Brietta nodded. “The entire House of Hyton has to attend.”
I scoffed and crossed my arms. “I am not going.”
Her eyes snapped up to meet mine. “You came to Hyton Palace accepting the invitation. You wouldgreatly offendHis Excellency if you did not attend.”
And by “greatly offend,” Brietta really meant that I would tip him off that something was amiss.
Maybe I could work my way around it. “But it is amaskedball. His Excellency will not know if I am there or not.”
Brietta’s eyes went dark. “He will know. Do not test him.”
A chill ran down my arms. She was right, I still needed to stay inconspicuous if we were going to gather information.
“Freya said the ball is for us newlyweds, anyway—designed as an incentive to hurry up and seal our blood bonds.” Her voice turned bitter. “Now we get to celebrate the joys of consequence-free sex with everyone else. Supposedly, the masks help the new blood feel less insecure.”
But I had no blood bond, and despite the tight knot sitting in the center of my hips, I certainly did not want to have sex with anyone there!
Brietta must have read the fear in my eyes. She dipped her chin and said, “Though if one is feeling…bashful,no one is required to participate in anything. Just provide good company, that is all you need to do.”
I released the breath I had held in. Brietta’s message was clear—if we all had to attend the Duke’s orgy, I needed to keep Derrick the hell away from her.
Derrick would notwantto be with Brietta that way…but that had not mattered before.
I turned back to the large mirror on the wall, silently hoping it was not another window in disguise as my hands slowly rose to my shoulders.
I closed my eyes and removed everything but the wrappings around my hips. My eyes stayed shut as I stood on that pedestal with my arms folded over my bare breasts.
The women tied layers of organza skirts around my waist. Delicate slippers slid onto my feet. My arms slid through puffed sleeves and a bodice encircled my ribs. The inside of the bodice was whisper-soft against my bare skin.
Only when the maid had finished lacing the bodice in the front did I open my eyes.
I held in a gasp. I looked like a dream.
The dark organza was a gorgeous contrast against my pale skin. The bodice squeezed my bust to make it look fuller. Best of all, the overskirt was embroidered with hundreds of silver stars.
I held my breath as I moved my hips. The stars shimmered in the afternoon light that streamed in through the gossamer-trimmed windows.
I swallowed—no one but Derrick could have commissioned the dress.
I waved the overskirt in a beam of sunlight, making the stars twinkle. “What did Derrick even intend for my costume to be?”
Brietta scoffed. “You really do not remember?”
I knitted my brows at Brietta’s reflection. “I never claimed to have a sterling memory.”
She tightened her grip on her arms. “‘A thousand wishes will never change what was written in the stars.’ He wrote that for your birthday last year.”
Poetic nonsense. No wonder I left that for Brietta to handle.
She narrowed her eyes. “We responded, ‘And so we shall shine forever.’ Might want to remember that while you are…with him.”
I suppressed an eye-roll. I could not wait to shout lines of poetry at Derrick and hope the sounds of the orgy would not drown me out.
Brietta glanced at the women who quietly stood against the wall. “Thank you, please allow us to inspect the dress in private.”
The four women demurely bowed and left, closing the door behind them with a soft click.
Brietta waited until their footsteps disappeared before she pulled the Nordingaard crystal out from behind her back. “What does this even do?”
