We race back down to the first floor, and my lips curl wider with every step. My heart continues to pound, beating to the rhythm of my hurried pace, my excitement, my hope. I outpace Daphne as the ballroom doors come into view. I rush through them, but an arm comes to my elbow as soon as I’m inside.
“Finally!” Monty rakes a hand through his hair while he pulls me out of the way of the stream of guests entering along with me. “Where have you been? No, first things first. Where is your donation?”
I hand him the stack of papers. He frowns at it, but the expression soon turns into a smirk. He reads the front page. “Fourteen Ways to Die in Faerwyvae: An Illustrated Guide. Are these the kinds of things you’re always scribbling in your notebook?”
“More or less.”
He flips past a few pages, his eyes widening on one. “That’s a rather unfeasible position,” he says of a sketch I drew of two nude figures entangled on a pegasus.
I shrug. “Not all my ideas work out, which is why I sketch them first.”
He flips to the next page. “This one though. This position I guarantee works wonders. I bet Daph would like this sketch. Speaking of…” He lowers my papers and stares at the ground with a frown. “Where is everyone’s favorite feral mustelid? I told her to find you?—”
“I’m right here.” I startle at her voice, still not used to hearing it so close to my ear. With the crowds still pouring into the ballroom, I hadn’t realized she’d come up beside me.
Monty’s eyes go wider than I’ve ever seen. He freezes in place as he stares at her seelie form. “Daph?”
She shrinks down slightly. “Yeah.”
His shocked gaze sweeps down her form, then he stiffens. “Whoa. Legs.”
“Where’s William?” I say, drawing Monty’s attention both for Daphne’s sake and mine.
Monty shakes his head as if to clear it, his cheeks suddenly pink. He aims a thumb toward the stage. “He’s being auctioned off as we speak.”
Urgency propels me away from Monty and Daphne, and I race toward the stage, skirting around the dancers circling on the floor, weaving between chatting figures and those browsing the auction tables. Finally, I catch sight of the stage. A large crowd gathers before it, so dense I could never hope to cut through to the front.
At the very center of the stage is William.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
WILLIAM
Ifeel like an idiot. Not only because I’m sitting on a literal throne being gawked at by strangers—though that certainly has to do with it—but because I can’t stop dwelling on what happened last night. I don William the Poet’s smug grin as I slouch sideways in the gold-plated, velvet-cushioned chair. Inside, I can only think of Edwina. Edwina, whom I haven’t seen all day. Not since she left the recreation room with so much hurt in her eyes.
I haven’t seen Cassie either since she came to see me earlier. She hounded me about Edwina, inquiring about my feelings, the attraction Zane told her about via telegram. I crushed her hopes when I relayed Edwina’s reaction to my confession. Cassie was so crestfallen afterward. Perhaps she decided not to come to the gala after all. I do hope she doesn’t blame herself for what happened between me and Edwina.
That was entirely my fault.
Edwina was right. I should have told her sooner. In fact…maybe I never should have agreed to this arrangement with Cassie. Maybe I’m robbing my sister of the empowerment she’d feel if she kept trying to publish her book on her own. Maybe I’m betraying my fans by presenting someone else’s art.
But the money.
Our debts.
Cassie’s dream.
The ticking clock of her prognosis.
Blooming hell. I don’t know what the right choice was. All I know is that I want to do anything to inspire Edwina’s trust in me again.
“Do I have twenty sapphire rounds?” The auctioneer stands beside my ridiculous throne, calling out bids and encouraging higher ones.
“Twenty,” calls a young man at the center of the crowd.
“Twenty-one,” shouts a woman at the front, her hungry gaze locked on me. I try not to grimace as she licks her lips, though I do hope no one misunderstands the purpose of this date or expects it to be anything but chaste.
“Twenty-two,” says another.
