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I glanced around at my guys, meeting Noah’s easy-going smile with one of my own. Zeke nodded at me in understanding, his trust in me unbreakable. Liam, however, was glaring at me with narrowed eyes.
“Oh don’t be such a baby,” I groused, rolling my eyes at him. I felt his frustration through our bond, but the understanding and trust that came alongside it helped to ease my guilt as he huffed at me.
The stable hand scratched at his coarse beard as he examined the damage around us.
“So, are you going to help us clear up this mess?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cordelia
Ismoothedmyhandsdown the simple, silk dress as I looked at myself in the large mirror that had always sat against the wall in my castle rooms. A beautiful pale lavender shade, it was the least ridiculous gown out of the options that had been presented to me, cinching in at my waist and hugging my hips before falling straight to the floor in a sleek wave of glossy fabric.
My hair hung loose, the lengths teased into deep curls that bounced around my shoulders when I moved, but I had refused any other extravagance.
“Are you sure?” I asked again, making Drin release a small huff of impatience.
I grinned, thrilled that I had finally been able to coax some sort of honest reaction from her. For the last few weeks, Drin had acted like a frightened mouse, not even daring to meet my eyes at first. I understood why she was afraid, seeing as her experiences so far will have involved a Queen who most certainly would slaughter her for the slightest misstep, but it hurt my heart to see her so browbeaten.
“Yes, ma’am, I am certain that you cannot attend this ball in anything more casual. It would not be proper.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Cordelia, Cordy, Cor… hell, I’ll even take bitch at this point. How many times do I have to beg you to just call me by my name, Drin?”
She flushed red and ducked her face away as she made the final adjustments to my outfit. “It would not be proper.”
I chuckled and shook my head, giving up for now. I supposed I could accept ‘ma’am’ as an improvement on the initial ‘your majesty’.
Apparently satisfied with the way I looked, Drin drifted away to tidy away my discarded day clothes. I turned with a frown, flapping a hand at her.
“I can do that. Are you needed for anything else? I don’t want to keep you here for my sake.”
I hated having servants, I always had, but I also had to admit that they needed the work. Drin, I had discovered after prying it out of her, had an elderly mother at home who needed round-the-clock care. Her sister was able to provide this, but they were all dependent on Drin’s wage for food. If I sent her away out of sheer stubborn pride, it would only hurt them all, so instead I did my best not to take advantage of her.
She shot me a chastising scowl as she straightened before walking across the room to place the clothes in the ornate dresser. I threw up my hands in defeat.
“I know, I know, it would not be proper.”
The large wooden door to my chambers pushed open without warning, and I turned to smile at whichever one of my guys had arrived. No one else dared to enter without at least a knock, and the maids had often glowered at the three of them for their impropriety. Looks which they completely ignored, of course.
A blond head poked around the door, Noah’s eyes finding me and then widening as he looked me up and down. I gave a breathy laugh as he seemed to struggle to find any words to say, but then my own jaw dropped as he walked towards me. Dark, crisp pants had been teamed with a black silk shirt, the buttons fastened up to his collarbone and leaving a tantalising peek of skin showing at his throat. His hair had been slicked back neatly, making his blue eyes pop even more than usual, and my throat went utterly dry as he smirked at me.
“Sweetheart, you look… edible,” he murmured, sliding his hands around my waist and tugging me into his body.
I smiled and tilted my head back to look up at him. “I could say the same about you. I’m impressed they found anything for you to wear.”
His gaze flicked over to where Drin was straightening the bedcovers on the other side of the room. “These people are very desperate to please. It’s almost sad.”
I nodded at his whisper. “It’s hard to let go of that much fear.”
He brought one hand up to trace my exposed collarbone with his fingers, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. He smirked again as he felt it, leaning in to press a light kiss to my mouth.
“Utterly gorgeous,” he breathed against my lips as my door pushed open again and I heard Liam and Zeke’s voices.
Peering over Noah’s shoulder, I felt my teeth sink into my bottom lip as I took them in. Liam was dressed similarly to Noah, though his shirt was a deep red rather than black. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, and my eyes were caught for a long moment on his strong, exposed forearms before I noticed him giving me a knowing smirk. Rolling my eyes, I looked to Zeke and released a soft laugh.
“I didn’t expect you to be the stubborn one, for some reason,” I said as I walked around Noah and propped my hands on my silk-covered hips.
Their eyes flared in appreciation as they traced over my gown, a low growl sounding from Liam that made Drin squeak in horror and dart out of the room. I breathed a sigh, hating that they still saw shifters as a danger, but it would take time to heal the rift.
