79

The next day, Dove was released from her bedridden confines after Gustav deemed her fit. Her leg still ached a bit when she put pressure on it, but the herbologist assured her that, after her last two medicine vials, she’ll be good to take a few turns on the dance floor during her birthday ball.

Which was the next day.

Slowly limping towards the dining room with her handmaiden at her side for support, the young princess can’t help but linger on the fact that it’ll be her last birthday at the castle, at her home with her family. With…Jacques.

She knows she shouldn’t be thinking about him, but truth be told, she lied yesterday. The so-called fantasy she harboured about him never left. In fact, it only doubled after they shared that earth-shattering kiss. And after crying herself to sleep in Chelsea’s embrace, Dove continued to dream about the healer and another life in which they were free to explore love together.

A massive weight was lifted off her shoulders after coming clean to Chelsea about being in love with Jacques. However, it did nothing to dull the emptiness of ending things with him for the sake of her betrothal to Rubin. Was this her future? Will she forever regret crossing the line between friends and more with the healer? Probably not, but she will always mourn the ‘what if’ and ‘what could’ve been’ had she not been promised to another.

Two servants open the doors to the dining hall for her to enter. The moment her presence is announced, everyone is standing from the table to greet her. They’re asking the same questions again – how are you feeling? – and she gives them the same answer – still sore, but better.

Rubin nearly falls over his feet to pull back her chair for her to sit, insisting that she should stay on her leg for longer than necessary. But little did Dove expect to see the last person she’d expect sitting at the table with the two royal families.

Her and Jacques’ eyes only briefly meet before she looks away, beckoning over a servant with a teapot.

“You really mustn’t feel obliged to grace us with your presence if you feel it is too soon, my dear,” Queen Rosanna sympathizes. “We would all understand if you still need to rest.”

“I appreciate your concern, your highness,” Dove politely tells her while a servant fills her cup with tea, “but I fear if I spent a moment longer in that room, I might just jump through the window.”

To that, King Aldrich laughed heartily and says in a booming voice, “Then it’s a good thing your kind can fly, am I right?”

The whole table falls awkwardly quiet at his words. No one knows how to break it to him – vampires don’t fly – so, they continue sipping their tea and picking at their breakfast. Dove suppresses a grin when Jacques lowers his head to hide the fact that he’s rolling his eyes.

Still, she’s curious to why he and Gustav are joining them this morning. Aiming a kick at Chelsea’s shin underneath the table, the young princess successfully manages to grab her attention. Silently flicking her eyes at the healer and herbologist, she wordlessly demands an explanation.

Since there was already an awkward silence after the human king’s comment, Chelsea finds a way to break it while also hinting to why the healer and herbologist are present. “It is so good to have everyone back around one table. What happened do my dear sister in the forest only reminded me how times spent with friends and family should not be taken for granted –”

“Hear, hear!” King Aldrich toasts with his tea.

“—and how eternally grateful I am that our dearest healers were there when it happened.” The older princess smiles kindly at Jacques and Gustav and continues, “Which is why I requested your presence at the table this morning, gentlemen. You are, in fact, more like family than anything else, and I personally want to thank you for saving my baby sister’s life.”

Dove’s eyes narrow at Chelsea in suspicion. So, she was behind this. To what gain was still unknown, but the older princess never made any decisions without somewhat benefitting from them. She was that good, as well as that clever.

“I agree,” Lorcan speaks up from his end of the table, and then says something that nearly sent Dove falling backward off her chair with surprise, “and I must apologize to them, especially Jacques for how coldly I treated him. His outburst was a result of his concern for my daughter. Like Chelsea said, we’re family. And I must confess, had Jacques not raised his voice to me a few times in the past and talked some sense into me, I would’ve never found my way back to Elle.”

Dove’s eyes cut over to the healer, who awkwardly accepts her father’s apology with a stiff smile. She knows that look – he’s uncomfortable, which contrasts with his normally confident character. He can hardly look her father in the eye as he continues naming the times they had arguments, and how the healer was always right.

Her brows furrow when she realizes that he’s not uncomfortable, but rather battling with guilt. For kissing her behind her father’s back, perhaps?

Well, at least now she knows why they’re at the table. She’ll remember to have a word with Chelsea regarding her involvement later.

“Oh, come on, Lorcan, you’re making him blush,” Elle says, stepping in to save the healer. To change the topic, she looks over at Dove. “Are you looking forward to your birthday, love?”

“I…” Dove trails off when her and Jacques’ eyes lock again, if only for a second. Smiling, she says to the rest of the table, “Yes, I am. I plan on making it memorable, seeing as it will be my last birthday in Sangaris.”

A collection of awes and hums go around before Rubin turns to her with intent. “In our realm, it is tradition for a husband to gift his wife with a pelt of the largest bear he could find. However, seeing as we’re not married yet, I should ask what you’d want for your birthday, my Dove. Name anything you want, and it’s yours.”

Chelsea grabs at her heart, muttering ‘how romantic’ under her breath.

King Aldrich nods approvingly as if saying ‘he gets his charm from me’.

And Jacques glowers at the prince while lingering on the words ‘my Dove’. *His* Dove? What even –

Dove breathes a laugh at the prince’s bold promise. “I doubt you can give me the stars, your greatness. But, if I must request something for my birthday, it will be this.” Turning to look him in the eye, she says, “For my birthday, I want the thing that you find the most beautiful in the world. Whatever it is, I am certain that I’ll love it.”

Queen Rosanna fans herself with her napkin in joy. “Such an innocent request. You are truly a delight, my dear.”

Rubin mulls over her words, the gears in his head turning at the speed of light. “Whatever I find most beautiful…I think I know the perfect gift, my princess. I shall have it by the time the sun rises.”

“I am anxiously awaiting to receive it,” Dove replies, beaming.

After that, Lorcan changes the topic by mentioning the ball and the guests that will attend. Most of them are other vampire covens with whom they have alliances with, who were also eager to meet the Southerners.

But while politics and celebrations are being discussed, Jacques stares at his plate in contemplation, repeating Dove’s request for a birthday gift. Last year, he gave her an encyclopaedia on healing herbs and plants, but that was before he overstepped their boundaries by falling in love and kissing her in her bed.

Now the stakes are raised.

She’s getting married and leaving Sangaris, and he’ll probably never see her again in his life. Which means he’ll have to send her off with a birthday gift that will outshine every gift she’ll ever receive, one that will always remind her of him. And he’ll use her hint to the prince as a guideline to do just that.