him to wear a purple flower to mark him as a Mage?”

“No!” I hated that the Magi were marked in some way. It was a practice I wanted to get away from.

“I’ll wear the flower,” smiled Cynder, plucking the dyed rose from Xavi’s hand. I could practically feel her melt next to me. This guy had more magic than he knew. The whole of Xavi’s team was mesmerized by him. He turned to me. “Showing the kingdom I’m a Mage is what this is all about right?”

I nodded.

“I’m going to need some socks and shoes too,” he said. I looked down at his bare feet. He wiggled his toes.

“I forgot, sorry,” I said, feeling flustered. “I’ll take you to Leo and Elise’s room to get some.”

Much to the disappointment of the team, I took Cynder’s arm and pulled him from the room.

“I don’t have any underwear either,” he whispered, causing my blush to deepen. I could hear the amusement in his voice. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, and for the first time, I was beginning to hate him for it.





The Siren


After managing to find a pair of shoes and socks that not only fit but matched the suit, the two of us headed to lunch, the photo still burning a hole in my pocket. I wanted to ask him why he’d lied to me, but I decided to wait until after his interview in the afternoon. If I talked to him now about it, I was going to be angry, and the last thing the public needed to see right now was the pair of us arguing. I also couldn’t begin to formulate the words needed anyway. My head was way too messed up with the whole situation.

Even though I’d spent practically the whole morning with him, we’d barely spoken. I felt more nervous than I probably should have as we walked into the dining hall. My heart thumped as we opened the door and I made sure not to be standing too close to him.

My mother stood and came running over to us. She shook Cynder warmly by the hand.

“I never had a thing against the Magi, you know. I just picked out the best men for the ball.”

I knew my mother was referring to a TV interview she had been part of the previous year where the interviewer had pointed out how no Magi had been invited to my ball despite there being a hundred men to choose from. I tried not to smile. My mother had always been a woman of the people and hated to upset anyone. I’d be extremely surprised if Cynder had even seen the TV interview in question.

“It’s fine, Your Royal Highness. I’m sure you picked the best men in the land, and who wouldn’t want the best for Her Majesty? She deserves the best.”

If my mother blushed, it was nothing compared to the flaming red color my cheeks felt likely to be.

“Good thing she found the best then, really,” said Luca strolling over and clapping Cynder on the back a little too strongly. I began to wonder if Luca’s motivation for inviting Cynder was what he told me it was.

Elise ran over and hugged Cynder so hard, she almost knocked him over with her enthusiasm, and Leo shook his hand although I noticed he was hesitant to do so.

If Cynder was nervous, he didn’t show it. Even when the waiters came in to serve our food, he sat back and waited patiently until it was his turn as though it hadn’t been him on the other side just days before.

When I looked at my plate, I was surprised to find that I had chicken, whereas everyone else had salmon. I was just about to inquire as to why when I noticed a sly grin on Cynder’s face as he quickly hid his wand under his jacket. He’d made it a point to serve me plain chicken last year when I told him I preferred it to the lobster and pheasant that were being served at the ball. He’d remembered.

As he was seated at the further end of the table from me, any conversation I had with him would have been heard by everyone else around the table, so I turned to Leo instead, while Cynder chatted with my mother and Elise.

“I’ve not found out anything else yet, but I have someone looking into it,” whispered Leo. “What did he say? Did he deny it?”

I sighed. “I’ve not asked him. I’m worried if this all comes out before the interview, it will mess everything up. I was going to speak to him about it later.”

Leo opened his mouth to reply when the palace sirens went off. I’d not heard them since the day of my wedding to Xavier, and that had signaled a riot where a lot of people died. Before that, we’d been sent to the safe room because someone had set off a bomb. My family jumped up, leaving their food half-eaten, and Luca took my hand. I let him guide me to the entrance to the basement in the hallway, but as one of the guards opened the door, I halted.