Any other expression the servant may have worn before recognition sank in was missed by Kit. Had Blankka been delighted? Ashamed? Remorseful? It didn’t matter now because Kit knew exactly what she had done, and a seething rage boiled up out of her soul as she imagined the consequences. There would be no way to undo what Blankka, someone who was meant to be her friend, her ally, a confident, had done.“You conniving little bitch!” Kit shrieked, tearing her arm away from Galter and flying at Blankka, her fingers crooked as if her nails were talons.“No, Princess! Please!” Blankka shouted, dropping to her knees and throwing up her arms to cover her head. “Forgive me!”Kit would visit no mercy on the girl. She’d rip her to shreds in this very hallway. Even if her mother came out and ordered her to stop, Kit wouldn’t show any leniency for the woman who had cost her so much. A guttural cry echoed down the hallway a

Standing on the dais next to her mother always made her heart thunder in her chest, but after the day she’d had, and in light of the announcement she was about to make, Kit could hardly breathe her heart was racing so quickly. Not to mention, the last of her forty-two men was waiting out in the hallway somewhere to meet her. It seemed like the Choosing would truly begin at that moment, when he made his entrance, and she was no longer waiting for anyone or anything. The fact that she’d already made connections with some of the other men, particularly Cassius who was standing almost directly in front of her now, looking as appealing as ever in his province’s colors of white and red, didn’t seem to make too much of a difference since she still had six more men to select. Her eyes glanced through the crowd, and certain faces caught her attention, men she wanted to know better, those who may as well go home now, and a few she couldn’t quite put her finger on

(Beginning of Book 2: Loved by the Princess) The sound of music wound its way around Kit as she moved back and forth across the dance floor, not really paying attention to the man whose arms she was in, though she understood she was being impolite. Gavin of Wainsborough was a handsome man, with golden skin and hair to match. He had an athletic frame, though he was more wiry than some of the other men, like Cassius from Warchester Keep, who was currently the only Representative she’d Roomed. Cassius had shoulders broad enough to carry two of her. But Gavin wasn’t currently the man she was thinking of, and neither was Cassius for that matter. She needed to speak with Eli; the sooner the better.She glanced around the ballroom again. Several hours had passed since he was introduced to her as the newest Representative for her Choosing, and she hadn’t seen him in at least half that time. At first, she’d avoided him because she hadn&rsqu

Kit’s head was moving up and down on its own accord before she even realized she was agreeing. “If you’re not afraid of her, then I would like for you to... stay. To participate. And we can see... what it’s like to be a bit more than friends.” Eli’s lips formed a small smile, and she mirrored the gesture before another thought entered her head, morphing her mouth into a tight line before she continued. “But... you should know... the others—I have begun to form relationships with some of them. I wouldn’t want to just walk away from them now.”He was shaking his head before she even finished the statement. “Nor would I expect you to. Kit, this is a long process. I know you have feelings for Cassius and some of the others, and I’m glad for it. I told you this afternoon in the library I thought he was a good man. He is. I don’t want to stand in your way. If there’s someone else who is better suite

 Jaterius had been aware of Princess Katrinetta all night, but it wasn’t until he actually heard her speak his name that he turned to acknowledge her for the first time. While he would’ve loved to have had the opportunity to dance with her, it just wasn’t in him to throw his hand in her face every time a dance ended as it seemed so many others were doing. He wished he could be as confident as Cassius, strolling up to her and demanding the others move aside through the power of his presence, but that wasn’t who Jate was either, so when he heard her soft voice calling his name, he was startled to see she was demanding his attention.The men moved aside for her, though some of them seemed reluctant, and she came to stand before him, looking up into his hazel eyes. “Jate, how are you this evening? I haven’t had a chance to speak to you at all.”Jate glanced at Cassius (whom had been in the middle of a story about dodgi