AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Enforcers held open the doors to the grand hall for the four of us, and the room fell silent. Everyone bowed their heads for a moment before they lifted them. Then, their eyes were all on me. It was unnerving at first, like I was an animal being shown around. The vast majority of them looked at me like I literally was one, even though I was dressed as nicely as they were.
But wasn’t that what I was expecting? I refused to look down or be meek in the face of all the snobbery, even though doing so made my stomach flip inside of me.
The conversation started up again, and Jagger squeezed my hand.
“A few members of my extended family are here—cousins, uncles, aunts,” Jagger said. “Let me introduce you to them. They’re slightly less shitty than the family you’ve already met.”
A waiter appeared with a tray of my favorite punch, handing one to each of us. A sip of it settled the flutter in my stomach.
Jagger was mostly right. His other family members were cordial toward me, which was the best I could ask for. Eventually, we connected with Lex, who introduced me as Jagger’s mate to his mother. Lex took after his mother so strongly that I knew who she was before he even said a word. But she lacked the playful warmth that Lex exuded whenever he was around me. Honestly, she looked bored. Maybe she was. She didn’t try to make conversation, to my relief.
Whenever I glanced up and looked across the room, I saw Flint watching me. The stirring in my chest calmed. Of course he was keeping an eye on me. He nodded as if to say,be there soon, and I nodded back.
Lex swore under his breath and reached for my hand instinctively. I nearly took it, but he stopped himself when he spotted someone across the room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“My cousin, Elias,” he murmured.
Elias was impossible to miss. He cut through the crowd, his eyes trained on me. The look in his eyes wasn’t creepy, but it unsettled me anyway. Did he know who I was already? Rumors about me had already spread, but he seemed to know more than whatever everyone else was whispering about.
“Hello,” Elias said, a smile spreading across his face. It reached his eyes, but the tone of his voice didn’t match his expression. “You must be Arden.”
“Yes, my mate,” Jagger said, resting his hand on my lower back.
“This is my cousin, Elias,” Lex said again.
“Lovely to meet you.” Elias sipped his drink, his eyes still on me. “I’ve heard so many things.”
I snorted. “I bet.”
“Come on.” Jagger pulled me away from Elias, and Lex followed.
“Leaving so soon?” Elias called out after us.
“We have more important guests for Arden to meet,” Lex shot back.
“What’s his deal?” I asked once we were safely on the far side of the hall, close to where the long dining table was set up.
“He’s a fucking weasel.” Jagger glared in Elias’s direction.
“He might have scented you in my office,” Lex said with a sigh. “Don’t pay him any attention. He’s definitely a weasel, but you don’t have to worry about him. I’ll keep you safe.”
“I know you will.” The glass in my hands prevented me from reaching out and touching Lex the way I wanted to.
“Excuse me, dinner will be served shortly,” an aide called out, amplifying his voice over the noise with a spell.
Finally, Flint appeared from the other side of the room. The Royals sat side by side at the short end of the rectangular table. I sat perpendicular to Jagger, close enough for his knees to touch mine. I’d met so many people in such a short period of time that I didn’t remember the names of anyone near us. The couple across from me were related to Jagger. One was his cousin, if I was remembering correctly, but I wasn’t sure if he was related to the man or the woman.
A fleet of waiters appeared to serve us wine, and moments later, more appeared with little salads. I was ravenous, so I grabbed a fork and dug in. The chatter quieted while people started eating, but rose again when they took the edge off their hunger.
For fae who held themselves in high regard, none of them had anything interesting to say. All of their talk was about business or fae I didn’t know, fae who were also somewhat boring. I missed dinners with just the guys or parties I went to on very rare occasions with Lucy. The latter might have been in dark, dirty bars, but the conversation was fun.
At least it wasn’t just me. The boredom coming from Jagger was contagious, even though on the outside, he was nodding along with whatever his cousin—or cousin’s husband—was saying. A chuckle slipped out before I could stop it, catching the attention of the female fae across from me.
“So, Arden,” she said, delicately cutting a large piece of lettuce. “You’re really not from a prominent family?”
Now I remembered her—her name was Rae or something. She’d asked me a similar question when we first met and acted like I had come from the human realm.
