It’s the only way I survived those four years. Disconnecting from myself so I wouldn’t be fully aware of what was happening to me.
The Queen doesn’t walk, she floats as Prince Charming leads her to her throne. I can’t help but wonder if she even knows what’s going on, or if she is completely in her own little world.
Just then, she connects gazes with her son and gives him a slight nod of the head and a kind smile, which he returns. I guess there’s one person she’s willing to break the surface of her mindfor. But just like that, her expression glazes over and she’s gone again. To somewhere that is not here.
The orchestra in the corner strikes up the music and couples take to the dance floor. I turn on my heel to hightail it out of the ballroom. My heart pounds in my throat, and heat rushes through my veins until my skin burns.
The way the prince found me in the crowd leaves me unsettled.
Nope, he didn’t see me. He doesn’t know me. I’m just being a paranoid squirrel because I want to get out of here.
I turn my attention back to my father’s massive paintings that adorn the walls. All I need to do is follow the display until I findthe one.
Once I do, I’ll find a way to grab it and get the fae fucks out of here. Before I get dead.
I turn to make my escape and nearly slam into a solid wall of muscle. The scent of frosted pine needles and leather envelops me. The prince dips his head, more hair falling forward. “Hello Cinder,” he practically purrs, “May I have this dance?”
Chapter 3
Waltzing with Prince Slut
CHARMING
Cinder’s mouth parts in surprise then closes. I give her the time she needs to recover.
Though fae lords know I haven’t yet. Recovered.
I can’t believe it’s really her, and a strange rush of relief sweeps through me.
All eyes are on us, and if she refuses my invitation it will create a stir.
After several beats, the woman wearing the veil gives a nod and slips her hand into my outstretched glove. I grip her hand a little too tight as I lead her onto the dance floor, my head spinning like a top at finding her. Like discovering a gem amidst rocks.
She’s really alive.
I set my hand on her hip and launch us both into an easy waltz. To her credit, Cinder doesn’t miss a step, though her lips purse with displeasure.
“How did you know it was me?” she asks in a low tone.
HowdidI know it was her?
The veil she wears hides half her face, and she is dressed as any of the kingdom’s aristocrats. Yet I knew. She stood out as clearly as a blaze of fire amidst a sea of ice cubes. Something in the way she holds herself, something in the way her eyes burn me from behind her face covering, or perhaps it’s that perfect cupid’s bow of a mouth that catches my attention, reminding me of a certain human girl I once knew.
The daughter of my father’s close personal friend. Hisonlyhuman friend.
While we didn’t interact very often, Cinder was always in my sphere, orbiting around the edges until her father died. I sometimes weirdly felt our situations were opposite sides of the same coin.
Then I never saw her again or knew what became of her. It niggled at me until one day I asked around and got various versions of a rumor that she’d been sucked dry and left for dead by rogue vampires in the woods.
That night I didn’t sleep. For even longer, I’d be visited by intrusive thoughts imagining her discarded drained body just lying in the woods. Nobody seemed to care, but I did. If no one else would, I would be the one who remembered the girl who was always dotted or smeared with paint stains and often sat on the cliffs, humming to herself when she thought no one was around.
Instead of confessing any of that, I shoot the very alive and warm-blooded human girl a cocky grin. “I know everyone of course.”
“You mean you’ve banged every woman here but me?” Her words come out flat and bored. They are meant to be a jab. An attack I’m more than used to.
“Are you calling me a slut?” I ask in mock offense as I sweep her across the dance floor.
Her lips tighten. As much as she lets me lead, Cinder's body is tense beneath my touch, her movements stiff and unyielding. She leans away slightly, maintaining a careful distance even as I guide her through our dance.
