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I showered quickly and eagerly returned to the huge closet to carefully select a becoming dress in periwinkle blue. The bodice clung to my chest, accenting my full breasts, causing them to swell outward. Zen would appreciate the subtle gesture, his eyes constantly shifting toward the curve of my chest when he thought I wasn’t looking. The king liked my body, and I wasn’t going to deprive him of his small pleasures.
I brushed my long tresses to a shiny, auburn sheen and wished I had some mascara to thicken my lashes, but as I was thinking it, I heard the door to the sitting room open.
Standing from the vanity, I went to greet Zen in the bedroom, and he stopped in his tracks, his mouth parting as he drank me in. “You look beautiful.”
The sincerity touched me more than the words, but also twisted my heart into a nervous flutter.
“That dress matches your eyes perfectly.”
I blushed. “Well, someone has exquisite taste,” I told him, gesturing behind me at the overfilled closet. “I think everything in here is my color.”
A smile quirked on his lips as he neared me, his ebony hair still slightly damp from his own shower. “But there’s something missing.”
He ambled forward, the fresh whiff of soap emanating from his skin. His hands rose to reveal a velvet box, and I raised my brow as he urged me to open it.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I guess you’ll see when you open it,” he answered dryly. “Go on.”
Cautiously, I did what he asked, prying the lid apart. Inside sat a sapphire necklace on a platinum chain, the clasp shaped with the Silverhold crest.
I was afraid to touch it, and Zen laughed, sensing my hesitation. He removed it from the box, gently turning me around.
“The moment I saw this, I knew it would look perfect on you,” he murmured, his warm breath raising the hairs on my neck. The clasp clicked softly, and he spun me back around. His grin grew. “I was right.”
“You didn’t have to buy me anything, Zen.” My fingers trailed over the fine gems delicately. I was sure I’d never handled anything so expensive.
“I didn’t. It belonged to my mother.”
I sputtered, gaping at him. “I-I can’t accept this!”
He shrugged, sliding my hair off my shoulders and turning me back toward the mirror, where the sapphires glinted beneath the lights of the chandelier in the bedroom. “It’s only gathering dust in her jewelry box. Cyndella refuses to touch any of Mother’s stuff, which would break her heart to know. She cherished her trinkets. She wore them with such pride. She truly was the belle of every ball. She wished the same for her daughter.”
He sighed and placed his hands on my shoulders, his dark coloring a sharp contrast against my fairness. In the mirror, we did look sensational.
“You really look incredible, Mirielle.”
I smiled weakly.
“Should we go?” I asked quietly, sensing that he was again about to ask me what had been on my mind all day.
“Yes,” he agreed, dropping his hands to extend his arm. “Your chariot awaits.”
* * *
Landon droveinto Catalonia as we sat in the backseat of the armored vehicle, Zen’s hand in mine. My head turned back and forth between his face and the city beyond, trying not to miss anything.
“I was driving through here earlier and thinking about how little time I spend in the city anymore,” he said wistfully. “I used to know every building almost intimately. Now I don’t recognize half of them—even though a lot of them have been here for years. I come in for business every day and barely see them.”
“Why is that?” I asked curiously.
He didn’t answer for a moment, his eyes fixed on the outside, but without me prompting, he went on again. “After my mother was killed, Cyndella refused to leave the castle. She refused to leave her room or let anyone but me go near her. Not even Endora at first.”
“That’s understandable.”
“Maybe,” he agreed. “But she would throw a fit if I left, too. She was sure I would end up murdered in the street, so I stayed close to home and had everything ordered in.”
A note of regret filled my ears.
