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Prologue
Embers, flames and wildfire
‘How is this my life?’ Selene muttered under her breath as she stepped from her fly-cab at the gates of an ornate palace.
She took in the view and sighed. This was so NOT her scene.
Vintage ensembles glittered, neo-mod threads glistened, and designer-drenched beauties tottered past. The night was warm, so bronzed shoulders, arms, necks, and long legs were on display, artistic pieces sculpted to perfection by genetic engineering and the latest surgical implants.
Squaring her shoulders, the slight, dark-haired, honey-skinned woman sailed forth. She skirted the hordes of fashion swans jostling for camera cameos and tried to push through rivers of diamonds and sequins as she was carried along in a wave of swarming party-goers.
When she finally broke free, her eyes widened at the sight of the gardens that the planet’s most eminent landscapers had transformed into a gilded tropical oasis for the extraordinary affair. At the centre was the palace’s famous bioluminescent gold ginkgo tree, whose rich saffron leaves fell into a lacquered pile on the palace grounds throughout the year.
The platinum fronds floated around Selene’s heels as she walked past, giving the sensation she was wading through an ocean of gold spray.
Ahead, lush tree vines adorned the coral column-lined entryway, where servers greeted guests with glowing mango daiquiris and champagne on ice upon arrival. She nabbed a glass of bubbly and sipped it to cool herself off before plunging deeper into the festivities.
Selene navigated the night’s thick crowd, winding her way up a candlelit staircase that lured guests up to the welcome table, dressed to impress with mountains of gold lotus, lily and amaryllis flower arrangements.
At the entrance, a host checked her name and title against an extensive list. She joined the obligatory royal greeting line as the sounds of cork popping and effervescent DJing throbbed through the dazzling multi-level palace.
She shuffled further in the queue, fighting a jaw-splitting yawn.
It won the battle she’d been waging against it. She gritted her teeth, muffling it to no avail. The rest of her fed-up air escaped, and she covered her parting lips with her clutch bag.
Mercy.There were still clutches of dignitaries and society darlings ahead of her.
She groaned, trying to dampen her distaste for the long-drawn process. More long moments of tiny straggling steps ensued.
‘Selene Munene, Undersecretary to The Prime of Dunia.’
Holy Dunia, about time!
She stepped forward and curtsied before the royal family.
First, to Prince Occaro, the host of the night and the reason for the most desirable party in Enia City. Also, one of the King of Rhesia’s three brothers. He was a tall man with dark brown hair who’d once been handsome but was now trying to clutch on to his youth and good looks.
He’d dabbled in one too many face-freezing injectibles over the years and paid for a blinding set of veneers. He used them to give her a diplomatic smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, for they were busy darting around the rest of the room at the more glittering, beautiful beings within. He effectively ignored her. As did his wife, Princess Ameli, a similarly nip-tucked creature of indeterminate age.
Nonplussed, Selene moved on to Prince Emian, a studious-looking man with a heavy brow and cold, measured eyes. They flicked over her outmoded dress with a touch of disdain. His wife, Princess Zanza, timid and retiring, barely glanced at Selene, extending a limp hand for acknowledgement.
Selene didn’t waste time moving along to Prince Torran. Aged in his late thirties, he was the youngest of the Rhesian royal brothers. He cut a dashing figure in typical Rhesian suaveness.
He grinned, revealing glimmering teeth set in a perfectly symmetrical face. He leaned in and leered at her, his eyes lingering on her cleavage.
She gave him a tight smile and moved away quickly lest he thought she was receptive to his ‘magnetism’. It was rumoured that he was the royal playboy. No wonder, with his baby blue eyes and messy blonde hair. He’d women swooning over him throughout the Pegasi System, hoping to become his Princess.
She’d no such plans,Selene coolly thought.
Last but not least, she presented herself to the royal couple - King Auban VI and Queen Sanjana of the Rhesian Realm of Nations - who contrasted sharply to their surly and checked-out family members.
She dipped low for them, for she was secretly a fan. The most beloved and loved-up royal couple in all Pegasi smiled back in greeting. He was tall, broad-chested and handsome. She, a vision of beauty and elegance. Their images graced the society holos to no end, and the welcoming picture they painted, in contrast to their siblings, was everything desired throughout the System.
Selene, slightly dazzled, kissed the Queen’s slim, perfumed hand as custom dictated.
Then she stumbled, her heel caught on a carpet’s edge. She flailed for a second, trying to find her balance. To her dismay, Queen Sanjana reached a hand out to steady her. Selene had no choice but to grab onto the jewelled sleeve.
‘Thank you, Your Highness,’ she breathed.
