“Does everyone know their part?” Theo asked.
Esaias sighed. “We’ve been over this plenty. I’ll take Amaris to her bedchamber to gather our bags and change at midnight.”
“I’ll prepare the boat and be ready for you,” Adelaide said.
“I’ll keep to one drink to keep up the part,” Amaris added.
“We all will,” Theo said. “One drink, but appear as though you never allow yourself to be without one. We must be careful if this is to work.”
Conjugations weren’t only a time to celebrate future lovebirds. Excessive liquor consumption was expected. If any of them declined a drink, speculation would arise instantly.
Esaias gripped his shoulder. “Everything will be all right. I’ll get Amaris safely to Duncaster, and I’ll be back well before Whitereign.”
He better be. The plummeting temperatures of Whitereign would halt most traveling, and the longer he was away, the more suspicion he would gather. He’d likely be home before mid-Crimsonreign, but Theo worried what would happen if anything went wrong.
“Shall we?” Esaias asked, extending his arm for Amaris.
She dropped her shoulders and groaned, but it was only an act as she took his arm and giggled. “We shall.”
It was a vast change from the woman Theo had met in the forest. She’d had a peevishness to her that had annoyed him more than Esaias’s snoring. Her guard had been fortified, but this was the real Amaris. She’dlowered her shields. He wanted to be grateful, but it was precisely what his father had asked of him.
He hadn’t spoken to his father since the day he’d lost control. After Luther’s announcement of Amaris’s fate, an audience with his father wouldn’t have changed the outcome. While he washed and dressed for the Conjugation, he’d battled with himself over whether he should’ve gone to his father and demanded Amaris’s freedom. It wouldn’t have done any good.
“Be sure to save a dance for me, Theo,” Adelaide shouted behind them. Theo smiled back at her, but she narrowed her eyes and mouthed, “Watch your back.”
Theo would, indeed, need to watch his back, Amaris’s, Esaias’s, even Adelaide’s, but their best opportunity to send Amaris to safety was tonight. The manor would be flooded with people, and the sentries would most certainly relax in their positions to partake in the celebrations.
As they walked the upstairs halls, Amaris and Esaias bickered behind him over whether he was allowed to kiss her to further deceive them. The idea of sending them both away was not at all pleasing. In fact, it sent a fury over Theo. He should’ve been the one going with her. His father was punishing both him and Amaris for his actions. His father may have tied their hands, but Theo had given him the rope.
An audible gulp stalled his strides at the edge of the grand staircase with the bustling laughter of the guests already reaching his ears. Theo glanced over his shoulder. “Are you alright?”
Amaris’s scarred knuckles drained of their color, gripping tighter to the sleeve of Esaias’s coat. “A little nervous,” she admitted with a wry smile, attempting to hide the shaking in her voice.
Theo stepped toward her. His hand hovered in the air before he placed it on her shoulder. The touch of his skin against hers through the lace was a warmth he wasn’t ready to let go of. “You’re hardly recognizable. This will work.”
It had to. His cheeks flushed at the straight-out lie he’d given her. To someone who didn’t know her, she was another passing local. But not to him. He’d be able to spot her from across the ballroom. Her chocolate-brown locks. Those deep-blue eyes. That single-dimple smile. All were Amaris.
She straightened her spine and raised her chin. “Let’s do this.”
Her assurance for herself not only carried her to the steps but lifted a weight from Theo’s shoulders. If Amaris could brave the single night of agony where a single slip of her mask would have her sent to the dungeons, then he could force himself to breathe.
They emerged from the shadows of the hall. Not a single spot wasn’t taken at the end of the staircase with people from all over Luana and parts of Godwin there to celebrate. The caravan had arrived a few days ago with the hoity-toity nobles of Eastbury, where Lord Godfrey resided.
Amaris’s hesitancy vanished as her eyes lit with wonder. They descended the staircase, but she didn’t take notice of the gaping eyes glancing her way and trailing down the skirt of her gown. Her eyes only found the garland decorating the walls, the lanterns dangling above her head, and the blood-red wildflowers littering every surface.
“It’s like a fairytale,” she whispered, “like some beautiful, magical fairytale.”
Theo refrained from rolling his eyes. It was hard to believe someone with her knowledge and skill believed in something like magic. He hadn’t asked her about her beliefs, but on several occasions, he’d found a few books on mythology in the mystique tower. If it was a new hobby, Pricilla was likely to blame.
“I imagine it’s more like a forest,” Theo said. “The black tulle above us is the canopy of trees.” A canopy indeed, strung in waves from the coffered ceilings. The dark color squashed any chance of a bright affair. Shadows swirled in the corners with iron-caged lanterns and torches along the walls providing the only light.
Amaris turned and gave him a flat look. “So logical and—”
“Realistic,” Theo interrupted, giving her a smirk and arching a brow. He found himself regretting all the times he’d suppressed his laughter when she made a joke.
“I was going to sayannoying, but fine, we can go withrealistic.”
At the bottom of the staircase, a woman stood with tawny skin the color of a bronze sword. A golden dress hung off one shoulder and hugged her hips before draping into two slits. Her shoulder-length hair had a deep side part revealing silver eyes glowing back at Theo.
