The sound of arrows slicing through the air, and the reverberating thunk each one made as it contacted the target, reminded Kit of the pitter patter of rain as she watched the archery contest from a bench beneath a shade tree. Her mother had laid out the rules and then given the Representatives a few minutes to practice before the tournament itself would begin. Most of them would’ve taken a contest before the princess seriously no matter the prize, but the added bonus of a kiss from the princess for the winner was enough to inspire all of them to reach for victory.Of all the men before her, Kit was certain Cassius was the most distracted. She would’ve expected him to be capable of hitting the bullseye more often than not, yet he struggled. Every once in a while, he would turn and smile in her direction, and Kit would feel a tightening in her abdomen. He’d pleasured her one more time that morning before they parted ways, and she was still congratulating hers

Dinner had been as near a disaster as anything associated with the Choosing to date, except for, of course, Jecob’s trial, and by the time she was done and headed to her chambers, Kit was fighting tears. Not only did her mother spend the entire evening belittling her and questioning every choice she made (“Are you sure you need more gravy, Princess? Perhaps you’ve had enough. What? Another pastry for dessert?”) Cassius looked distraught. She could absolutely sympathize with his feelings, but when she tried to catch his eye, and he wouldn’t look directly at her, it occurred to Kit, not for the first time, that the trouble with choosing seven men is that six of them may feel unattended to. Despite Cassius’s assurance earlier that he understood, it still worried Kit. So did the fact that she had no idea how she would ever manage to choose just one man in the end and didn’t think it was possible. Granted, all of the men knew they would have to s

“Good morning,” Reeve said, his voice husky with sleep. “How are you, my Princess? Did you get enough rest?”Kit readjusted so that she was able to see him better without straining her neck. “I slept just fine, thank you.” That may not be exactly true, but the last thing she wanted to do was revisit her dreams. “And you?”“Hardly a wink,” Reeve replied, though his smile didn’t seem to match his response. “I’m afraid I spent most of the night listening to you breathe.”Kit let out an ahh at how sweet his sentiment was. “Lucky for you the queen has nothing planned for today then, isn’t it? Perhaps you can get some more sleep once you return to your room.”“Possibly. Although, it’s not exactly quiet on our end of the hall--ever. There are always people stirring about.”“I can imagine that would be the case, what with so many Re

“Kiss me.”The words were out of her mouth before she could even think about them. It had nothing to do with her ability to command the other forty-one, now forty-two, men to do whatever she’d like. This request originated in her heart. It had lived there for so long, she couldn’t imagine a world where she didn’t constantly yearn for Eli’s lips to be on hers.His hands moved so they were on either side of her face, and she pressed her palms to his chest, but he didn’t lean in, and she remembered that, should anyone see them, should anyone find out, her mother would hesitate at nothing to take his head. There would be no second chances, no possibility of calling upon the people to spare him or barter for a blow of a lesser degree. If Queen Rona had the opportunity to take Eli’s life, she would, so Kit could hardly blame him for hesitating, even if he wanted to taste her as badly as she needed him.Kit opened her mou

Kit sat on the stool before her mirror contemplating what had taken place in the library. Avinia and Isla were working on her hair, and Kit tried to sit still, but her mind wasn’t focused, and every once in a while, she’d list to one side or the other and have to be brought back on course like a ship sailing in heavy winds.She had no doubt Blankka had seen the private moment between herself and Eli. As much as she wanted to reflect on how it had felt to finally kiss him, to have his arms around her, if only for a few moments, her mind kept going back to the conversation she’d overheard in the hallway the day she’d gone to the infirmary to check on Jecob. There were other spiteful comments Blankka had made about Kit’s Choosing as well, how it wasn’t fair that noblewomen had opportunities the lady-in-waiting would never have. Blankka was jealous, and clearly she wanted Eli for herself. Surely, she cared enough about him that she wouldn&rsquo