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One day at a time, that’s all she needed to worry about.
Arianna gave her mate a gentle smile then turned when the regent stepped to the side and the guards pushed open a pair of doors covered with frosted glass.
Her mouth watered when she spotted the tables laden with food. Spiced chicken, a multitude of casseroles, steaming bread, and pastries oozing with warm chocolate.
Teardrop chandeliers sparkled above row after row of tables. Countless Fae filled the seats and paused to stare at the small group filing in. The blond male led them down the center path and Arianna smiled shyly at the many faces she made eye contact with.
They whispered, smiled, and Arianna tried not to blush when many placed a hand over their hearts and bowed their heads.
The regent paused before a table at the back of the room. The only one turned parallel to the door. It made watching everyone easier, but they were also watching her.
“Please,” the regent gestured. “Enjoy yourself. Everything you need will be provided and when you’re finished, someone will be nearby to escort you to your rooms.”
He turned, but Arianna stopped him. “You’re not staying?”
He gave her a warm smile, so perfect and sincere that her heart tugged, drawn toward the kindness in his gaze. “You’re very kind, but I’d like you to enjoy the festivities in the company of those you know. As someone who once traveled from their homeland, I understand the value of familiar companionship in a strange place.”
Ellie whistled. “Are dinners always this extravagant?”
The male chuckled. “Only when the Queen herself is gracing us with her presence.” His eyes seemed to sparkle with emotion.
“Thank you.”
He bowed slightly. “It is my absolute pleasure.” Then he was gone, his guards following, and Arianna felt a knot in her stomach unwind. Everyone was still watching, staring in silence and she realized the food hadn’t been touched. They were waiting.
Ellie was first to find a seat. Rion took Arianna’s hand and led her to the chair beside her sister. Arianna wasn’t sure what to do next, but the music started as soon as she took her seat and everyone dug in.
***
She’d never eaten so much in her life. Arianna leaned her head back against the chair feeling as though she might burst at any moment. Ellie was still grabbing cakes.
Musicians played in a corner to their left, their soft, upbeat music filling the silence. Many still stared and others hadn’t taken their eyes off her, but she’d tuned them out after a few minutes. Mostly because Ellie kept her distracted.
Rion had waited before digging in, but when Ellie didn’t fall over or pass out, he made a plate for himself. Arianna wasn’t sure which of the three ate more.
Her mate squeezed her hand beneath the table, but before he could speak, a hushed silence fell over the hall that had them all straightening.
A female entered from a door to the right carrying a violin in one hand and a bow in the other. Those seated twisted to look at the female and for a moment, Arianna flashed back to her time in the war camps, dreading the way males leered at the defenseless females.
But this female didn’t carry scars or shackles around her wrists and ankles. She wasn’t malnourished or starved. She was clean. Whole. And happy, if her gentle smile was anything to go by.
She wore a cream colored dress with gold laced through the seams that contrasted perfectly with her olive skin. A simple necklace held a pendant shaped like a bird and her waist-length dark hair was braided back from her face and rested across one shoulder.
No one moved.
And when the bow grazed the strings and coaxed a long, soft note from the instrument, Arianna understood why.
The music began, slow and ethereal, reminding Arianna of the Fairy Folk when they sang to the forest. Arianna’s heart rose and fell with each note, the music cascading over the room like soft moonlight streaming through a window.
The female’s eyes closed, then her body swayed as if she played with the entire force of her soul.
It beckoned forgotten dreams and memories of a life Arianna had left behind and another that had been stolen. The tempo rose and her heart swelled with it, pulling emotions from everyone in the room.
Then it slowed again, returning to a haunting melody, and when the bow pulled free from the strings, the last note echoed through the hall and their hearts.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
