No. I was not. Icouldn’tlove him.
We stepped into the corridor and linked arms, striding down the hall with our heels clicking and smiles on our faces.
Music drifted from the ballroom, weaving through the hum of voices and the scent of perfume and whatever they were serving for food. My pulse matched the beat of the music, every step bringing me closer to either my ruin or something far more exciting.
Somewhere down there, Trew might be watching the door for my arrival.
44
TREW
The ballroom was too bright, too loud, and it smelled of roasted meat and ambition.
Hundreds of torches and suspended enchanted lanterns gilded the marble floor in a warm gold, highlighting the carved ribs of the vaulted ceiling two stories above. The musicians in the gallery threaded a dance into the air, their strings weaving with the low, steady heartbeat of the drum. The long windows on the far wall stood open to the courtyard, letting in a slip of moonlight and a whisper of night air that carried a floral perfume from the gardens.
I stood near the dais at the far end, a vantage point that allowed me to see everything. My formal blacks had been cut close, embroidered in storm-gray threadwork, a pattern only worn by the crown.
My gaze drifted often to the ballroom doors.
Gavelle had perched near the wall and in the shadows, his ember-gold eyes unblinking as they swept the crowd.
The first floor had been secured an hour ago. I’d done my own sweep, stationed my guards, and made sure no one without authorization would get anywhere near the crown or the new warriors.Which meant there was no reason for me to keep my post here except?—
“Your Majesty.”
Kira’s voice slid in from my right, smooth but with the faintest rasp. She wore a gown as black as a starless night, cut to flatter her figure and her copper hair. The neckline dipped enough to be noticed. I’d seen her in armor more times than I could count, but tonight she’d chosen her weapons differently.
She stopped beside me. “Surely you’re not working tonight?”
“Does a king ever not work?”
She shrugged.
“I’m breathing tonight,” I said without looking at her. “That’s enough.”
Her mouth curved, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “I thought you’d take the opportunity to relax. Dance.”
“I’m here to ensure the warriors remain safe.”
Kira’s gaze flicked to the single white bloom I held in my hand, a camellia I’d plucked in my own personal garden. Her eyes narrowed before sliding back up to my face.
The music shifted key, and her expression tilted with it into a half-smile. “Pretty flower.”
“It is.”
She gave me a look full of envy and accusation.
She’d wanted something from me since she arrived at my court, but I’d never given her a reason to hope.
And tonight, I suspected she knew who the camellia was for.
The waltz swelled again as the ballroom doors opened.
And there she was.
Flanked by Lexie on one side and Kerralyn on the other, Isi stepped into the light as if she’d been born from it. My vision tightened until the crowd became nothing but shifting shadows. The hum of conversation fell away, replaced by the faintest echo of her laugh in my memory, low and bright.
Her green gown clung to her body as she stepped inside, thegolden stitching catching the torchlight in ripples. Gold also glimmered through her hair as if each curl had been touched by the sun, and it had chosen to follow her inside. Her pale blue eyes searched the room.
