Reiya inclined her head. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Captain Marzius has been most patient with my efforts.”
“Patience is a virtue in a teacher,” the king replied, though his gaze flicked briefly to Kaelen and Alarik. “And my sons, hard at work, I see. The tax proposal?”
Kaelen offered a small smile. “Nearly ready, Father. We’ve refined the language to ensure merchant cooperation.”
“Good,” the king said with satisfaction. “But today, I bring a different matter. Lady Annaïs suggested a most wonderful idea.”
He gestured toward Annaïs, who stepped forward with practiced grace.
“Your Majesty is too kind,” she said smoothly. “I merely suggested a way to mark this moment in Asadia’s history. The princess deserves a celebration worthy of her station.”
Reiya’s brow tightened. “A celebration?”
“A masked ball,” Annaïs declared, her eyes bright. “A grand masquerade to present you formally to the court and Asadia’s allies. Such affairs are the height of fashion abroad—surely Asadia should not lag behind.”
A cold knot coiled in Reiya’s stomach, though she kept her expression smooth. A masquerade? The timing felt too neat, too sudden. Hermind snapped to all the ways masks could be used to hide more than just faces.
“It’s a gracious thought, Your Majesty,” she murmured, “but if this is to be a wedding celebration, I’d hoped my family might be present for it. They’ve yet to decide on their journey.”
Lady Neda, quiet at the king’s side, inclined her head. “Reiyana raises a fair point. A celebration without her kin might be deemed . . . premature.”
Annaïs, ever poised, offered a smooth reply. “Naturally, their presence would be ideal. But this need not be the wedding—merely a formal introduction, a chance to show the court Asadia’s strength and unity. The formal rites can follow once the princess’s family arrives.”
The king nodded slowly. “Annaïs speaks wisely. The wedding banquet shall come in time, but this ball will serve as a fitting prelude—a chance to affirm the strength of this union before all.”
Reiya pressed her lips together, thoughts churning. The king wanted a display—a declaration to the Nine Issoirean Kingdoms that his sons had secured an Omega bride who might one day bear a Sunborn son or Moonfire daughter, strengthening Asadia’s prestige.
It was no surprise. Such customs were deeply ingrained, and though the spectacle unsettled her—parading Omegas as treasures rather than people—it no longer stung as sharply. The love she’d found in Kaelen and Alarik softened the edges of her resentment, wrapping it in the quiet assurance that such a bond could be more than a transaction.
Her gaze flicked to Annaïs, standing by the king, a knowing smile on her lips.
If only she could be certain the ball was nothing but a spectacle of sophistication.
Might this event be the perfect stage where veiled intentions met in the dark, where alliances formed behind silk and secrecy? Where the true shape of the Mezerins’ ambitions might finally be revealed?
Her fingers curled at her side.
Would Castiel make an appearance, and proved he had aligned himself with the Mezerins?
If he did, was it merely a Beta helping another Beta rise in power?Or was this part of something far larger—a chain of events designed to shake the very foundations of the nine kingdoms?
The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
If Castiel was part of their plans, she wanted to see it unfold. She wanted to meet his eyes, to finally confront the man who’d once tried to mould her into his perfect pawn.
He’d sought to use her, determine her fate.
He would try again.
But she was no longer the girl who had followed his lead.
This time, she would see the board for what it was. And when the moment came, she would not be the piece maneuvered, but one making the final strike.
Reiya turned back to the king. With measured grace, she sank into a curtsy—elegant, perfectly executed.
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
His pleasure was evident in the laughter ringing through the gardens. “Splendid. Preparations will be made for the ball three days hence. It will be the grandest event Asadia has seen.”
