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Chapter29
My heart pounded hard in my chest, the thumping growing so loud in my ears that the entire boisterous room was muted.
An ashy taste filled my mouth as I made an effort to move my tongue and relieve the dryness that overtook it as I stared, mute, into the queen’s stony gaze while she raised her goblet high.
But it wasn’t just the queen’s gaze on me. Every member of the court was gathered here in the main hall tonight. Every eye on me.
Me.
For a celebration.
It was unnerving and I didn’t realize how much I hated the spotlight till that moment.
“To Coraline Fray,” the queen said as she stood in front of the hall. “For her heroism and willingness to do whatever it took to protect the royal family.”
“Here, here,” the king chimed in, bowing his head toward me.
I gripped the goblet in my hand, bowing my head slowly and bringing it to my lips. Everyone else in the room followed suit.
I grasped the bejeweled golden stem harder to hide my trembling hand. Not just from the amount of eyes meeting mine, but also from the fact that the queen herself had yet to look away from me.
Nicole pinched my arm and I jerked sideways, glad that music had begun and attention on me diminished easily and quickly. After all, I was just a servant.
The dinner tonight was in my honor. Held by the king and queen for my bravery in apprehending the spy in Unseelie.
However, Noah and his parents, along with the rest of the fae were gathered at their usual spot, and I was in mine. With Nicole and the other servants.
A reminder of my place, no doubt, from the queen.
“Who would have thought in just a few short months you’d be the staffer of the year,” Nicole chuckled, downing the wooden cup of ale she’d procured.
I snorted. “Yes, I’m sure they are thrilled to acknowledge me, given that the entire royal guard screwed up so badly.”
Nicole nodded as she wiped her mouth. “Regardless, we are entitled to get sloshed tonight and I intend to make good on your heroism, I think the queen called it.”
A few other servants waved at me and I returned the gesture. Apparently word had spread of how Nicole and I led those in the cell to stay calm and the subsequent disaster we brought on ourselves because of it.
I shuddered, pushing those moments from my mind as best I could.
“You might want to keep drinking too,” she said as I spun the obscenely ornate cup in front of me.
“Mmm, why’s that?”
She straddled the bench, getting ready to make her move on her quest for more to drink. “There’s a rumor flying around that Prince Noah kissed you in the cells beneath the castle.”
My reflexes were immediate and I grasped Nicole’s arm, stopping her in her tracks. “What?” I hissed.
The kiss that would have caused heads to spin had happened in the privacy of Noah’s room, but there was the chaste peck he’d given me in the cell. Aleita saw.
“That nosey know-it-all, why would she say anything?” I said before Nicole had a chance to speak.
She shrugged. “Not sure, friend, but she’s been busy spreading that juicy detail around.”
Nicole bounced away to refill her cup and I scanned the crowd looking for Aleita. Would approaching her cause more issues now than it was worth? I had no idea. Perhaps that was a fear for another time. After all, this was a celebration.
Brigette sat down at the table in front of me, asking if I wanted a refill. “I can get it myself, but thank you.”
Her spirits had returned, and I was sure before long she and Lizette would be their gossiping, normal somewhat ditzy selves. Perhaps that was the cycle of anything traumatic. Everyone had a chance to find themselves again, once they felt safe enough.
