She should have seen it months ago. Years ago, even. Selene had always felt like she was a fairly good judge of character. As she grew into the woman her mother demanded that she be, it came with the ability to read people. It was important to know when someone was lying, or when someone wanted something more from you. It was a subtle art of deception, and apparently she had been at the center of one of the biggest lies that would rock the kingdom if it ever was found out.

If it was known that Zacharias preferred men to women, Stephanos would quickly find himself on the throne.

As she watched him leave her house a week ago, it all came together. He’d been the one to make the first move when she finally decided to be more present in Taengean court. It was not odd that she found herself surrounded by interested men when she was no longer secluded on her island. But the only one who mattered to her had been Zacharias, as it was truly the only match that was similar to Vangalis in title. So while she hadn’t initially been as attracted to him, she wasn’t going to turn him away when it was the perfect match for her.

But now, looking back, it had always felt just a bit awkward. She had always just chalked it up to the standards she had set up for herself. Selene held tightly to the promise of her father to allow her to choose her own match, and it often tainted her experience with men. Each one was always weighed in its importance, but also in the set of emotions linked to it. They were all compared to the man who stirred the most emotion within her. There was an awkwardness with Zacharias in his youth, but the pair had settled into a comfortable companionship.

But it was one without a marriage proposal.

They were often in each other’s company, seeking out the companionship that had built over the years. It had been an easy trust between the two, able to rely on each other when they were interested in refuge from what it meant to be of royal blood. And even though she was genuinely after a crown, she didn’t pressure him into marriage. She didn’t want the pressure either, not when she was already feeling it from her family. And she wanted him to want her. But it made sense now. He did not want her in that way.

She should have been insulted by that, for he seemed to be the only man who didn’t. But then, as she carefully watched him, it seemed that she was not the only problem. He didn’t appear to be interested in any woman of the court. But his eyes would linger on a man, much like a woman might. And after their awkward attempt at another connection, she’d finally asked him about it.

”Do you prefer men, Zacharias?”

He hadn’t stayed around long enough to answer her question. She hadn’t been surprised when she’d heard he had left for Euttica, knowing that it made sense for him to distance himself from the situation entirely. So dressed in a simple split skirt chiton of pale blue, she rode the distance with her usual guard. The small party didn’t raise too many eyebrows, not when Selene’s white blond hair was hidden by a hood, pinned back against her head. As the two entered the province, they did not stop until they reached the doors of his home.

Selene didn’t bother knocking, pushing open the doors as his valet had been waiting to open them himself. “Where is he?” She asked simply, as if she owned the place. And when he pointed in the direction of the study, the eldest Leventi made haste towards the rooms.