The queen extended the ring. Dahlia’s gaze was downcast again as she kissed it. Yemi was sure it was to hide the lie in her eyes.
“Then let this be the last we speak of it. Provided, of course, you improve on your decision-making.”
“Thank you, My Light,” Dorian said and kissed the ring himself. They both nodded at Yemi and at Luzon as they passed on their way off the balcony.
“Cutter,” said the queen. “We’re on schedule, correct?”
“Yes, My Light,” he replied.
“Good.”
Yemi seethed as she tossed back what remained of her champagne. She watched the Drakes greet old friends as if nothing bordering treason had happened. Her mother reached back and patted her behind.
“Go. Relax. It’s a good night, remember?” said the queen.
Yemi turned to her in an aggressive whisper. “You almost died. Cutter’s going to have to drag me away from you.”
“Then shall I summon him, or will you please, for once, do what I ask the first time?” the queen said cheerily.
Yemi stood her ground, content to wait for Cutter to throw her over his shoulder.
“Do not deny me the joy of seeing you happy for once. I only ever see you smile in the papers,” her mother said.
Yemi swallowed the frustration rising in her throat. It was the first time in a surprising while she felt choked by the gold rings around her neck.
“You’ll keep an eye on her?” She eyed both Luzon and Kuro intensely. She had only been able to provide the briefest of updates around the latest intense developments ahead of the party. Kuro had likely received a more thorough one from Nova and Cutter, and he met her gaze with a nod that suggested this was a request he took with grave seriousness.
Satisfied as much as she could be, Yemi kissed her mother’s hand and snatched a fresh glass from a platter.
“See you out there,” she said to Luzon as she descended the stairs, though it was unlikely he would join her. As a king, he needed as little going on around him as possible for security reasons. Kuro was not a fan of parties.
She didn’t so much mingle as dodge the partygoers, plucking food from wandering trays and skirting players from a traveling night circus as they spread themselves out to perform their illusions andacrobatics for smaller crowds. She found herself on the edge of the party before long, looking back at it from the opposite end.
The air here smelled less of lavender and sea spray and more of spent gunpowder and crudely mingled colognes. Nova was likely somewhere doing Cutter’s bidding concerning the hunt for rebels, so Yemi couldn’t exactly be upset that she was alone for now.
Before long, she and Dahlia Drake caught one another’s eyes from across the crowd, and the latter began making her way over.
“Perfect,” Yemi muttered into her glass, searching vaguely for a means of escape.
“My Qorrea,” Dahlia said with a bow. She was smiling, seemingly put at ease by her audience with the queen.
“Drake,” Yemi replied flatly.
“Beautiful night. Wonderful party. The queen is a gracious woman. Your family’s blessed to still have her with you.”
“The country, too, isn’t it?Blessed.”
Dahlia nodded wordlessly and smiled into her own glass. Yemi continued to stare beyond her, wondering what she had to do to get literally anyone to rescue her from this exchange.
“Are you ready to be queen?” Dahlia asked plainly.
Yemi looked at her now, imagining she was on fire and all the ways she would go about not helping to put her out. She tapped her glass with a dark, lacquered fingernail. “You’ll forgive me if I receive that as a threat.”
“I knew you’d be harder to win over.” Dahlia smiled. “We’re skeptics, the both of us. I’ve always liked you for it.”
“Imagine that being true.”
“It is. I participate in forums like the one you walked in on in order to understand the people. I had hoped to talk to you myself, especially before anything ugly came out.”
