"no, i don't think so. i'll be too busy with plans for the bridal shower." at the mention of an event that obviously revolved around me, she turned to me with a humble smile playing at her lips and i returned it gracefully, although the fear of that far off event had already made roots in the pit of my stomach. "i'll send silviu with her."

"no, don't bother," lucan countered, "i'll send alexander. it won't be any trouble and i'd feel better with my own guard near her."

bianca opened her mouth to argue, but sebastian cut her off before she could utter a sound, "actually, uncle lucan, what if you let us go get her?"

"i assume you mean kiran and yourself?" lucan turned his incredulous attention to sebastian.

"and talbott, of course," kiran added.

"i don't know...." lucan stalled, narrowing his eyes at kiran.

"please father, we've made the trip hundreds of times and we will keep amelia perfectly safe. you can even send the old car if you want, for discretion purposes of course," kiran insisted humbly, bravely staring his father in the eyes across the table, not faltering no matter how hard lucan's gaze turned.

"and you'll want to take her?" lucan accused his son carefully, his eyes drifting to mine in an unreadable cruel expression that made me skin crawl.

"i haven't decided yet," kiran replied carefully. he unwrapped his arm from around my shoulders and sat forward in his chair, pensively considering an accusation that kiran had casually turned into an offer from his father to let kiran decide.

"you haven't decided yet?" i asked with gentle caution, still amazed at the way kiran manipulated his father. the servants appeared to clear our plates and replace them with a quaint sherbet with delicious red raspberries that sweated in the warming heat.

"no, i haven't," kiran leaned forward, his eyes teasing. "we'll see how this weekend goes," he reprimanded me sternly, but i could tell it was for his father's sake more than anything else and then he leaned against my cheek, pretending to whisper sweet nothings into my ear that made me blush from his closeness, "and how you behave tonight when we go off campus."

my heart soared at the idea of getting out of the citadel and with thoughts about an adventurous night ahead of me i finished the luncheon with polite ease and a charming smile. i noticed lucan's watchful eye on me and when we finally rose to retire into our own wings of the castle, he put a firm hand on kiran's shoulder and squeezed it in a way that any proud father would.

chapter ten

"eden, just pick something!" sebastian sighed while pacing the room impatiently.

"it would help if i knew where we were going!" i retorted. i pushed hangers out of my way, sliding them roughly over the wooden bar that held a plethora of clothing designated for me. or seraphina. i still wasn't sure who the closets full of clothes were for.

"does it really matter? just look at how i'm dressed, doesn't that help you?" sebastian offered.

"shorts and a polo? really inspired sebastian... you're not helping! these clothes do not seem like seraphina's style at all, by the way," i groaned. i settled on a long, navy blue maxi dress, deciding it was the girl's version of khaki shorts and a polo.

"those clothes weren't for seraphina, kiran had them picked out according to your style," sebastian explained nonchalantly.

"what? when?" i racked my brain trying to remember a time when the closet had been changed while i was here.

"obviously before the wedding," he rolled his eyes at me as if it were obvious.

"but before the wedding, he didn't know i was coming here," i reminded him, turning around with the dress in my hand.

"uh, he knew you would come," sebastian assured me.

"then why was he so mad when i actually showed up?" i pressed. kiran was furious when we came face to face and i interrupted his wedding. at first i thought it was because he wanted to marry seraphina, but he told me later that avalon and he had a plan and that i messed everything up.

"i didn't say he hoped you would come. i said he knew you would come," sebastian clarified.

"still if he knew, then why did he get so mad?" i turned indignantly for the bathroom to change into my clothes that apparently were handpicked for me.

"are you serious?" sebastian laughed. "eden, he wanted you to marry him. do you remember any of this? not show up last minute in a last-ditch effort to save your brother because you were out of every other option! you not only hurt his pride, but you broke the poor guy's heart!"

i didn't dignify sebastian with an answer, but turned on my heel and slammed the bathroom door behind me. i loved sebastian as a friend, but if he kept fighting this non-existent battle for kiran, i was going to end up smacking him. kiran didn't love me anymore and i didn't love him anymore. and in some ironic sick twist of fate, we still had to prove to the rest of the kingdom we were madly in love until the resistance could come crashing through the citadel gates and change all that.

what is taking so long? i demanded of avalon, snapping him out of a phone call. he hung up his cell phone instinctively and turned his attention to me.

are you ok? is something wrong? avalon sounded very concerned, and i suddenly felt bad for barging in on his consciousness.

no, nothing's wrong.... i inwardly sighed and slumped down in a high-backed chair that sat against the wall of kiran's enormous bathroom. sometimes this place gets to be too much. how much longer before you think the resistance is ready to storm the castle?

