Drake woke up with less of a headache than he deserved. His mouth, however, was so dry it felt like paper. He lumbered out of bed and got himself a glass of water, which he promptly gulped down. He went back to bed, intending only to muster enough energy to take a shower, and fell back asleep.
He shook awake several hours later and felt around his bedside table for his phone. It was midday. With a groan he remembered he was supposed to meet Liam and Bastien at the royal hangar at 11 o’clock. Drake briefly thought about getting up and rushing there, but he figured it was much too late for that.
Thus, he allowed himself a few minutes to parse through his muddled memories of the day before. Everything was quite clear up until Truth or Dare – at least, in comparison with the rest of the night.
Okay, so after Truth or Dare, I walked with Addams… Crap, I went to her room, right. And then she told me about… her brother. And then…
That was where it got complicated. He vaguely recalled going back downstairs and drinking himself into a stupor, but he had a nagging feeling there was something he was forgetting.
Scratching his neck, he glanced at the door to his room and noticed his pants and underwear lying there in a crumpled heap.
Oh no.
It all came back to him in a flash; he’d tried to hook up with Kiara and had proceeded to – literally – dump her almost immediately, only to come upstairs and touch himself thinking of Riley.
Shit. I’m such an asshole. God, Kiara must hate me. And I can’t believe I did… that, thinking of Addams. That’s a line I shouldn’t have crossed.
It would be much, much harder to resist now that he’d done it once. He shook his head at that, dismissing the thought before it could reach his groin. Knowing this would lead nowhere good, he decided to focus on the practical for now. Since he’d woken up so late, he had no idea how he was getting back to the palace, which meant step one was getting ready and finding out.
He did everything on autopilot, doing his best to focus on the small ache pulsing through his head, both to distract himself and as merited punishment for the night before.
As he was gathering his things and dumping them in his bag, Bastien entered his room unannounced.
“So, had a fun night, did we?” The question was lighthearted but there was an undercurrent of disapproval.
“I know, I overslept. I’m sorry,” muttered Drake, still busy putting everything away.
“It was certainly not ideal, but I suppose there’s no harm done. Prince Liam went on ahead; he can’t afford to be late to his own Coronation, after all. You and I will have to drive.”
“What!” His hangover was not too bad, but he knew he’d be in for an uncomfortable car ride anyway, to say the least. “Why? Why can’t we take the other plane?”
“I’m afraid the Beaumont brothers borrowed it.” After a small pause, Bastien addded, “Lady Riley must be punctual, too.”
Drake’s hands froze for a moment, holding his toothpaste over his bag. He forced himself to let go of it and recover. “Right. Can’t be late to her own engagement.”
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Drake. I’m… truly sorry.”
Bastien’s hand slid off as Drake stooped down to grab his now-full bag. The older man was looking at him with disproportionate concern. He shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.
“I’m fine. Got no one to blame but myself. Let’s go.”
Once he’d loaded his luggage into the limo, he settled in for a long car ride he was bound to spend breathing deeply in order to stave off vomiting. He was desperate to avoid talking, partly because he felt even opening his mouth was risky in his state, and partly due to the event they were driving to. So he closed his eyes and, although sleep wouldn’t come – he’d slept far too much already, and the nausea wouldn’t allow it anyway – he didn’t speak a word until they’d reached the palace.
By the time they got there, the entrance was deserted; the suitors were now dining with the King and Queen and Liam must be in his room getting ready. It was too early for any other guests to have arrived.
Having dropped off his things in his room, he sat down in the main hall, unwilling to go into the ballroom and face tonight’s ceremony yet. After last night, the last thing his body wanted was alcohol, but he didn’t think he could survive this night without a drink. His hand went to his inside pocket and closed around his flask.
You can’t start drinking your emergency whiskey now! It hasn’t even started!
Yeah and it already sucks.
He was in the middle of this internal debate, when a tearful Hana came out of the dining room where the suitors were having dinner with the King and Queen.
“Hana?”
Hana’s wiped her tears hastily before she even turned to see who’d called her.
“Oh, Drake. It’s you.” She gave him a small smile and went to sit down next to him. “I always seem to run into you when I’m distraught.” She blushed a little.
“Maybe I’m bad luck,” said Drake, only half joking.
“Don’t say that! You’ve been so kind to me, even when we weren’t friends.”
Drake bit his tongue before he could reply with, “Who says we’re friends now?” He did actually consider her his friend, but old habits die hard.
He asked instead, “So what’s up?”
“My parents are… disappointed with my performance in court. I am to return home as soon as the Coronation is over.”
“What the hell? I… don’t know what to say, that sucks.”
Hana sighed. “It does, doesn’t it? I’ve been so free here, and I’ve made friends… I’ll probably never see Riley again.”
A teardrop fell on her dress, making the silver fabric appear dark grey. Drake patted her back, saying nothing.
In between quiet sobs, Hana said, “And now she’ll never know how I feel…”
Drake turned to look at her. “Why?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why wouldn’t she know how you feel about her? If you want her to know before you go, you can choose to tell her, Hana. And if you’re leaving tomorrow then you’ve got nothing to lose, right?”
She met his gaze. Her lips were trembling and she was sniffling, but she seemed calmer. She wiped her tears, being careful not to ruin her makeup.
“Is it obvious I’ve been crying?”
Surprisingly, there was only the faintest hint of pink to her nose and the red in her eyes was rapidly fading. Leave it to Hana to cry prettily. Drake smiled softly.
“Nah, you’re good. So you’re telling her?”
“I’m… not sure yet, but you’ve given me a lot to think about. Thank you… again, Drake. I said I was going to the ladies’ room so I should return to the dining room before I’m missed.” She gave him a quick, grateful peck on the cheek before going back through the door she came from.
Drake was left to ponder the fact that he’d just encouraged someone to confess their feelings for the same girl for whom he himself was head over heels.
Off to a good start.
He took a swig of his flask.