The man who’d hosted that awful hunt came up to us, and we endured his pompous chatter for several minutes before he moved on.
“Let’s get some refreshments.” Valen led me around the edge of the room toward the tables of food and drink. Partway there, he leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Princess Regula is in the middle of that large group near the column. She’s the one wearing feathers.”
I pretended to gaze casually around the ballroom. Sure enough, I spotted her surrounded by a posse of courtiers and wearing an elaborate gown of soft white feathers. A gigantic winged headdress covered her hair and ears, leaving only her pinched face visible. She probably wanted to evoke an elegant swan but looked more like an ornery goose.
And hanging around her neck on a smooth silver collar necklace was our target: the Selenian Jewel.
I’d been expecting something flashy, a gaudy bauble that screamed, “Look at me! I’m expensive.” What I wasn’t prepared for was the way it seemed to hold an entire galaxy prisoner within its crystalline depths. It seemed almost alive, pulsing with an inner radiance that shamed the shoddy replica necklace I'd practiced unlocking. Its faceted surface caught the ballroom’s light and fractured it into a thousand blues, each one deeper than the last, as if someone had crystallized the ocean at midnight and hung it around the princess’s throat.
Just my luck that the prettiest thing I’d ever seen would probably be the death of me.
Having gone over the plan five hundred times with Valen, I hadn’t forgotten that it was too soon to steal it. We’d only justarrived. We had hours to kill before we could leave the ball without drawing suspicion.
I stopped looking at the jewel, knowing better than to stare, and my thoughts turned to the princess. So that was the woman who wanted to invade Earth. She didn’t look like the type of royal who would lead troops to war herself. The thought of her marching into battle in that ridiculous dress almost made me snort. But I could be wrong. Valen had said the royal family wielded dangerously powerful magic. Maybe Regula would summon lightning from the sky to destroy Earth’s armies.
“Here.”
Valen handed me a flute of sparkling wine, a glowing golden crescent moon decorating the glass. I raised it to my lips but didn’t drink. I needed to be at my best tonight, not tipsy.
Then he passed me some kind of puffy baked cheese appetizer. Crispy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, it delighted my taste buds.
“Now that’s more like it,” I said.
“Shall I search the table for every dish that includes cheese?”
“I know you’re teasing me, but yes. Do that now.”
His shoulders shook as he repressed a chuckle. But then his gaze landed on something behind me, and the color drained from his face.
Had guards come to arrest us? Had Drudon finally snapped? What—?
“Sir Cordus, Polla…” His voice cracked. “Aurea.”
I spun around, barely noticing the older couple. My attention focused completely on the young woman next to them: Aurea, Valen’s former fiancée.
She was beautiful, of course. With plump, rosy lips, fair skin that seemed to glow, and bright eyes framed by long lashes, her face was all soft innocence. She wore a gown of pale pinkthat hung off her round shoulders—God and Goddess, even her shoulders were attractive.
I belatedly realized Valen was speaking with her parents and had introduced me. I quickly curtsied. They asked polite questions about my life on Earth, and I answered numbly with the lies Valen and I had fabricated what felt like so long ago.
“You were talking about cheese.” Aurea gave me a hesitant look, her voice soft. “There’s some wonderful dip at the other table. I could show you…?”
Valen looked distinctly uncomfortable but said nothing to get me out of it, so I had to smile and agree.
I struggled to think of something to say to Aurea as we walked to the next table and spooned dip onto small glass plates. I scooped some up with a piece of crusty bread and took a small bite. It must have been delicious, but I barely tasted it. Why had Aurea pulled me away from Valen and her parents? She was staring down at her plate, not even looking at me.
“You’re right,” I said with false cheer. “This tastes wonderful.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Then she looked up, eyes wide with urgency, and whispered, “Please be careful. Valen isn’t what he seems. He’s dangerous, and you can’t trust him.”
My breath got caught partway down my throat. I couldn’t speak, but I had no idea what to say in response anyway. My mouth felt dry, my tongue thick and clumsy. The plate of dip trembled slightly in my hand, betraying the turmoil of disbelief and dread inside me.
“Come along, Aurea, dear. I want to speak to Ambassador Neevun.”
Her parents and Valen rejoined us. Her mother gave a sharp nod in Valen’s direction.
“Good to see you again, Valen,” Aurea said softly.
His voice was just as low. “And you, Aurea.”