before may, i promise. avalon assured me. i should have been thankful for his confidence, but his time-line felt forever away.

so, then, not like tomorrow? i joked, relaxing a little and deciding that i could and would do my part in this.

no, not tomorrow. avalon laughed. do you want to talk about whatever is bothering you?

i heard the door open in the bedroom and kiran and talbott walk in. no, not now. we're leaving the castle for a little bit tonight, so i'm sure i'll feel better once i get outside these walls.

yes, i'm sure you will. avalon smiled. just relax ede, everything is going to work out. we have people involved with the festival, working surveillance and such. so this weekend, just know, you won't be alone and i won't be far away either.

that makes me feel better. i conceded. ok, i'd better get ready.

have fun tonight! avalon said enthusiastically.

why do i get the feeling you already know where i'm going? i pushed. i realized he wasn't drilling me with a thousand questions about my evening plans and i found that strange.

oh.... because i do know. i mean, sebastian and titus talk all the time, so titus told me. avalon explained, but i didn't like his answer, it didn't feel genuine.

whatever; those two are so weird. i sighed, attributing his cover-up story to wanting to keep unnecessary information from me just in case i were to accidentally leak something to lucan.

i changed into my dress. it flowed down in folds of silk fabric, covering my silver, gladiator sandals. the dress was all one color except for a thin silver belt that cinched the billowy dress in at my waist. i freshened up my makeup, thickening my eye liner and replenishing my pink lip gloss. since i didn't know exactly where we were going, i decided i'd better cover up my glowing tattoo, so i pulled my hair over my shoulder and tied it into a loose ponytail that hung in tousled curls down my arm.

i stood back to examine my look and decided i looked a bit over-casual, so if we were going somewhere fancy i probably wouldn't fit in. i never fit in though, so it probably wouldn't matter what i was wearing. i jangled the handcuffs around my wrists, deciding all over that they were ugly and unnecessary, but they didn't seem to be bothering my magic so, for now i would put up with them.

when i joined the boys back in the bedroom, the sun was setting over the mountains and the sky outside kiran's window turning into a deep pink with purple clouds scattering across the horizon. kiran, talbott and sebastian were huddled in a quiet conference near the door and immediately stopped talking when i entered the room.

"eden, you're beautiful," kiran admitted softly after he turned to look at me.

i felt the heat rise to my cheeks and then remembered we were in love all day and he was probably still practicing, "you don't have to pretend around talbott and sebastian; they don't care." i smiled graciously at him.

"of course," kiran replied curtly.

"that's not true, eden! i care!" sebastian teased. i rolled my eyes in response. he put his arm on kiran's shoulder and i knew he was headed for more mischief but i couldn't stop him, "besides, who says he's pretending? it was just a compliment, eden. i doubt it had anything to do with his pretend feelings for you. right, kiran?"

"no, sebastian, i forgot where we were. i just, um, today went so smoothly that i forgot my audience tonight," kiran explained, feeling ambushed by his cousin.

"so you don't think she looks beautiful?" sebastian asked, furrowing his eyebrows as if it were the most ridiculous idea.

"no, that's not what i meant. of course, eden is beautiful," kiran sighed in frustration at his cousin and then turned to me, "eden, really, you look striking tonight. i mean that sincerely."

"thank you," i lowered my eyes, feeling more self-conscious than ever.

"well, now that that's out of the way, let's go!" sebastian grinned roguishly at me and then opened the door so the rest of us could file out.

we walked quietly through the castle. the hallways were lit with soft golden sconces and the whole building seemed more alive in preparation for tomorrow's festivities. the summer solstice celebration lasted for two nights. my engagement party was scheduled for tomorrow night; a carnival and concert were planned for the next day and then a ball that evening. if i didn't hate the monarchy, hate my fiance and fully intend on inciting a civil war, the weekend would have actually sounded fun.

"are we sneaking out?" i inquired casually. i found it hard to believe lucan gave us permission to leave, but at the same time, none of the boys acted particularly inconspicuous.

"no," talbott replied gruffly.

in the courtyard of the castle three motorcycles waited for us. the last time i rode on a motorcycle had been with jericho in peru and we were running from the titans. the memory of that day stung my heart and made my head swim. jericho. i left him so that i could play pretend with my ex-boyfriend. he had to be hurting.

i thought he would hate me forever after i abandoned our original plan to attack the castle and rescue avalon, but he didn't seem overly upset when i saw him last week. was it only last week? it felt like an eternity since we spent time together and the endless days that stretched out before me reminded me that i might never see him again.

"have you ever been on a motorcycle before?" kiran asked. his soft voice drew me from my thoughts and i looked up at him.

"yes, just once," i smiled and then felt the need to explain. "when talbott gave me jericho back, last march, we escaped the titans on one."