Page 15 of Only Hard Problems
“Oh, yes,” I agreed, even more anger creeping into my voice. “It is quite annoying to be kept in the dark, and it is getting on my last bloodynerve.”
Asterin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why? Are you worried Vesper will threaten your position? Usurp your role as the heir to House Zimmer? Take your title and riches away from you?”
Her snide assumptions about my supposed petty jealousy further fueled my anger. “No,” I snarled. “I’m not worried about Vesper taking anything away from me.”
“Then what are you so upset about?”
“Not what—who.”
“Okay, if it’s not Vesper, then who are you so upset with, Zane?”
“My grandmother,” I snarled again. “Becauseshealready took something away—she tookVesperaway fromme.”
Once again, the confession slipped through my lips, even as the hard truth of my words slammed straight into my heart. Iwasangry at my grandmother—angrier than I had ever been at her before.
Beatrice had schemed and plotted and moved me around like a pawn my entire life, and I had let her because it was all part of the Regal game. My grandmother had always insisted her actions were for the greater good of our family, but keeping the secret of Vesper from my father and me hadn’t been for the greater good. Oh, Beatrice might claim it had been to protect House Zimmer, but really, all it had done was serve her own selfish need to squash the potential scandal and hang on to her exalted status among the Regals.
Asterin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, as though I’d said something wholly unexpected. With anyone else, I could be Zane Zimmer, self-absorbed Regal lord and arrogant idiot Arrow. But not with her, not about this.
Asterin eyed me as though I was a rabid sand lion, and she wasn’t sure if I was going to rear up and bite her or not. She slowly leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Vesper isyoursister, Zane.Youdecide how you feel about her, not your grandmother. Just likeyoudecide what to do about her, not Callus Holloway.”
“Don’t you think Iknowthat?” I snapped.
“Then start acting like it,” she snapped right back at me.
We stopped dancing, both of us glaring at each other.
Another couple jostled into Asterin from behind, propelling her forward into my arms. Her body bumped up against mine, her softer curves melting into my harder planes. The subtle scent of her soap flooded my nose, smelling tart and sweet, like summer blackberries. My anger vanished, and something hot, hungry, and wholly unexpected erupted in my chest, like a dragon breathing fire deep inside me.
Asterin froze, her gaze locking with mine. Her lips parted, and I suddenly wondered what they tasted like, whatshetasted like—
The same clumsy couple jostled us again, this time knocking Asterin out of my arms. She stumbled, and I gripped her elbow until she steadied herself. We faced each other again. All around us, the other couples slowed their dance steps as the music wound down.
“My offer still stands,” I said. “Tell me where Vesper and Kyrion are, and I’ll put an end to our families’ scheming. You have my word.”
“Your word is as empty as all your other pretty promises.” She jerked her elbow out of my light grip. “I don’t care what our families are plotting. You’re arrogant and infuriating and swagger around like an overconfident peacock. I willneverget engaged to you, just like I will never tell you anything about Vesper and Kyrion.”
“And you’re cold and remote and distant as a Frozon moon,” I growled right back at her. “Someone is going to find Vesper and Kyrion sooner or later. So do us both a favor and tell me where they are.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head to the side again, as though she was seeing much more than I wanted her to, much more than I ever wanted anyone to see. “Our mutual disdain aside, you should figure out whatyouwant to do, Zane, instead of doing what everyone else expects and demands of you. Maybe you’ll have better blasted luck with it than I have.”
A grim, lopsided smile split her lips, but the expression quickly iced over into another cold glower.
“Either way, Vesper is a good person, and she deserves far better than the likes of you.”
Asterin gave me a stiff, shallow curtsy, the bare minimum that protocol dictated and not an inch lower. Then she whirled around and vanished into the crowd, leaving me standing alone on the dance floor.
CHAPTER FOUR
ZANE
Asterinmighthavestormedaway, but her words kept echoing in my mind.Vesper isyoursister, Zane.Youdecide how you feel about her.
But that was the problem—I didn’t knowhowI felt about Vesper. Everything was a jumble in my mind. My grandmother’s stubborn silence. My father’s angry shock. My own simmering disgust. Vesper’s unknown feelings. Each person and emotion yanked me in a different direction, but in the end, they all just circled around each other, like a viper eating its own tail again and again.
But like it or not, Vesperwasmy sister, and I was going to have to do something about that inescapable fact. I was going to have to choose a side and commit to a course of action—good, bad, or ugly.
The music ramped up again. Several Regals whirled by, and more than a few titters sounded, since I was still standing in the middle of the dance floor like a lovestruck fool. Fergus eyed me with concern, still swaying with his partner. I plastered my usual smile on my face, then gave a deep, low bow to my friend and all the other watchers, accompanied by a showy hand flourish.