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“Your Majesty.” I turned, my throat suddenly dry. I curtsied deeply, lowering my gaze in deference. I hate him, his crown, and the forced curtsy. Power and royal blood sang in my veins. While he was just as powerful, he had no right to rule. He forced himself into authority. Claimed in cold blood.
King Araki bowed his head slightly and stretched out his hand, “May I have the honour of this dance, Lady….” He trailed off, fishing for my name.“Nala,” I answered demurely. “Lady Nala Banbridge.”
?My response was swift enough that no suspicion sparked in his eyes. He was used to believing pretty lies dressed up as truths.
“Please, dance with me, lady Nala.” He said again. Though it was worded as a request, one did not say no to the king. Not that I would have, anyway. After all, this was precisely what I wanted. I curtsied again and took his extended hand. I placed my hand into his larger one. My skin shivered at the touch of his callused fingers wrapping around mine and my magic flared under my skin from the feel of his own pulsing. It took everything in me not to show how I reacted to him, calming the fury swirling in my gut. The daggers felt all the heavier. I longed to pull one out and plunge it through his skull but nothere. Not now. My goal wasn't just his death. I had to survive long enough to take my rightful crown.
The king wrapped a firm hand around my waist, and my fingers found purchase on his coat epaulettes. An earthy scent that clung to him filled my lungs when I breathed in. His impressive wings lifted slightly, and his steely gaze never moved from my face as he led me onto the steps. It made me uneasy, my heart thumping hard like a caged bird wanting to escape.
“You are a beautiful woman,” the king said, his eyes drinking me in.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I replied with a bashful expression. “You are a striking man.”
It was true. Up close, I studied the king's features well. His naturally tanned face was all sharp angles, high cheekbones, and strong brows set above striking violet eyes. He towered over me a couple of inches. His toned body rippled with power. I did not doubt he'd be able to heft me over his shoulder without a problem. I found myself wondering if his hair was as soft as it looked and how those silver-grey strands would feel between my fingers.
Such beauty for a man… wasted on a man like him.
I shove the nonsensical thoughts aside. I was there on a mission. No matter how much my eyes wanted to fixate on the almost imperceptible dimple that was making itself known in his right cheek, I wouldn't be distracted. We took a turn together, spinning among the other couples. They gave us a wide berth. Jealousy was plain to see on more than one woman's face. He smiled for the first time. It completely transformed his face. The cold eyes he'd looked at us with when he stood on the balcony lit up, and the sharp features of his face softened. I wouldn't callhim boyish, not by a long shot, but there was mischief in those eyes that, on anyone else, I would want to get to know better.
“I thought I knew all the young women who were out in society,” he remarked as he pulled me to him, feeling the strength in his grip.
“Without ever having been to a ball?” I kept my tone teasing, ignoring the playful glint in his eye.
“There are other ways to keep track of such things. I would remember a face such as yours. Where do you hail from?”
“I live further South, Your Majesty,” I said. “I don't get to travel a lot. A lot of my invitations naturally go to my older sisters.”
“But tonight, it's just you?” He didn't even pretend to look for anyone else.
“Just me.” Unfortunately for him.
“I see.” King Araki rested one hand on my hip and took my other hand, moving it to his broad shoulder when the song changed. “Do you know how to waltz?”
Bolts jolted through me, the anxiety spike making me shiver. Waltzing was a new dance in the kingdom that had already caused quite a scandal. To be face-to-face, bodies nearly touching? My pulse beat against my throat. This was precisely what I was after… so why did I feel like this, like…
I managed a small smile. “I do.”
He tugged me closer, my skirt pressing against his long legs as my hands rested on his firm chest. There was enough fabric between us that I couldn't feel anything, but I knew what the people around us would think.
“You dance incredibly,” he told me, eyes glancing over my partially braided hair, tumbling over one shoulder to touch the bodice of my dress. I bribed the seamstress to make a different sort of dress than the popular style for tonight's ball. Where many of the dresses the guests wore were wide skirts, frills, and lace, mine was fitted, clinging to my hips, tight to my torso, with a bodice that curled right around my breasts. The mesh column down the centre of the bodice invited longer looks. King Araki's eyes fell on it for a blink of a second. The rest of the dress was small mesh cut-outs, velvet panels, and silk ribbons fastening it together. It was a stunning creation, worth every precious gold coin I gave to have it on such short notice. It helped me cut a seductive figure, the very thing I needed to lure the king somewhere else, alone.
“Thank you. My father had me take lessons,” The lie fell naturally from my lips.You killed my father. Do you remember him?Swallowing my hatred, I pressed closer to him, letting him feel every inch of my body as we danced. His breath hitched, and his mouth brushed the shell of my ear. Goosebumps broke over my skin as anger simmered in my blood. I was tempted to plunge my daggers immediately.
I can do this.
I can endure this small, revolting act of pretending to be interested in the sake of the Nightshade.
“We weren't allowed to attend any balls until we were sixteen, Your Majesty. By then, I was quite adequate on my feet.”
“A little more than adequate, I would think,” He murmured as his gaze raked me over again.
I tilted my head away from him, trying to conceal my hatred and hoping I appeared shy. I had always been good atplaying pretend, but something about him, his overwhelming, endless well of power or the fact that he ripped my life away from me without even knowing, was throwing me off. He made me clumsier, awkward, and less put-together than usual. The High Priestess and Master often ordered me to carry out assassinations that were impersonal to me. A name, an address, a deadline.Get it done, Reilyn. Get it done well, and get it done discreetly. This—King Araki—and coming into a palace that should be my own while he claimed the glory and adoration was harder than I was prepared for.
“You're not like the rest of the women here,” King Araki said, his mesmerizing eyes fixed on my face.
“Oh, Your Majesty,” I laughed lightly. “Please, that line rarely works.”
“No, I'm serious. Look at them and look at yourself. Your beauty, your dress…your hair. Everything.” He gave me a charming smile that likely worked on every woman before me. He was correct; however, I was not like the others there. The other women were there for his affection and status, while I was there for my agenda. Of course, my dress couldn't be anything like theirs. I needed to stand out.
