“Sera!”
Sharp hands grabbed mine and I looked up. Annalisa.
“You came back!” she squealed. She wore a white dress draped with a Thornebow grey overskirt and had pulled her blonde curls into a knot on the back of her head.
I flicked my eyes to the dancing men and women. “Surprised to see you are not in the middle of it all.”
She shrugged. “I was actually sneaking out when I saw you.”
Annalisa sneaking out of a party? That did not sound like her at all. “Really?”
“Nothing is lonelier than a room full of people.” She flashed a smile and tugged on my hands, pulling me deeper into the ballroom.
My stomach twisted. I was there to find the General,notdance in front of everyone!
“Would you young ladies like some refreshment?”
We turned our heads. A balding man held two tiny glass cups in his fingers. I took a quick note of his yellow cape and the golden pin of a deer that held it closed—Baron Amberfield.
Annalisa accepted a cup and peered at the clear liquid that filled the glass. “What is it, Uncle Thorin?”
“Faerie wine, perfect for you fawns just starting out.” Baron Amberfield gave me a wink. “Gentle stuff, just do not overdo it.”
I took the tiny glass and held back a recoil. Faerie wine did notsmellgentle.
Baron Amberfield laughed. “Do not taste it! Just swallow.”
I glanced at Annalisa. She gave the drink a considering look before she knocked back the glass and gulped it down.
I looked at my own glass. The firelight refracted off the cut glass edges and made the clear drink glimmer. I had no time to waste, but if I refused a drink from a Baron, I could look suspicious.
With a flick of my wrist, I dumped the prickling cold liquid down my throat. I forced myself to swallow and discarded the glass.
Annalisa laughed and grabbed my hands. “Come on! We have to dance!”
Before I could protest, Annalisa pulled me to the dance floor. She deposited me on one side before rushing to the other. A man and a woman grabbed my hands and I looked down, trying to remember the steps to the dance. Just as I got the rhythm, a man thrust me across the black and white tile as people threaded themselves from one side to the other like laces on a bodice.
Little glasses of faerie wine appeared in my hand any time it was free. I tossed glances over to Annalisa on the other side of the line, only downing a drink each time she did.
Had to make sure I did not “overdo it,” whatever that meant.
I spun around with a beautiful woman wearing a purple dress and let myself smile. I had no idea my first night in the palace would be so fun!
A man yanked me into another group before he was supposed to and I accidentally stepped on his toes.
“Just relax, Madame Bloodstone!” said my partner.
Another man took my hand and spun me around. “I can help her relax.”
Suddenly a pair of lips mashed against mine.
My heart stopped. The man pulled away and I blinked as I recognized him. Gerond Pebblebrooke, Camille’s husband. He just…kissed me?
He released my hand to another man in the group, but I deserved an explanation. “The hell—?”
I caught a flash of red hair in the side of my vision before another kiss crashed against my lips. I yanked my hands out of his hold and pushed against his chest.
It was Myles Amberfield, Dinah’s husband.
