I sat in my room before the lanky woman returned to fix the hair I’d ruined during the scuffle. She pulled and twisted roughly, perhaps as upset with me as Ryder was. It wasn’t long before my locks were returned to the same ridiculous design.
The door pushed open, and Leanna popped her head in. “Are you decent?” She gave me a sweet smile before making her way in and partially closing the door behind her. I stifled a laugh at the ridiculous design she’d let the woman put her hair in.
The strands were formed into five points that stuck straightout. One center-spiked chunk of hair sat on top of her head like a horn, at least six inches into the air. The others jutted out, two flanking either side of the central piece.
“My brother said you needed to borrow a dress.” Leanna pulled the door wide, letting three guards walk in. Each one held a different iteration of an aquamarine gown in their hand. It was the same tone Leanna wore.
“Choose whichever you’d like,” she gushed. “Any of them will go with your mother’s necklace.”
My thumb and forefinger instinctively reacted to her words and rubbed the glass pendant; I’d been lucky I hadn’t damaged it in the skirmish.
“Well, lift them up in front of you, so Audryn can get an idea of how they’ll look when not draped across the floor.” She motioned with her hand to the guards. They lifted the gowns, bringing the dresses to themselves and letting the necklines settle under their chins.
I chuckled as the three men held the dresses up to themselves, seemingly irritated with Leanna’s order. Such a minor act had already lightened my mood.
“Shall we have them try the dresses on?” She raised a brow. “Perhaps they can have dinner with us, and you can throw a shawl over your sleeping dress. That would really piss off my brother.”
“I’ll wear the middle one.” I grinned. In such a short time, Leanna had grown on me, and I almost considered our relationship a friendship. “Thank you for allowing me to borrow one of your gowns. I’ll be careful with it.”
“Don’t worry.” She waved a dismissive hand, a gesture similar to her brother's. “Don’t spill wine on it, and we’ll remain on pleasant terms.” Leanna took a seat on the sofa as the three men left the room.
I removed my sleep dress and stepped into the gown, attempting to make up for lost time.
“Ryder seems smitten with you.” Her smile was soft. “I think he’s preparing to ask you to be his betrothed.”
Obviously, she hadn’t heard about our disagreement the night prior, or she would have felt differently. What would I even say if he asked? Was I willing not only to change who I was, but change my body for him too? A tattoo may be trivial to some, but it was special to me. It represented more than something, butsomeone. Two someones, actually.
“I appreciate your optimism,” I said, shaking my head, “but things didn’t go so great last night.”
“Oh, no.” Leanna frowned, but her joyful tone didn’t match her expression. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story.” I looked up at the ticking clock. “But let’s just say I don’t think things are going to work out. He’d have been better off with Allura. I wouldn’t wish Maris on my worst enemy.”
Leanna chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t think he’s interested in Maris. He has his eyes set on you.”
“Had, maybe. Not anymore.”
She hummed and glanced up at the ceiling. “Perhaps you could show him your gratitude tonight. Thank him for your time at the castle. A toast maybe? He loves a good toast.”
I pondered the idea. We’d been sure to clink glasses over dinner. If I could find something heartfelt to say in front of so many important people, it might’ve been enough to lessen his anger. It wouldn’t erase our issues, but I was fairly convinced we could work through whatever obstacles we faced. Maybe he’d even be content enough to give me the name of Kam’s executioner.
Twenty minutes later, I was stuffing myself through my doorway with crinoline skirts puffing nearly a foot past my hips on either side. The gold beading, sewn in an elaborate swirling pattern throughout the entire gown, scraped against the doorway as I squeezed through. The bodice was a bit too tight,with small sheer fabric panels dipping off the shoulders as sleeves.
I hadn’t thought well enough to ask for a long-sleeved dress, but with my breasts pushed so close against my ribs that I thought they might spill out, I’d hoped they’d be enough of a distraction to keep Ryder’s attention.
Fisher squinted his eyes at me and scowled.
“Get over it,” I barked. “You were in my way. What you should’ve done was let me beat the shit out of her.”
“Have a splendid dinner,” Roark called out. I hadn’t seen him in the room during the melee, but if I’d hit him, he’d already forgiven me.
“Thank you!” I called over my shoulder as I continued without stopping. “I’ll try to bring you back some dessert.”
We were already five minutes late, and entering after everyone was seated was the last thing I needed. I picked up the pace to a jog. Fisher's long legs had no trouble speed-walking to match my pace. The skirts swished almost as loudly as my heeled boots clicked over the stone floors.
Right as I turned the corner, I smacked into King Grave.
“We must stop meeting like this.” He looked down, refusing to pull back. His cologne filled my nose—a mixture of warm earthy sandalwood, salt, and bergamot. Fisher stepped to my side and gently directed me away from the dark king.
