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"She's stunning," Ace whispered mostly to herself as they paused before the pictures.
"Beauty is more than what you look like on the outside," Shelby leaned down to say quietly between them. He righted himself quickly and turned her toward the door.
He wasn't wrong. Queen Sienna might be walking art but she was certainly ugly on the inside. Utterly atrocious. If only that could have been reflected in these pictures.
She let Shelby guide her into the flow of guests filling the large room. Over their heads, she was able to make out the abundance of decorations that had been hung or placed out on tables. Purple flowers, a darker hue than the more vibrant purple Shelby wore, were stuffed into every available space. Ribbons and gems and so many things…
Staff came and went from a door on the farthest end of the room taking empty plates and replacing them with full trays of meats, fresh vegetables, fruits, and their own assortment of finger foods. All of them gave birth to the one eyesore of the room, the one thing that wasn’t pretty.
A wooden platform had been raised with rope hung ready and waiting for necks to fill them. A lump built in Ace’s throat as her gaze lingered on it too long. Carefully, she let her sleeve fall over her hand, making sure the spell was still kept within. Paper crinkled against her fingertips and she relaxed just as Shelby brought her to a stop.
“Dinner and a show?” She tried not to let her nervousness seep into her voice.
“Are you surprised?”
She wasn’t, but he appeared to be by her question.
"Where is the queen?" Ace steered the conversation away from the one daunting topic.
"Waiting to make her grand entrance." The second Ace slipped her arm from his he clasped his hands in front of him and stood still as a board. The way he glanced around the room, knowing he didn't belong, made him look—in Ace's opinion—like he wanted to melt into the wall.
She hadn't noticed at first, but here and there guests shot her and Shelby inquisitive looks. It wasn't exactly common for a warlock to attend an event unless they were meant to be some sort of entertainment. He stuck out like a sore thumb with that purple sash hanging around his neck. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he withstood the clear scrutiny.
"Hey," she looked up at him, "what did that guard say to you back there?"
His eyes widened a fraction as if he'd been surprised that she'd talked to him at all. Or maybe he'd already forgottenor was trying to forgetthat they were in this mess together now.
"You know some name calling, some demanding, some reminders of what he thinks I am and who I should serve."
"Whatever it was, you probably deserved it." She didn't catch his expression as she tried doing her best to take in every detail of the room. Should she be talking to people? Should she be trying to get some dirt on the queen? Well, she already had dirt on the queens according to the gods but did any of that matter in the eyes of the people? Probably not.
Shelby scoffed at her. That's as close to a laugh as she figured she'd get from him.
"Oh," she continued, "why did you tell him my name was Derfla? That's the most hideous name to ever have graced my ears."
"That's my mother's name."
She glanced at him. He stared back, unflinching, with a blank face. Of course, that was his mother's name. He looked exactly like the type of person a woman named Derfla would raise.
"Well, your mother has a terribly ugly name, I hate to break it to you."
"You remind me of my mother," Shelby said.
Gods she was thankful the voices in her head were quiet today. She could only guess what the gods would have to say aboutthisentire conversation.
"Really?" She looked away, unable to hold his stare any longer.
"Yeah, she was always coming up with stupid ideas."
Ace snorted. A hand quickly flew up to cover her mouth and nose. That was something the cousin of the queen would probably never do. How unladylike! It wasn't often that Ace needed to care about being ladylike but here and now it was a big deal.
Across the room, Ace caught the heavy gaze of the armored uniformed guards watching Shelby with a level of scrutiny she would never understand. One of them peeled themselves from the wall and began making their way toward them. That hadn’t taken long at all.
"You make it sound as though you didn't like your mother." Ace tried to keep a casual conversation going.
"She made a lot of bad choices, and seeing as the situation we are in currently was because of your decisions I'd say you two have much in common."
Men in suits of a variety of shades meant to stand out parted for the guard that slipped past them. What would Ace have done if she was alone? Maybe she did share some qualities with Shelby's mother.
