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A shiver of concern rushed through me, but I dismissed it. “Have there been rumblings? Have you heard anything?”
“No! No, of course not, or you would have been the first to know of them, Alpha.”
“Then I think we’ve driven this group back under the rock from which they’ve come. That doesn’t mean I still don’t want to know who they are, but for now, I think we can take comfort in knowing that they have been properly subdued.”
Ryland nodded, and together, we marched out of the now-empty meeting room, parting ways in the main hall.
A din of noise indicated that visitors had arrived at the main entrance, and I skillfully avoided the encounter. There would be plenty of time to meet Zephyrine’s father and mother at dinner, after I had properly dressed and bathed for the occasion. I intended to wow them with my first impressions, not in the rushed arrival process.
Quietly, I ducked around the back stairs, pausing in the kitchen to meet with the cooks and check on dinner preparations.
“Is everything ready for the rehearsal dinner tonight?” I asked Heddy, who bowed too deeply and almost knocked himself off balance. Righting himself, he stood abruptly, and I swallowed a smile.
“Oh, yes, Alpha! The dinner will be most extravagant for Miss Zephyrine and her father! The menu will consist of the finest farming of Ironhelm—”
“I’ve seen the menu, Heddy, thank you,” I interrupted before the cook could start on one of his infamous tirades that could go on for hours if I let him. “I just want to make sure that everything is perfect.”
“It will be, Alpha, I swear it! And a taster will be present to ensure that all the food is safe.”
I paled at the suggestion, my eyes widening.
“You’ll have the taster be discreet,” I urged Heddy, thinking of what Nikkoli and Sabine might say to know such measures were necessary.
I didn’t want them to worry that their daughter was in bad hands.
“Of course, Alpha. There’s no need for anyone to see her.”
I glanced around the kitchen. “Where is Coraline?”
He bowed again. “I’m not sure, Alpha. Should I find her?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s not necessary. I’m just used to her tyranny in the kitchen during events like this. Carry on.”
“Yes, thank you, Alpha. Thank you.”
Contented with the arrangement, I retreated up the back steps and headed toward my suites, excitement filling me in contemplation of the upcoming night.
There was still time for a nap ahead, and then it was time for dinner.
* * *
My nerves calledfor a glass of port before I succumbed to my nap, but I hadn’t accounted for the sheer exhaustion of the past weeks to catch up with me as the quiet of the suites overtook me, and I drifted off.
The afternoon fell away, and night was upon me before I knew what was happening.
“Cade!”
The gentle rocking of my shoulder stirred me awake. I stared in confusion at Aradia’s unblinking blue eyes.
“Wake up! You’ll be late for the dinner! Everyone is gathering downstairs!”
Aghast, I sprung up in the round bed and looked around the dark suite, mortified. “Am I late?”
“Not yet, but you will be if you don’t hurry. Miss Zephyrine is growing anxious because no one has seen you,” the enchantress informed me, spinning away. “You don’t want to leave your bride or her sire waiting on the eve of her union.”
She vanished as I scrambled to get myself ready, shaking the remnants of sleep away from me, embarrassed but relieved that Aradia had come searching for me before I had further humiliated myself.
With as much speed and care as I could muster, I dressed, but as I hurried toward the door, before I could lay a hand on the knob, it flew inward, driving me backward. I inhaled sharply, expecting to see Zephy, accusing and flustered, but the reality startled me worse.
