A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

Surfaces of Ice

"You need to leave, Calla," I said, chuckling when she refused to budge from the spot by the foot of Piper's bed.

"Your stylist has probably been waiting more than half an hour by now," Piper stated next to me. "She. Will. Be. Mad."

Calla scowled at her. "I'm confident Prince Atlas won't be upset if I request to reschedule the date for tomorrow." She grabbed my foot, hidden under the cover. "He saw what happened yesterday. He'll understand."

I snorted and rolled my eyes at her. "I'll be fine, Cal. Piper will stay with me, and yesterday was mostly due to low blood sugar anyway. Go."

"You're a terrible liar." Calla sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Not true," I fired back, leaning in to flick her nose. "I am, in fact, an excellent liar—at least according to my record."

She was right, though. I wasn't okay.

I'd spent the night inside Piper's chamber, sleeping next to her. Although this wasn't usually allowed, the king had made an exception due to last night's complications.

Nightmares about the Faceless Shifter had haunted me since we returned to the palace. I had woken up from my sleep so many times that I'd stopped counting, screaming, sweating.

Piper had been there through it all, jerking me awake before I drowned.

I was not okay, but that shouldn't ruin Calla's chance to spend the entire afternoon getting to know the man she had committed herself to marry. Regardless of how that thought made me feel.

My stay here had always been temporary—the king had made sure I knew that.

"I'll be fine," I said again, sighing as I tried pushing her off the bed. "It's not like I'm alone. Go."

Calla stepped off the bed. "Fine." She dusted off her sleeve. "I'll go. But you better not go on another adventure without me."

I glanced at Piper from the corner of my eye. If any of us were crazy enough to do something so reckless when Evie had given us specific instructions to stay within our chambers, it was Piper.

"No adventures!" Calla exclaimed before she exited Piper's chamber to return to the Air Wing.

I immediately turned to face Piper, who already had a big, mischievous smile plastered all over her face.

"No, Piper," I said, sighing. "Whatever you're thinking, don't."

Her smile widened. "When was it she said they had to meet? In an hour. In front of the Parlor, right?"

My smile vanished like a shadow in the dark. "We can't spy on them, Piper," I chided, lightly slapping her arm. "That would be extremely rude."

"Oh, come on, Will! It's not like we'll interrupt them or anything. We'll be like shadows, I promise."

I narrowed my eyes. My warnings wouldn't penetrate that thick head of hers. I doubted anything would. She had that look.

"Come on. Aren't you the least bit curious about this date and what Prince Atlas may have planned?" She was playing dirty already.

"Of course, I'm curious about their date, but Calla will brief us tonight. She promised."

Honestly, I was dying to know what was really happening on these dates. Words could only paint a very distorted and biased picture of reality.

On the other hand, I feared it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know exactly what mask Caiden wore throughout those exclusive meetings.

What if he didn't wear a mask at all? He'd abandoned that façade when the two of us had been together.