“It’s almost time for the evening meal. But we don’t need to go down. We can stay up here and have food delivered.”
“No.” I shook my head, my head clearing more. “I want to go. I refuse to let your parents chase me away. Not even time in prison can do that.”
A fierce flare of pride shone in his eyes, and together we got up and dressed.
Similar to the navy gown I wore the last time I’d donned such garments, the new blood-red dress that hugged my frame was light and airy. Movement was easy, and the material was soft. I felt like a queen in the stunning deep-crimson gown that was encrusted with jewels and sewn with sparkling thread.
Like me, Jax wore a top of dark red. Both of us had forsaken Stonewild colors tonight, perhaps in solidarity with one another. Or perhaps not. But we’d both been drawn to the bold color when we’d chosen our formal clothing.
Jax held my hand when we walked down the hall toward the dining chambers. Two servants lined the doors ahead of us, and din from the preparations in the great room carried through the doors toward us.
“Do your parents know I’m here?” I asked quietly.
“I’m sure they’ve heard by now.”
I gripped my mate’s hand tightly. The potions had completely worn off, and the bath, food, and long nap had helped immensely. My magic was once again fully awake inside me, and for the first time in weeks, I felt like myself.
The doors drew nearer. “Do you think they’ll try to kick me out? Or just make me sit at the end of the table again?”
“They won’t be doing either,” he all but snarled.
“But they could.”
His hand tightened around mine. “Then they’ll be kicking me out too. If you go, I go.”
A fierce resolve had formed around Jax, as though he would move a mountain, slay the stars, capture the moons... I’d seen him determined before, but nothing like this.
As though sensing the prince’s malevolent magic swirling around him, the servants opened the main doors with a flourish, stepping back as we neared, and we strode inside.
Similar to the last meal I’d had here, the dining hall was overflowing with nobles as the king and queen sat at the head of the table.
All conversation stopped when we appeared in their line of sight.
The king sighed, his expression morphing into irritation.
The queen’s nostrils flared. “Adarian? What’s the meaning of this?”
I ground to a halt when the queen’s sharp words pierced my ears.
But Jax merely ushered me toward a seat near the head of the table. He pulled the chair out, and even though everyone’s gaze prickled over my skin like stinging needles, I sat.
“Adarian,” the king boomed. “Answer your mother.”
Jax turned his frosty gaze on them both. “I’m unsure why you’re making a fuss. I’m simply sitting down for supper with mymate.”
The king’s cheeks turned ruddy, and the queen gasped.
“But she was . . . arrested!” Queen Rashelle hissed under her breath.
“And now she’s not,” Jax replied calmly.
I pressed my lips together. Even knowing I needed to win them over, a laugh threatened to bubble out of me at Jax’s wry response.
Steaming plates of food sat on the tables near the wall, and the servants waiting to begin the service gave one another side-eyes.
With a growl, the king barked to them, “Begin.”
In a flourish, the servants set to work, and our plates were filled with food, and our goblets poured full of drink. Everyone began to eat, but you could have cut the tension with a knife. Automatically, I cut into the roast in front of me even though my stomach was roiling.
