I took in the people standing among what had to be hundreds of white roses sitting in gold vases. Like in my room, teal was a prominent color too, which was nice. It helped settle me, somewhat. I gulped, as my gaze shifted from the decor back to the faces. “I thought you said this would be intimate? Who are all these people?”
His hand landed on my lower back. “Rebels who you have yet to meet. Well, actually, you have met a few.”
A pair waved from somewhere in the middle.
I squinted to find Isadora and a younger version of the brownie—probably her daughter—who’d dropped off the biscuits.
“There are so many of them. Is this everyone?”
“Less than half. But we can’t have everyone showing up here on the same night. It would look too suspicious.”
I was relieved that not everyone was present. Sometimes, I’d had to be social when I worked an assassination, but in those instances, I was never playing myself—I was Alice the Dagger, and had a veil of steel to protect me. Here, all I had was black silk and a few pieces of gold jewelry that Hatter had given me to wear for the occasion.
Speaking of my outfit . . .
“How did you pick out this dress, anyway?” I ran my hand over the silk, reveling in how it clung to my curves but still breathed. “And the jewelry? I particularly love the earrings, they’re perfect.”
Hatter’s cheeks darkened as his eyes followed my roaming hands. “It’s been here for a while. You seem like the right size, and I thought it might suit you.”
“What do you mean by ‘it’s been here for a while’?”
He glanced away. “That was my mother’s dress. She actually wore it to your parents’ wedding, years ago. The earrings too.”
His mother’s dress. He didn’t speak about his mother much, even less than he talked about his father. Although I was curious what had happened to her, I knew better than to dig into open wounds.
I cleared my throat. “Well, she had excellent taste. Classic, and her color palette is on point.”
Hatter chuckled and offered his arm. “Would you like me to make some introductions?”
Once more, my eyes scanned the crowd in front of us. Everyone was still smiling kindly, waiting. I didn’t know if I would make it through all of them, or even half, but something in me wanted to try.
Hatter’s friendly ways must be rubbing off.
“Yes, I’d love that.”
I put on my brightest smile as Henri led me into the crowd and introduced me to others. After a bit, he had to take his leave to see to the food, but by then, I was fine. Everyone was kind and, to my shock, genuinely pleased to be celebrating my birthday.
It felt odd that strangers cared more about my special day than those I’d been raised with. Odd, but admittedly nice.
I was finishing up a conversation with Isadora and her daughter, Circe, when the music took a turn, and a cry of delight rippled through the crowd.
I tilted my head. “Why is everyone so excited?” I asked Circe, who looked ready to burst with excitement.
“This is the latest song by that composer Hani! Everyone’s talking about him and this song in court. The dance that goes with it is so fun!”
A grin broke on my face. Her exuberance was infectious. “Show me?”
Circe shook her head. “Sorry, Princess, but I have my eye on a certain blue-haired someone, and this dance is meant to be done with a partner.”
A partner, huh? I guessed I was out then. People had wanted to talk to me all night, but none seemed inclined to get too close. I hadn’t stepped a toe on the dance floor.
“All right, then, go find your partner.” I winked, and Circe squealed as she ran off into the crowd.
“Sansu had better be ready, ‘cause here comes a steamroller.” Isadora sighed and shook her head. “He seems interested, but it’s hard to tell what she’s thinking. Circe has been unusually quiet about him. She acts the same when she’s hunting something. It’s the only time that she’s quiet actually.”
I let out a laugh. “I don’t see that he has any reason to complain. She’s very pretty, so young and vibrant. Wish I had that bubbly energy.”
I watched the girl two years my junior skip through the crowd in search of her guy.
