A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

A Thousand Worlds

It was too early to lie awake, but I couldn't sleep.

Last night had stirred my mind into insomnia. It felt as if I was drowning in my own thoughts, and not even my memories of the quiet darkness in my old bedroom could seem to bring me peace.

I sighed despondently as Piper snored beside me like a rumbling mountain on my right. Calla slept soundly on my left, looking like a comfortable princess on forty mattresses.

It amazed me that they could sleep so untouched by last night's hurricane. It probably shouldn't surprise me that Caiden would be searching for some physical connection with the suitors as well, but I hadn't expected it to be so soon and with so many.

Kissing was apparently not as big a deal as I'd always believed.

I sighed again, turning to lie on my back, facing the tall ceiling. Then I closed my eyes, allowing the clouds dying the sky gray to veil my dreams and memories of Caiden's smile, replacing it with another familiar face — the face of the only man who could make my heart beat almost as fast as Caiden could.

Milo's hazel eyes were still as exquisitely mesmerizing in my memory as they had been during our first awkward encounter. I could almost feel the soft strands of his unruly hair brushing against my skin and his warm, comforting embrace, which I would give almost anything to experience again.

"Who are you thinking about?"

I flung my eyes open and twisted my head to my left, where Calla had curled her pillow under her chin and looked at me with amusement in her tired eyes.

"I— Um..." I stuttered in a whisper, not quite sure how to respond.

Calla didn't know Milo, and I was confident she'd start asking more questions than I was comfortable with if I told her about him.

"Come on," she whispered with a sly smile. "I know a dreamy smile when I see one. I know you're thinking of a boy."

This was not how I'd envisioned erasing Caiden from my mind. Every word I'd previously known started to blend into an unrecognizable language before I could come up with a clever excuse.

"Was it Prince Calix?" she then asked, directing my thoughts to the blond clone of Caiden.

"Yes," I blurted without thinking, silently cursing myself for my quick mouth.

I could hardly imagine being intimately involved with Prince Calix, let alone that the king would want me to. They acted as if falling in love with a stranger was the most natural thing in the world because he was a prince. Although that may have been the case for most who had accepted the Crown Trials despite not knowing Caiden, it wasn't the case for me.

"Really?" she said, squealing loud enough for me to worry that someone would hear us. "That's so great, Will!"

My brows curled into a perplexed expression.

Calla rolled her eyes at me. "I just mean that we could become real sisters if Prince Atlas chooses me to be his queen, and—"

My heart skipped a beat when Calla wrinkled the bridge of her nose. "Perhaps, if the final suitor turns out to be Alia — as unlikely as that scenario may appear — I would recommend that you re-evaluate your choice in men. Just imagine being forced to stare at her self-righteous face with Prince Atlas daily."

She buried her head in her pillow, sparing me the trouble of explaining why my eyes had suddenly turned glossy and mournful.

It would be horrible to see Alia by Caiden's side, but I couldn't imagine the agony I'd feel wandering these halls knowing that another woman was sleeping next to him in one of those rooms, regardless of who it was.