The Lightning-Struck Heart (21 page)

“He was feeling
romantic
,” a girl named Crissy said. “He always parts his hair on the right when he’s feeling
romantic
.”

“Actually,” I said, “his hair was slicked back for the ceremony.”

They all stared at me.

Well, except for Tina. She glared.

I shrugged. “What? You were wrong. I was just pointing that out. How wrong you were.”

“What does slicked-back hair mean?” a woman named Nicole asked tearfully. “We’ve never discussed what it means when it’s
slicked back
.
What does it mean
?”

Tina got a wicked gleam in her eye. “Obviously, it was his marriage hair,” she said, and I almost threw my muffin at her face. “He must have known Prince Justin had asked for his hand in marriage before the ceremony.”

“That wasn’t marriage hair,” I argued. “That was his ‘I’m in command now’ hair.”

Tina rolled her eyes. “Please, Ryan was all about Prince Justin. Rystin forever. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him when the King made the announcement.”

“I don’t know,” the oldest woman of the group said. Her name was Mary, and I thought she was awesome because she was a self-proclaimed Sam Girl. Well, she was awesome for other things too, but the Sam Girl thing made her even more awesome. “I was there too. Ryan didn’t seem as pleased as one should with a marriage announcement. And he was staring at Sam for most of the night.”

“Oh, here we go again,” Tina muttered.

“He was?” I said, somewhat startled.

Mary smiled at me. “He was. The look on his face when the King proclaimed the ball to follow was to find Sam a suitor almost broke my heart. It was like he had lost the only thing that mattered to him. He’s totally crushing on Sam. HaveHeart forever.”

I said, “What.”

Tina said, “He’s
not
crushing on
Sam
. I don’t know why you continue to insist on such a ridiculous pairing when there is
obviously
no chemistry between them. Ryan is now engaged to his beloved and will marry him and they’ll have babies and dinner and gaze into each other’s eyes. Epic poetry will be written about their love and hundreds of years from now, people will still speak of the wonder that is Rystin.”

“I don’t know,” a girl named Courtney said. “I think Sam and Ryan stare at each other when the other’s not looking. There’s always this indefinable
something
there. It’s almost like lightning crackling between them.”

I said, “What.”

“And did you hear?” Mary said, sounding gleeful. “They danced for
three straight songs
. No one dances for that many songs. He didn’t even dance with Justin that many times. Not in a row. It was like they were in their own little world and nothing could bother them.” She sighed, eyes fluttering.

“He’s a
wizard
,” Tina said, scandalized. “Justin is a
prince
. Why in the name of the gods would he want to take so many steps backward?”

“Sam is
so
mysterious, though,” Nicole said, and I
knew
it! I
knew
I was mysterious. I took a bite of a muffin in victory. It was a bit dry. Dammit. “He’s always got this look on his face like he’s working out the secrets of the universe. And when he looks at Ryan? It’s like he
is
the universe. And he wants nothing more than to solve Ryan’s riddle.”

“I
bet
he wants to solve Ryan’s riddle,” Mary said. “And then he probably wants to riddle his Ryan.”

I choked on the muffin.

“You okay?” Mary asked me.

I coughed. “Yes. Sorry. The muffin was just far too moist. I wasn’t expecting it.”

“That look isn’t about secrets,” Tina said. “He probably just has gas. Intestinal gas.”

“It’s not gas,” I snapped at her. “Er. Not that I would know. But it’s probably not. And it’s probably not anything to do with Ryan. I’m pretty sure Sam doesn’t even really care about Ryan at all.”

Mary laughed. “Oh, that’s not true. Sam wants to eat him for breakfast. There is something there that doesn’t exist between Ryan and Justin. And what about the date Sam went on? Ryan was obviously jealous the whole time.”

“I was there!” a woman named Griselda exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look at her and said, “Oooh.”

“Tell us
everything
,” Nicole demanded.

“It was just… I just…. Oh my
gods
, you guys. So there I was, eating my meal with my husband, minding my own business when in walks
Sam and Ryan
. And that guy Sam was on a date with.”

“Todd,” I supplied. “He has epic ears.”

“Yes, Todd,” she said dismissively. “I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Ryan was standing
so
close to Sam, like he didn’t want to let him out of his sight.”

“He was
chaperoning
,” Tina said. “It was his
job
to watch Sam.”

Gross. I just agreed internally with something Tina said. I reminded myself to run tests when I got home to make sure I hadn’t just been possessed by a demon.

“You weren’t
there
,” Griselda said. “It was
more
. When those Dark wizards came in? He pulled out his big, long sword and tried to protect Sam. And even when the wizards were standing
right there
, Sam and Ryan were in their own little world, bantering back and forth and the
tension
. You guys, the
tension was ridiculous
.”

“He tried to protect Sam?” I said. “Please. He just stood there and Sam was all badass and trapped all the Darks by himself. Ryan was posing like he normally did. Dashing and immaculate my ass. More like—”

They stared at me again.

“Or so I read,” I said. “In the paper. Nothing else. I wasn’t there. I was on the other side of the city doing… stuff.”

“But it was obviously Sam’s fault that Justin has been taken by the dragon,” Tina said nastily. “He was the one that kidnapped Justin and forced him out to the sparring fields. He probably had a deal with the dragon to take Justin away so he could steal Ryan. Sam of Wilds
hates
Rystin and it’s just so unfair!”

