I forced another smile. “Only that joy is contagious. You should try it sometime.”
Her expression cooled.
Staff brought out goblets of blood for them and my meal: a roast, potatoes, and baby carrots. Once everyone started drinking, I stabbed a piece of meat with more force than necessary.
Cordelia fluttered up over the table, taking a seat on the chandelier, making it rock. “Keep it light, dear. Breezy, charming, unthreatening, like a summer breeze that could also kill if provoked.”
I did my best, but every time I spoke, someone fed me a barbed comment wrapped in velvet. They praised my vivaciousness, marveled that I had the nerve to bring sunlight into a vampire court, and wondered aloud whether the kiss had been consensual or strategic.
I lost count of how many times I imagined setting the tablecloth ablaze.
Quandary, perched in the rafters above, released a tiny growl.Say the word, and I’ll scorch their hair.
Tempting,but no.I needed to show control. Dignity. Poise.
But by the time dessert arrived, more blood for them and a blackberry tart shaped like bat wings for me, my cheeks ached from smiling, and my magic pulsed beneath my skin. The room felt tighter, colder, the laughter shriller.
Kieran’s chair remained empty. He should be here to remind me I wasn’t alone in this charade. He’d promised.
I did my best to remain still, pretending my heart wasn’t sinking by the minute.
When Madeline leaned forward, her tone syrup-sweet, I nearly broke my fork in half. “Truly, Your Majesty, I must commend you for causing such an uproar.”
Cordelia perked up. “See? You’ve made an impression.”
I breathed through my teeth. “I’m glad my presence has brightened everyone’s day.”
The noblewoman smiled, all fangs. “Oh, you’ve certainly brightened something.”
That did it. I stood abruptly, my chair scraping across the floor. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m finished.”
Gasps fluttered through the room like startled birds.
Cordelia leaped off the chandelier, swishing her translucent skirts. “Darling, don’t storm off, it ruins the exit?—”
I was already moving, my pulse slamming in my throat and my magic sparking under my skin like fireworks.
The corridor outside the dining room was mercifully empty.
As I hurried toward the stairs, I pressed my hands to my temples, breathing hard. “Fates, I can’t do this.”
Quandary swooped over and landed on my shoulder.You lasted longer than I expected.
“That’s comforting.”
You could always set them on fire—accidentally.
“Tempting.” I puffed my way up the stairs to the level with our chambers.
Cordelia floated at my side as I stomped down the final hall. “You mustn’t let them see you flustered. Vampires feed on discomfort.”
“I noticed.”
I turned a corner and nearly collided with a wall of black velvet and muscle.
Kieran filled the corridor, looking tall and composed and too much like sin. His eyes, dark as old wine, swept over me, and something in his expression softened before it sharpened. “What happened?”
My voice came out thin. “Nothing.”
