That seemed to assuage Peytor, and he relaxed back onto the bed, laying his head on Finian’s shoulder. Finian released Peytor’s hand, and his arm came around Peytor, pulling him close to his side.
My cheeks pinked again at their show of affection, but I also found it endearing and sweet. They cared about each other, clearly. I sighed wistfully, hoping that one day I would have that type of love and affection as well.
“So, what’d you barge in here for anyway?” Peytor’s voice lost all of its tension, his usual easy charm back.
“Mother wants you both to accompany us to Katiska’s shopping district today. I’m to be fitted for my dresses, and apparently you both have business in the city?” I raised my eyebrows at them.
They looked at each other briefly, unspoken words passing between them, before nodding.
“We can definitely go today. Get everything done before Lord d’Refan arrives.”
“You going to tell me what it is you’re doing?” I asked.
“Nope,” Peytor said, rising from his position against Finian. I averted my eyes as he sat up in bed and the sheet fell to expose the muscled planes of his chest and abdomen. “It’s on a need-to-know basis, and you definitely don’t need to know.”
I rolled my eyes and stuck out my tongue in response. Immature, yes, but it made the boys laugh.
“Now, I have the bluest balls in the history of blue balls. Finian, you too?” Finian nodded while gazing at Peytor with utmost love and reverence and a healthy dose of lust. “So, unless you’re staying for the show, I suggest you go do whatever it is you need to do right now. Maybe fix your hair or something?” He bent to kiss Finian passionately before even waiting for my response.
He was teasing but I growled at him.
He laughed into Finian’s mouth as he rolled back on top of his lover.
“We leave in ten minutes, you two! Make it quick!” I shouted as I turned on my heel and fled from the room, their laughs following me out.
Chapter 13
Ellowyn
It felt like I blinked and the week passed. It was full of planning, preparations, dress fittings, dance lessons, continued propriety work, and even more dress fittings. By the day of the first ball, I was exhausted and more than ready for this week of celebrations to end. I never liked the spotlight, never enjoyed unwanted attention, so the idea of an entire week being dedicated to me was alarming and completely anxiety-inducing.
Peytor and Finian did what they could to try and distract me, but it wasn’t always successful. They were constantly pulled away by their fathers for some mission or other, and I was often left alone with Mother, which is also probably why my mood was soured and my nerves were fried.
On top of everything else that was happening, I had to take time to train Pip. The girl, in no short words, was hopeless. She could, at least, start a fire with a fire starter she had found in the servants’ corridor and was learning to heat my bathwater manually. But she couldn’t select a gown to save her life, and her ability to do anything with my hair was abysmal. It was like she had rocks for fingers. Literally. I ended up picking the majority of my outfits for the week and, in my incredibly rare spare time, I practiced a variety of hairstyles. I was getting much better at braiding my own hair, and had taken to wearing it in one or more braids throughout the week.
On the eve of my first ball, my mother sent her personal maid to do my hair and help me prepare. I blew out a breath of complete relief. While I knew her sending Jaclyn was self-serving—she didn’t want me to be an embarrassment to her and Father’s name—I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of gratitude toward Mother. At least my hair, makeup, and dress would look immaculate for the first night.
The first ball was never a super extravagant affair. Many of the most important dignitaries, and my most serious suitors, wouldn’t arrive until my Awakening Ceremony. Consequently, this first event was relaxed, more of a night party than an actual ball. I was still shocked when I entered and found more people than I had ever met in my entire life filling up the private party space. We used the formal dining hall for the first event, creating an intimate environment. Much of our family had come in from various parts of Hestin, and the children of my father’s cabinet members were also present. There were one or two other dignitaries and their families that had trekked here for tonight, but they were from neighboring territories and the journey was short. The night passed quickly, and my voice was hoarse by the end from speaking to so many people.
But my mother was pleased with my appearance and behavior, which led her to let me sleep in the following day and forgo our propriety lessons in the morning. Which would have been welcomed if I could actually sleep. I kept having weird dreams about the disembodied voice, which continually woke me before dawn. I was running on fumes from the constant planning for this week and my lack of sleep. The morning after the first ball, Jaclyn entered my room much later than normal—Pip was given the day off—and set a warm cup of tea on the table next to my bed.
“This will help with your throat, so drink it all,” she commanded. Her dark-brown eyes roamed my face and body. “And we’ll need to do something about those purple spots under your eyes. Have you not slept?”
Her words weren’t unkind, but I was grouchy and in no mood for ridicule.
“No,” I snapped, “I haven’t slept.”
She cocked her head before nodding. “Then tonight I will give you a sleeping draught as well. You should have said something sooner.”
I gaped at her audacity, eyes wide.
“Drink,” she said again. “I will be back shortly, and we will get dressedfor the day. Your mother and I will be accompanying you into the city again for your final dress fittings.” With that, she turned on her heel and strode from my room, leaving it in blissful darkness.
Lord d’Refan was expected by the morning of my Awakening Ceremony, which was tomorrow. Today was an “off” day for the week of celebration, so the staff could clean and prepare our home for the hundreds of people who were invited to my ceremony.
It was a lot to wrap my head around.
I was certain that although this was a day of “rest” it would involve incessant worrying and nagging from my mother. I sighed and finished my tea while awaiting Jaclyn’s return. She was obviously getting my mother ready first, then attending to me, which I didn’t mind. My thoughts drifted to the strange dreams, which had only increased in complexity and strangeness over the last few days. There was still no guidance or word from Jarius about my dreams, and I was beginning to think that I’d imagined the whole interaction in my father’s study. I wondered if they were stress induced, and I certainly hoped that the sleeping tonic Jaclyn brought for me tonight would do the trick.
