“Don’t worry about her.” Cyrus chuckled huskily. I nearly laughed aloud.Don’t worry?About the crazy princess who wants to kill me—sure, that was likely.
“Remember, tonight you need to be on your best behavior.” Cyrus lectured, and I felt like a small child as he spoke to me. After what I witnessed today, I was a bit more hesitant to sass him back, viscerally aware of the monster in beautiful packaging before me—cognizant of the lengths he would go to. So, I followed him down to the ballroom without complaint, and as he was announced, I made my way silently to the wall beside the high table where the royal family and their guests sat.
My eyes widened to see Emmie there already. She smiled widely, waving me over to join her. I walked slowly, eyes roving the room to see who was here. All the usual suspects, plus Dawn’s contingent. Princess Zerlina hadn’t arrived yet, but aside from her, everyone else was here. She’d be the last to arrive, withCyrus second to last, as they were the guests of honor tonight. King Astraeus really went all out with this ball for the celebration of the reinforced alliance between Dawn and Dusk.
Everywhere I looked there was grandeur and opulence. Towers of champagne glasses, tables full of every dessert imaginable, a wide array of meats and cheeses. They could feed the kingdom for a year with all the food on offer.
Tufts of fabric lined the ceiling in waves of gray, pink, and red, matching the banners of Dusk and Dawn Kingdoms that were embroidered with their house sigils and lining the walls. The sigil of House Tynan, with its upside-down crescent moon and two pegasuses rearing up toward a star, was a constant source of confusion for me. The pegasuses had strange horns on their heads that their animals didn’t actually have. I’d seen both Cyrus and Zerlina in their pegasus forms, and neither had a horn. House Bathala’s sigil was more accurate, with a pegasus rearing in front of a red sun at dawn.
The colors of the two houses dominated the room, with ribbons curled around columns, and the elevated stage the musicians played from was strewn with rose petals in the same colors. Thinking back to my humble village, they wouldn’t be able to believe their eyes at the extravagance on display. I never believed I’d feel wistful nostalgia for a place that only ever felt like a placeholder to me, but I was.
The simple life I led there was nothing like my life here, for both good and ill. Celesterra was all about balance, so there had to be a way to find balance between the two extremes: not as simple as Sonmathion, and not as excessive as Evenfall—after all, no amount of money and excess could cover up the rot within this kingdom.
Cyrus stood, bowing to Princess Zerlina, as he offered her his hand to dance. She accepted his hand with a wide smile, and the court clapped and toasted the happy couple as they madetheir way out to the dance floor. Prince Weylin quickly followed suit, asking Princess Sybella to dance. The princess didn’t look inclined to agree but did anyway for appearances sake. Prince Weylin would likely spend the dance trying to convince her to ally with him once more.
Prince Sulien asked Princess Daneiris to dance next, and she gave him a charming smile as she accepted, leaving Princess Twyla to be asked by Prince Vikal. Princess Danique refused to dance, declaring so loudly before anyone could ask her, making my lips curl up slightly in a smile. Other than her, only Prince Kian remained seated, swirling his drink in his hand, and chugging it back. I was incredibly jealous; I would kill for a drink right about now.
Watching royals fawn over one another was mind numbing. They all switched partners for the next dance, except for Cyrus and Princess Zerlina, who continued to dance, laughing and having a grand ole time together. They were truly perfect for one another—beautiful and cruel, just like their parents. King Astraeus and King Tariq would dance with their own wives, then each other’s, then sit out a dance to talk and scheme with their heads bowed together.
The other courtiers all seemed to be having the time of their lives. Lord Visita caught my eye at one point and winked but I just averted my gaze. He was much too handsome for me to entertain his flirting, it would only lead to bad decisions, I knew myself well enough to recognize my weaknesses.
I just wanted to get out of here, take my heels off, and slip into what I knew would be a haunted sleep, but I dutifully kept an eye on everyone. I listened for any information I might be able to use, but so far, everyone seemed to be keeping their conversations light, revealing nothing of any real interest, unfortunately.
