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“Nothing,” he chuckled, sitting back as I blinked. Sitting up, I noticed how dark it had gotten, and I realized I’d slept the afternoon away. In the lounge area, a covered tray sat, and my stomach growled at the promise of uneaten food. “The ball is starting soon, and if I’d let you, you probably would have stayed out all night.”
Embarrassed, I looked around desperately for a time but rested my gaze on Jace, dressed in a formal tuxedo, looking more handsome than I’d ever seen him.
“You should have woken me earlier!” I gasped, throwing the covers aside to jump out of bed. I was still in the pants and blouse I’d been wearing all day, and I ran a hand through my hair, flustered.
“It’s okay,” Jace told me gently. “We’re the guests of honor. They can’t really start without us.”
“Exactly!” I told him in a panic. “Go down there. Give me twenty minutes.”
“I can wait—” he started to object, but I shook my head, cutting him off.
“No! No, go. One of us should be there to greet the guests.”
A small smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“What?” I demanded, rushing to the closet where my clothes had been put away. I pulled it out gently, careful not to wrinkle it any more than it already had been through travel.
But the dress had already been pressed. The staff at Ironhelm Place really were on top of things.
“Why do I get the feeling that you’ve been reading through the book of queenly duties?” he asked teasingly.
I flushed, knowing that he was right. I had remembered that one of us was required to be in attendance when we were the guests of honor. I had read that stupid book, but I wasn’t in the mood to joke about it now.
“Jace…” I growled.
“As you wish,” he replied, bowing dramatically before bouncing out the door. Rolling my eyes, I hurried to change into the revealing but elegant gown that the seamstress had created.
My hair was somewhat of a mess, but with a quick flick of my fingers and a simple spell that my mother had taught me, my hair looked presentable.
A flattering teal bodice embraced my bosom, enhancing my small but pert breasts in the full-length mirror. Rows of chiffon rolled from the waist to the ankles, where a pair of silver slippers peeked out.
Hastily applying a minimum of concealer and mascara, I dabbed on lipstick and made my way out to join the party, my heart pounding out of my chest once I left the suite.
Slowly, I descended the stairs, a din of voices reaching up to meet my ears, their words faltering as I appeared.
“Is that her?”
“Wow, she’s gorgeous!”
“She looks so much better in real life!”
I heard the whispers and resisted the urge to rush back upstairs, my nervousness threatening to get the best of me.
Suddenly, I felt a familiar set of eyes boring into me, and my head turned to lock in with Jace, who waited in the foyer, his head tipped upward appreciatively.
“The future Queen of Goldhaven,” he announced loudly as the guests burst into applause. He extended his hand toward me, and I took it, relief rushing through me, my footing surer now that I was in his purview.
He makes me feel so safe.
The realization took me aback, but I didn’t have a second to examine it, my body swept through the grand halls of the castle on Jace’s arm and toward the gardens, where the night had been transformed into an illumination of soft fairy and candle lights.
An orchestra played on a makeshift stage near an elongated buffet table, the king and queen seated in their respective thrones to the right.
Upon seeing me, King Cade rose to the stage, cutting off the orchestra, and the throng of partygoers fell silent.
“Thank you all for being here to celebrate the engagement of Jace, Alpha King of Goldhaven, and his beautiful bride-to-be, Miss Elix,” the king announced jovially into the microphone. “Now that the guests of honor have arrived, let them get the party started with the first dance!”
He turned to nod to the orchestra, and I again found myself whisked to the middle of the garden, where a dance floor had been erected for the explicit purpose of our ball.
