Always different, even in childhood, and yet her father and her family had always grounded her, tempered her impulsive tendencies. Now, it was her new family—Gabriol and Rydon chief among them—that took over that responsibility. She owed it to them, to the memory of her father and her mother who taught her right from wrong, to listen to Gabriol now.
“We’re about to go into a room filled with people who would sooner kill you than try to understand who you are as a person,” Gabriol went on, his eyes searching hers. “The man who already tried to kill you and your sister will be in that room and I am begging you to restrain yourself.”
Terena scoffed. “Has Cassandra said something to you?”
“No, why?”
Suppressing a smile, she glanced over at the door where the seer was huddled close to Migela. “She said something similar to me the other day.”
“We’re only looking out for you,” Gabriol said, the low timbre of his voice soothing and she sighed as his words washed over her. “We love you, Ren. I hope you know that.”
When she felt more in control of her emotions, Terena laid a hand on his cheek and smiled.
“I love you, too. I wouldn’t be here without you and Rydon, you know that. I’m humbled by your support and your faith in me, and I hear you. I do. Thank you. For sticking by me, for believing in me, and for protecting me. Even from myself. You’re right, at times I have lost sight of what is right, and I will do better.”
“I know you will,” Gabriol said, holding her hand against his cheek.
“If we don’t leave soon, we’ll not be able to blend in with the other arrivals.”
Terena rolled her eyes as Vassori’s words cut through her moment with Gabriol. Pulling him into a hug, she kissed his cheek and thanked him again before turning to stride for the door.
The din coming from the ballroom reached them as soon as they descended the main staircase to the grand hall. Terena wasn’t bothered, but she caught Cassandra wincing as they neared the double doors. Imperial Guard were posted on either side, their expressionless faces unmoving as guests came in and out of the ballroom.
Terena and Vas were both dressed as City Watch, while Migela and Cassandra wore dresses they’d found still hanging in the armoire in the room Xoran had stashed them in.
When Terena first saw the outfit Cass had put on, she’d frowned. The dress looked familiar, but she’d quickly dismissed it as unimportant while Cassandra tugged and tugged at the bodice to accommodate her bust.
Glancing over her shoulder, Cassandra gave her a tight smile when she caught Terena’s gaze.
Turning back, Terena held out her hand as she waited for a large group to pass them. Walking quickly, they blended in with the group and strolled into the ballroom without raising any alarms.
“The emperor knows how to throw a party,” Cassandra mumbled when they stopped walking. The group they’d gone in with were chatting with other guests already inside, their shrill laughter making Terena frown.
She motioned to the women with her head and they followed as she moved away from the thick crowds clustered in the middle of the massive room. Leading them to the far side, Terena nodded when they passed another Watchman.
“I don’t see the prince or my brother,” Vas whispered as they slowly made their way to the dais. It ran the length of the back wall, long tables set up for twenty, which seemed excessive to Terena. Besides the emperor and his family, she’d assumed High Cleric Christos and maybe several of the more important foreign dignitaries would be seated there.
It mattered not. When the time came for her to reveal herself, she doubted anyone would stay on the dais besides Solon and Christos.
“If they’re not here yet, they will be,” Terena whispered back.
“I’ll take a look around for them,” Vas mumbled as she melted away.
Cassandra took a seat at an unoccupied table and popped something into her mouth. Terena suspected it was one of herspecial sweets that dulled her mind. She did not begrudge the seer the vice, but she worried she would lose focus.
As soon as Cassandra sat, a servant materialized with a goblet of wine and a plate of refreshments. The seer clapped her hands and grabbed the wine before the servant set it down.
“I’ll take a turn around the room. Stay with Cassandra,” Terena said to Migela, who nodded and sat beside the seer.
Keeping her left hand on the hilt of her sword, Terena scanned the room, ducking her head when she spotted Duke Elis with Duke Ermanel. She pivoted and threaded her way through a group of women tittering over the handsome?—
Someone bumped into her and Terena looked up in annoyance. Her mind blanked when she looked into the startled blue eyes of Henri, Duke Aurora. Terena moved away as he opened his mouth, disappearing into the crowd.
Putting a hand to her chest at the near discovery, Terena cursed. What the fuck was Aurora doing here? She hadn’t heard about them being back under Heylisia’s rule. Terena would ask Lerek about him the first chance she got. If that pompous shit had recognized her and dared to say anything, she’d find him and pluck out those baby blues he always batted at her.
While she fumed about Aurora, a commotion caught her attention near the dais. Narrowing her gaze, Terena saw Serephina enter the room with her son, Prince Adonis, at her side. He looked like a miniature Solon, poor thing. He wore a peevish expression on his little face, and he stuck to his mother’s dress as if she’d had her seamstress pin him there.
Terena scowled and prowled forward, keeping to the side of the room near some of the Imperial Guard. High Cleric Christos loomed behind Serephina, tall and powerful with a pompous sneer on his lips as he listened to a man Terena did not know.
