I batted my eyelashes playfully. “Is that so?”
He growled low in his throat. “You know you do. I can’t take my eyes off you.”
“Well, that’s probably good since you’re my warrior who’s been sworn to protect me. It’s probably best if your eyes never leave me.” I brushed closer to him and said in a teasing tone, “I may need you later tonight, to keep me close and assure me that you’ll keep me safe. I’ve been feeling positively threatened all evening, and I fear only your experienced hands will be able to suppress my worries.”
His expression didn’t change, but I could have sworn he was working to suppress a smile. “As your assigned warrior, I take your safety very seriously. I shall endeavor to do whatever’s needed to ensure you don’t feel threatened.”
I pinched my lips closed so a laugh wouldn’t spill out, and with his stoic mask crumbling, Kole smiled. Actuallysmiled. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of seeing that dazzling display upon his face. Every time he grinned, it transformed him.
Nostrils flaring, he inhaled, then dipped his head and whispered into my ear, “Careful, Your Highness. Your scent’s become quitearoused. If you continue to emit such a mouthwatering fragrance, I may be forced to return you to your chambers to thoroughly inspect every inch of your skin beneath that gown, just to check for any wounds you may have sufferedtoday while you practiced your mistphasing. For your own safety, of course.”
Breathless, I squeezed my thighs together, nearly stumbling in the heels. “Well, we’ll just have to see if these strange and fearful responses from me continue, and you are correct. If I do have a wound that I’m unaware of, it would be dreadful if it weren’t treated properly. I will do whatever is needed for you to ensure I’m safe and protected, for my own well-being, of course.”
His lips curved again, but just ahead, laughter carried to me from down another hall, and some of my happiness and joy from Kole’s and my flirtatious banter dimmed.
My sisters were walking together, their arms looped around one another’s. But instead of greeting me when they neared, they both turned the other way and breezed right by me, heading down the opposite direction toward the ballroom. It was as if I didn’t even exist.
My heart fell, and a low growl came from Kole. “So insolent,” he muttered under his breath.
I shrugged and couldn’t help but notice that Koraline had worn a long-sleeved gown. I wondered how many times she strove to hide her scars. “I suppose I can’t blame them. They don’t really know me, and all they remember of me are horrible things.”
He scoffed. “You were a tiny child. You didn’t even know what you were doing when you burned her. You were acting on immature impulse. It’s ridiculous they would hold a grudge over that.”
“Even so, she was permanently maimed because of it. I suppose it’s hard to let anger go when something that horrible happened, even if I was too young to fully understand what I was doing, but no matter.” I straightened and infused another beat of positivity into my soul. “I shall win them over. It’s just a matterof time, and everyone will see that I’m not a threat and can be quite pleasant to have around.”
The energy in Kole’s aura increased, and when I glanced up at him, he was watching me, his look tender.
“Come,” he said, his voice low and deep.
He gestured for me to continue toward the ballroom, and since more voices carried to us from down the hall, he fell into step behind me as was customary of guards.
I kept my chin up, even though I was technically venturing to the ballroom alone since I couldn’t count Kole as my date. But by the time I reached the wide hallway to the grand room, despite my positive thoughts and self-reassurances, my palms were sweating.
It didn’t help that several House nobles already lined the walkway. To make matters worse, everyone stopped to stare at me.
Music carried into the hall from the ballroom, and I briefly admired the walkway’s beauty. As was customary throughout the continent, the Wood had been welcomed into the palace. Trees grew through the floor. Branches brushed across the ceiling and twisted within the architecture. Colorful leaves of every shade fluttered in a light breeze coming in through an open high window, and vines of varying thickness climbed up the walls.
Flowers bloomed from each plant and perfumed the air with subtle scents. My academic mind buzzed, and I automatically catalogued each species as I breathed in a lungful of fragrant air.
To those I passed, I nodded and smiled, but then a whispered statement made me pause.
“Is that her?” an older female asked her friend behind a cupped hand.
“Yes, Lady Ryderdim, that’s Princess Primelle,” the friend replied.
I cocked my head and glided toward them. “Lady Ryderdim, did you say?”
Kole followed me, his aura hot at my back. Even though the warrior was entirely silent and moved like a predator, I still felt him everywhere I went.
As I neared her, Lady Ryderdim stiffened. She appeared to be of similar age to Lordling Fillingmore since her hair had entirely grayed, and deep wrinkles appeared permanently formed around her eyes.
Despite her age, she stood tall and regal, and from my studies, I knew her House had been in power during her entire lifetime, not like some of the other ten Houses, in which their leaders changed every few centuries. Since kings changed the ten House leaders at a whim, such a thing wasn’t uncommon.
I stopped before the powerful House leader. “Have we met before? I’ve been told that some House nobles have already made my acquaintance, but of course, I was too young to remember if we did.”
She looked me up and down, her mouth pinched, but when her gaze alighted on the cuff upon my wrist, her stiff form loosened slightly. “We have, Your Highness. My grandson is around your age. He played with you a few times when we were visiting the palace, and—” She cleared her throat but didn’t continue.
I smiled good-naturedly. “Let me guess? He did something to displease me, and a childish tantrum from me ensued, in which your grandson suffered from something I did to him with my magic?”