The double doors of the ballroom opened and a man entered. He looked around the room before spotting who he was looking for and letting out a breath of relief, before he ran across the room, directly to Cyrus. People gasped and whispered at the interruption, speculating about what had happened. Cyrus paused his dancing to speak with the man, his face quickly hardening, before he slowly smirked.
Cyrus sauntered over to his father, who’d been watching the interaction while dancing with Queen Stelara, but he stopped dancing immediately and turned to speak with Cyrus. The whole ballroom seemed to be holding its collective breath, waiting for the fallout of whatever was occurring.
King Astraeus glowered at whatever was said, and that was definitely concerning, as was the way Cyrus smirked, a light in his eyes I knew spelled trouble. What really caught my attention though, was Queen Stelara. Her mouth twitched, a smile growing before she caught it and snuffed it out, but her eyes shot to someone in the ballroom. I just couldn’t see who from my vantage point, and I ground my teeth in frustration.
“What do you think is happening?” Emmie whispered from beside me. While we’d spoken on and off throughout the night, we’d been quiet for a bit as we observed the room. Me, hating every moment with these people. Emmie, wishing she could go and join them.
As much as I’d love the opportunity to dance and have fun at a ball, I would never enjoy doing so in Dusk, a land of blood and death, where the people enjoy torturing humans for fun. I’d forgone all my childhood dreams of living life as a princess long ago anyway.
“Nothing good.” I murmured, keeping my voice low, but the man who belonged to Queen Stelara heard me, looking at me with eyes brimming with trepidation. While I hadn’t interactedmuch with him before, I could only imagine the terrible things he’d seen belonging to the queen.
“Lord Aibek, Lady Siria.” King Astraeus called out, silencing the room. He raised a hand, signaling the guards, and my heart began racing. The lord and lady stepped forward, Siria’s hand on her husband’s arm. They were both dressed in black, and I had to wonder if that was intentional, since black and purple were the colors of Night Kingdom. It could be a show of defiance but was just as likely a coincidence.
The guards began forming a half circle, moving through the crowd and coming up behind the Acheron’s, boxing them in.
“Do you want to explain yourself?” King Astraeus asked with a raised brow, his stern jaw set in a hard line as he glared at them.
Lord Aibek shook his head, looking confused, “Your Highness, I’m afraid I don’t understand.” King Astraeus laughed, and the twinge of mania in it was deeply unsettling.
“You must think me stupid.” The king seethed. “You came to me asking for help protecting your lands from Night Kingdom, but I had to be sure you were being truthful, considering your blood.” He sneered at Lady Siria, who raised her chin defiantly.
“We sent a commander to ensure everything you said was true, and what did he find? You! Colluding with King Calix! Sharing resources across the border at a minimum, but worst of all—” King Astraeus paused in his accusations, the crowd holding their breath in anticipation, while I held mine in dread.
“You helped Calix’s soldiers cross your border undetected, so they could sneak into my kingdom and slaughter my people!” The king yelled, his fists curling as lightning crackled around them.
Lord Aibek opened his mouth to say something, but never had the chance, a guard smacking the hilt of his sword hard across the back of his head. Cyrus came forward, and some magic I’dnever seen before covered the lord in a net of magic, preventing him from using his own.
Lady Siria quickly raised her hands to use her own magic, but they were clapped in chains—iron chains. Her magic sputtered and died out, the iron smothering it. More iron they shouldn’t have.
And the magic Cyrus used? Could that be…
“Traitors.” Emmie muttered angrily, shaking her head in dismay. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. Emmie seemed to get further away day by day, falling under the spell of King Astraeus, and everything he could offer her.
I didn’t know what to think about this situation myself. I was all for workingagainstDusk Kingdom, butforNight Kingdom? I couldn’t fathom how anyone could support them. Though…thinking of the soldier’s words that day in the alley, I still had so many questions. What was Night Kingdom really doing, what was the goal? Something more was behind this, I was sure, but I couldn’t see the whole picture.
