His Selected Mate

Chapter 45

The days were starting to pass in a blur. I avoided the king like the plague because I didn't want him to look at me. If he did look at me, I feared Tempest would take control and kill him for what he did. Maxon had healed completely the day following the incident which I was grateful for.

Silvia had begun to give us lessons on more palace involved things. I didn't mind the work however. It distracted me from the fact that it was almost mid-November and Maxon still hadn't eliminated another girl. I didn't think it was something I could just bring up so I didn't. At the end of the day, if Maxon suddenly decided to extend the Selection for months there was nothing I could do, except ignore him for his stupidity.

Who do you think he will eliminate? I honestly couldn't tell you. Part of me thinks it'll be Elise since she really doesn't contribute to anything. I thought about it as I sat in the Women's Room. Realistically, all the other girls were in the same standing so it could be anyone of them that goes home. I would love to keep Marlee here for as long as possible but, again, at the end of the day, it was out of my control.

I couldn't really say that I wanted Celeste to go home, not anymore. After that day in the garden, when I caught her talking to her parents, she had pretty much left me alone, which I appreciated. She didn't try to say anything to me or attempt to fight with me in any way. She was just quiet. It was almost concerning.

Marlee even commented on Celeste's change in behavior so I told her everything that had happened. She too sympathized with Celeste so we had decided to leave her alone.

Kriss was the same, nothing had changed. I still got that weird vibe from her but for the most part she was nice to everyone. She really would've made a great queen. Maybe you're right but there's no dwelling on it now. I let out a sigh because she was right.

After the incident, I hadn't really seen much of Maxon. Ever since that day, he had decided that he was going to be as perfect as he could be so that he wouldn't give his father a reason to repeat what he had done. That made my blood boil. That Maxon had to live, maybe not in fear, but constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Lady America, please come here," called Queen Amberly. I looked up to see her smiling at me so I sent her a smile and stood up, setting my book on my seat. I approached the queen, making sure to curtsy as I got closer.

"Please, sit with me." I sat down because there was no way I was going to deny her what she wanted. I didn't know what to expect from this little chat. The queen hadn't tried to talk to me before like this, one on one.

I didn't speak, the mantra 'don't speak until spoken to' repeating in my mind. I took a sip of the tea that the queen had offered me. "How are you Lady America?" she asked.

"America is fine Your Majesty and I'm doing alright. How are you?" I asked out of politeness. She waved her hand as if swatting the question out of the air. "I'm doing as well as I can be but I'm here to talk about you."

"What about me, Your Majesty?" She didn't take long to ask her first question; she must have had it ready when she called me over. "What do you think of my son?" I was so caught off guard with her question that I almost dropped my teacup and saucer. I looked at the queen and she was looking at me very expectantly. What do I say to her? She is the mother of my mate. I think you should just be honest with her; I think she'd appreciate that.

It took a moment for me to gather my thoughts. "I think Maxon is a good man. He is smart, sweet, and he is very kind to me, to anyone really. When I first came here, I didn't know what to think of him but the more I got to know him, the more he surpassed any of my expectations." I had been looking down at my lap, which I acknowledged was rude but if I looked at her while saying all this about her son, I would've lost my nerve. When I looked up, I could see her smiling. She took a sip from her tea, trying to curve the smile but it didn't help.