A Beast's Tale

Chapter 82

Ivetta was back to normal the next day. At least she seemed to be back to normal. She was smiling, talking, and laughing as if nothing ever happened. I went along with the illusion, although I wasn't about to sit around and hope it wouldn't happen again. She had always been stable, feeling and expressing vibrant emotions, yes, but not allowing them to control her, with few exceptions. The only triggers I could pinpoint were her scars and her mother's birthday. I was already working on desensitizing her to the scars. I couldn't change a calendar day. And I couldn't shake the feeling that the anniversary of her mother's death, which fell in the middle of the goodwill gala, would hit her even harder.

She was, however, very excited about the upcoming gala. Her experience with it would be radically different this year, and it occurred to me that distraction may be all she needed to keep her mind off of the past. The preparations would do nicely in that regard until the gala arrived. She threw herself into them wholeheartedly, allowing me the opportunity to put together a few surprise announcements for the week of the gala. The excitement of the first night may be enough on its own, but the addition of extra fanfare for Gilbert, who was now officially the king of Obsidian, should ensure there would be no problems. Sariel had settled on a day for Luke and Arianna's engagement ceremony, and I convinced them to hold the announcement until the second day. The dreaded anniversary fell on the third night. I wasn't sure if it would affect Ivetta then, the fourth day, or both days, so Belle agreed to come up to the palace for a visit on the fourth day. For the third day...

"Come in," Jin called in response to my knock on his door.

He was sprawled across one of the two red sofas situated in front of the fireplace, a bottle of liquor open on the coffee table, a glass in his hand. The brick hearth was cold and empty this time of year. Candles on the stone mantle and in the brass wall sconces cast flickering lights across the bare stone walls, unadorned except for a single red and gold drapery centered between the paired tall, thin windows on either side of the fireplace. A large floral rug covered most of the hardwood floor, muting my steps as I crossed to the well-worn sofa opposite Jin. Unless he was with a woman, Jin had an open door policy for his younger brothers, and I knew several of them took him up on it regularly.

"What brings you here tonight?" he asked, reaching across to the bottle on the coffee table and pouring me a glass.

"Theresa," I replied, taking the glass and glancing disdainfully at the pile of books on the floor next to the coffee table.

"Well, as you can see, she's not here," he said, gesturing around the room. "She's in town visiting her family. Didn't Ivetta tell you that?"

"When are you proposing?" I asked, studying the chessboard on the coffee table. A game was in progress, and the white side was losing.

Jin's burgundy eyes widened for a moment, and then he started laughing. "Propose? What, is this something Ivetta put you up to?"

"No." I took a sip and leaned forward to move a white piece.

Jin moved a black piece. "I have thought about it," he said. "But we haven't been dating for that long."

"You've known her for a few years," I replied, moving another piece.

"Yeah, there is that," he said thoughtfully as he made his next move.

"She's not your mother."

He drained his glass. "You don't beat around the bush," he muttered, pouring himself another drink. "Assuming I can get past that issue, there's still the cranky nobility to consider. Quite a few of them are still upset about Leon. Maybe after things settle down a bit, after the goodwill gala-"