“Oh Goddess, no,” she laughed, surprising herself. “Notmy husband. That’s just Gerard.”
Funny, she supposed Ger had been right; people did assume they weretogetherwhen they were together.
Adeline turned, still grinning, and was relieved to find that the King had allowed himself a small smile too. It softened the sombre line of his lips; took some of the fire from his eyes, and made him far easier to look at. Very easy, in fact.
Daughters damn her, he reallywasquite handsome.
“Well, then,” said the King.
He lifted his hands slightly, then dropped them again. The song was soothing and melodious, music made for revolving on the spot. She waited, but he made no move to lead her, instead casting looks at the dancers around them. His dark brows were furrowed. He looked almost confused.
And Goddess help her, even with his decidedly chilly manner toward her, Adeline couldn’t help but soften for the little lost lamb expression on his face.
“Here,” she said, and closed the space between them, reaching for him. King Cumhaill jolted slightly at her touch, but he let her take his hands and she guided them to her sides, curving his fingers gently around her waist.
She had barely felt the warmth of his touch before the King recoiled with a swift backward stride, and Adeline stumbled into the empty space.
Heat threatened at her cheeks, but she forced a smile.
“Is something wrong, Your Majesty?”
He bowed, eyes turned down once more and his brow knotted tighter than ever.
“My apologies, Princess. I think I should – You’ll have to excuse me,” he said.
And with that, he turned and strode away, leaving Adeline to gape bemusedly after him. Turning back to the floor she caught several pairs of eyes averted just a second too late, and felt a confused swell of giggles building in her belly.
Well, this is humiliating.
“Well, that was humiliating.”
Ger’s voice echoed her thoughts as he appeared at her side, clearly having seen the whole thing. They looked at each other; his face broke into a rather unhelpful grimace.
And Adeline could not fight the laughter that burst from her.
Chapter 15
Kai
The door shut behind him with a violent thud.
Kai ripped open his too-tight collar and dragged in his first unimpeded breath in hours. The damned shirt was an affront. A hideous modern garment, high-necked and rigid, gently strangling him all night and chafing right beneath his gills until he fought not to wretch.
He sank to the bed and closed his eyes as cool relief flooded his lungs. A breath in. A breath out. That was all he had, before relief gave way once more to the panic that had driven him here, away from the shimmering, echoing ballroom and the warm touch of the pretty Beira girl.
He’d staggered away from her, and kept walking. Hadn’t stopped even to thank the Queen or bid her good night. Walked right out of the ballroom and all the way to his borrowed suite of cold, white rooms, several wrong turns turning him around and around in the maze of identical marble hallways. Even now, the walls around him were as vast and barren as the snowy landscape they invoked, despite the ornate silver moulding, all the fine furnishings. He hated these rooms.
And yet here he sat, alone. Alone because he refused to bring the Merrow past these gates, to be gawked at in enclosed, guarded Beira territory. Alone because he couldn’t stand another moment in that echoing hall with those gaudy strangers, that rigid collar like a noose around his throat.
Discomfort sank through him that had little to do with the hideous shirt. His veins were dry and aching, blood running slower without even the barest trace of magic. His heart was a wild thing trapped in his chest, every beat a protest.
Thump, thump, thump.
Avette, Avette, Avette.
Kai set his hand over his racing heart.I tried,he told it – and he had. He’d searched, as best he could. The Queen had not worn the pendant, on this night or any other. Princess Mareda wore nothing at her throat but a simple diamond of ice. And then there was her.
Princess Adeline.
