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Eventually, I would tell her the truth.
Walkinginto the ballroom was like walking into a living work of art. Golden draperies, tied with red sashes adorned every window. A fountain of ever-flowing sparkling wine occupied the far wall, and long tables laden with glistening fruits, dark chocolates and canapes were dispersed throughout the space. Every noble, even those from far-off towns and villages seemed to have made the journey. The females were dripping in gemstones and the males were dressed in expertly tailored jackets.
Though there was a more important reason for my attendance, I got lost in it all—wanting to taste from each platter, and drink until my mind numbed. A song of harp and lute cast an ethereal feel over the gathering.
I accepted greetings from the nobles in attendance and was sure to promise each of the announcement to be made later that eve. Spirits lifted even higher as news of my upcoming debut spread like wildfire through the room, and within minutes they regarded me with wide smiles and the lifting of fluted glasses.
Alaric and I had made it to the other side of the room when Kade and Finn entered from one of the many smaller entrances, scanning the assembly to find us. My feet froze in place at the sight of them—they were immaculate. Both wore snuggly fitted outfits in opposing shades of white and black. Black on Kade, and white for Finn. I’d never seen them in anything but their standard guard uniforms of vest and trousers.
As Finn turned, I could see their jackets had been custom-made, and had slits all the way up the back to accommodate their wings. Kade grinned when he saw me, gliding over with the swagger of a king.
He dropped to one knee, and kissed the back of my hand, allowing his lips to linger there a moment longer than would have been acceptable.
“You look ravenous,” Kade said, his voice husky, licking his lips.
“I think what you meant to say is she looksravishing,” Alaric corrected.
Kade shook his head, never taking his eyes off me, “No. I meant what I said.”
Finn strolled up a moment later, “Have you decided which Grace to present?” he asked, demure. I wondered how much longer he’d be upset with me. I could only apologize so many times. It waspainfulto ignore the call of Morgana. Her pull on me was near impossible to resist, but I didn’t think he would understand that, even if I told him. Out of the three of them, though Finn was there, he seemed the most skeptical about what had in fact occurred in Morgana’s hidden chamber.
“There she is!” Edris almost shouted, moving across the floor with a half-empty drink in his hand. He gave a slight bow, “Are the rumors I’ve been hearing true, majesty? Have you discovered the nature of your Grace?”
It was painstaking obvious my father had had too much to drink already even though the evening had only just begun. After shadowing the former King Consort, Alaric had discovered nothing to implicate him. What he learned was Edris urged the council to give me more time and had blatantly refused to assume the title of King if they succeeded in overthrowing me. I was wrong about him.Wewere wrong about him.
“It’s true,” I obliged him, “Though you’ll have to wait like all the others to find out what it is.”
“Of course.”
Edris downed the remaining drops of his wine and dumped the empty glass on a servant’s tray as she passed by, “I believe they’re about to begin,” he said, pointing to the musicians. The nobles moved to the walls, forming a hollow circle in the center of the floor, and couples paired off for the first dance of the eve.
Alaric must have noticed the look on my face at Edris’ subtle invitation. He stepped in front of Edris and offered me his hand. “Can I have the first dance?”
I swallowed, giving Edris a tight-lipped smile and placed my hand into Alarics.
He led me to the dance floor amidst a barrage of whispers. I supposed it wasn’t a normal occurrence for a queen to dance with the hired help.
The tempo of the baroque tune picked up and several singers added a haunting melody. Alaric pulled me close and together we formed a perfect frame. The dance was slow. Simple.Good.I had never excelled in dance, and many of the more intricate patterns eluded me. One of the seven sisters always ended up with bruised feet by the time we were through.
With each twist and twirl, Alaric surveyed the room, looking for threats from each face in the crowd. He hadn’t looked at me once. “Do you really think anyone would be stupid enough to try something here? In front of all these people? It seems unlikely.”
He came back to himself, and fixed me with a narrow-eyed stare, “Unlikely, but not impossible.”
Alaric bent down on one knee as I twirled around him, “Can’t you at leasttryto relax. You’ll scare all the nobles—looking at them like that.”
He rewarded me with one of his rare laughs, the sound bringing a smile to my lips. “There, see? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
He flung me out, and jerked me back to him, pressing my back against his chest, “So, I’ve thought about what you proposed,” he whispered in my ear.
What I proposed?What had I proposed?
When we were face to face again, Alaric must’ve noted the confusion in my expression because he explained, “Regarding myself, and Finn, and Kade.”
Oh.I couldn’t tell by the tone of his voice whether it was good news or bad.
In that moment, I decided I would accept his decision, no matter what it was. Kade, Finn and Alaric would always be mine, and I would always be theirs, whether we could give in to our desires and express those feelings physically or not wouldn’t change that—but it would be veryveryhard not to.
“And,” I prodded him, leaning in close to his ear, “What have you decided?”