“No one can control dragons,” I said. “Hello. They’re
dragons
. That’s not how magic works.”

“Yeah,” Tina said. “Because
you
would know how magic works. If you did, you could magic yourself some less ridiculous facial hair.”

“I could say the same about you,” I said and she was
livid
.

“You guys,” Courtney said.

“You know what, Mervin? I’m getting sick of your—”

“You
guys
,” Courtney said.

“Oh please, Tina. Your personality is like a—”

“
You guys
,” Courtney said.

“
My
personality? You are the absolute
worst
—”

“You guys!” Courtney shouted.

We all looked at her.

She had gone completely pale. She lifted a trembling finger. She said, “It’s.
Him
.”

We all looked where she was pointing.

And yeah. Fuck my life.

Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart stood on the other side of the street, talking with a small group of people.

We all screamed. Me for entirely different reasons than the others.

He looked up, startled.

The entire fan club was waving maniacally at him.

Except for me. I was sinking down in my seat.

Ryan waved back and held up a finger.

“Does that mean he’s coming over here?” Nicole said weakly. “Oh dear gods. I think my underwear just fell off.”

“
Nicole
,” Tina hissed. “Keep your comments to yourself! Be a respectable fucking lady, for fuck’s sake!”

“Mine did too,” Mary said, patting Nicole’s arm.

“Mervin, where are you going?” Griselda asked, and
damn
her for noticing me trying to flee quietly into the crowd.

“Uh. Nowhere? I mean, somewhere. I just remembered I have an important business meeting. For business. To discuss my business.”

Mary grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my seat. “Don’t be so shy, Mervin. That can wait. Who knows when we’ll ever get this chance again? It’s not as if—
oh my gods, he’s coming over
.”

Well shit.

I looked over and yep. There he was. Walking across the street like he didn’t have a care in the world. To the outsider, he held himself tall and proud and looked every bit the knight commander that he was.

But I knew him. I’d been watching him (like a creep) for a long time. I saw the fake set of his smile. The slight purple lines under his eyes. The stiff hold of his shoulders. He was stressed and tired and confused.

“Ladies,” he said, glancing over the table. “And gentleman.” He smiled at me.

They all giggled.

I didn’t because I was too busy wondering if anyone would notice if I made myself invisible. It was almost worth the risk.

Tina, the awful person that she was, stood and posed, sticking her chest out as far as it could go. She looked like the back end of a horse. “Knight Commander,” she all but purred. “How very kind of you to take time out of your busy schedule to come and mingle with the ladies.”

“Hate you too, bitch,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Are you some kind of social group?” he asked.

Tina
preened
. Like a
peacock
. “Not just
any
social group,” she said. “This is the Ryan Foxheart Fan Club Castle Lockes Chapter. We are the largest Foxheart Fan Club in all of the City of Lockes. We’re the Foxy Ladies.”

“Well,” Mary said, patting my hand. “The Foxy People. We don’t discriminate.”

“Fan Club?” Ryan asked, sounding adorably shocked. Then I remembered he was an asshole and I was pissed off at him, so he wasn’t adorably anything. “Oh wow. He wasn’t kidding when he said that.”

“Who?” Tina demanded.

“Sam. He’s a… friend of mine.” There was a tightening around his eyes and I wanted to shout that we sure as shit didn’t seem like friends yesterday, you motherfucker. I kept that bit to myself. Barely.

And almost all the ladies
sighed
. “Sam of Wilds?” Mary said. “He
knows
about us?”

Deidre burst into tears. “He’s… just… standing… so…
close
.”

“Can you sign something?” Nicole demanded. “This paper? This napkin? My chest? My inner thighs or my wildest dreams? Whatever you want.”

“Heh,” Ryan said. “Whoa.”

“
Nicole
,” Tina barked. “Rein your slut back in!”

“I can’t believe Sam knows about us,” Griselda said in awe.

“How?” Courtney cried. “How does he know? I want answers! I want him here. I changed my mind. I’m no longer about Rystin. HaveHeart forever!”

“HaveHeart is where pairings go to die,” Tina growled. “Long live Rystin!”

“I… just… want… to… touch… him,” Deidre sobbed.

“Whaaaaat is even happening right now?” Ryan said.

“Rystin is Justin and Ryan,” Mary explained.

“And HaveHeart is Sam Haversford and Ryan Foxheart,” Griselda said.

“Rystin and HaveHeart?” he said faintly. “I don’t even….”

“I’m a Sam Girl,” Mary told him. “Because of how he looks in tight pants. Edible. Edible is how he looks in tight pants.”

“Oh my gods,” I whispered feverishly. “This is happening right in front of me.”

“And I’m a Foxy Lady,” Tina said. “Because of reasons.” She stared at his chest. Everyone understood her reasons. Even me.

He looked back at me. “So, you a Foxy Lady too? Or a Sam Girl?”

“What,” I said, dropping my voice as low as it could go. “No. Not even. Shut your mouth.”

He frowned. “Do I know you from somewhere? You seem familiar.”

And with that,
everyone
at the table turned slowly to stare at me.

“Nope,” I said. “I don’t know you. I’m just here to do business. For my business.”

“And what business is that?” he asked.

And because I couldn’t help it, I said, “None of your.”

And he
laughed
. And
my
underwear almost fell off.

“Sweet molasses,” I said weakly.