1. The Iseldan Ball
Lia did not like Captain Julian Salamar, and it was not because of his blue beard. Though admittedly, that was odd.
It was also not because he was a Captain—though that was an odd profession for a nobleman. But Captain Julianhadgrown up in a castle on an island off the coast of Allys, so Lia could not even fault him with that. No, there was just something about the way he was looking at Princess Tavia from across the ballroom. His dark eyes were so intense, unblinking, and the rest of his face was just as expressionless. How was one supposed to read a man like that? And if you could not read a man, how could you trust him?
Shehadbeen surprised to see him at the Iseldan ball. Captain Julian was a fellow Allysian and everyone knew he preferred his solitude and sealife over fancy functions. Perhaps his ship had been in the Iseldis ports recently? He definitely was not here to win the heart of Crown Prince Ian—which was the reason everyone else was in attendance. Not Lia, of course, she was merely there to attend to her lady,thePrincess Octavia of Allys.
Princess Tavia, for her part, was also doing an extremely poor job of winning the heart of Crown Prince Ian. Rather, she was grinning ecstatically under the intense gaze of Captain Julian and squirming in an attempt to withhold an explosion of giggles. Tavia had been friends with Crown Prince Ian of Iseldis since childhood, but neither had ever been interested in something more. Tavia, however, had been unusually excited about making the long trip to Iseldis for this ball, so Lia was hoping that something might have changed.
Lia’s frown deepened as she looked back and forth from Julian’s stoic face across the room to Tavia’s giggly one right next to her. If this had been the reason Tavia was so excited to get to Iseldis . . .Well,Lia was only a handmaiden, and while it was not her place to comment on the situation, that was not going to stop her.
“I did not think he would be so young,” Princess Tavia whispered to her.
“He’s notthatyoung,” Lia grumbled. “He’s got to be at least thirty.”
“No,” Tavia replied. “He’s . . . twenty-five . . .maybe?”
Lia rolled her eyes. “And howexactlydoes one end up with seven broken engagements by the age of twenty-five?”
“My cousin broke off three engagements before he was eighteen.” The princess shrugged.
Lia stiffened her eye muscles to keep them from rolling again—an art she had mastered after a lifetime of serving Tavia. “You can usually get away with one—maybe two—eyerolls a day,” her grandmother had once told her. “Our royals are not tyrants, buttrynot to push them, please.”
Princess Tavia made that advice quite difficult at times.
Most of the time.
Glancing sideways at Tavia, Lia wondered if maybe she should not have made the princess quite so beautiful for the ball.Tavia’s naturally dark hair had been dyed a golden yellow and intertwined with silver highlights. Amongst the Iseldan nobles, her hair was like a shimmering star of light in a sea of dark brown and black tresses.While they wore it too simply for Lia’s taste, the Iseldan royal family had lovely dark hair. To mimic their monarchs, most of the nobles in attendance also wore their natural hair color. Or, at least, they attempted to match it by darkening their frequent blondes and reds to fit in. Other than Tavia, only one other person in the room had dared to stand out.
One man and one man alone was wearing his bright hair as nature intended and that was Captain Julian.
Howindigo was Julian’s natural color, Lia had no idea. Yet, hairstyling ran in her family for six generations—even from across the crowded ballroom she could tell he was a natural blue.
That wasn’t the reason she didn’t like him though!She told herself. Afterall, there was absolutely nothing wrong with having an unnatural color naturally! No, It was the rumors . . . the missing fiancees . . . that lifeless stare . . .
“I am going to go talk to him.” Tavia grinned.
Lia clenched her jaw as her lady straightened up and attempted to elegantly glide across the room toward her . . .admirer?The right thing to do would have been to hang back and let the actual princess do as she pleased, but Lia was too protective for that. She had a hair pin in her pocket and wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
Captain Julian’s gaze never broke from Tavia’s as she navigated through the dancing nobles.Did he ever blink?
Grinning, the princess offered him a hand, which he took and kissed with a stiff bow.
“Captain Julian Salamar, I presume?” the princess beamed.
The captain's already somber eyes hardened. “Why do you presume?”
Lia’s brows shot up. Unconsciously, she put her hand in her pocket and felt for the wig pin. Really?Maybeit was because he was the only man dressed in captain’s attire in the entire room!Maybeit was because there was only one blue-bearded sea captain in all of the five kingdoms.Not that there was anything wrong with having blue hair,Lia reminded herself.
But honestly, did this man have any idea who he was speaking to?
The princess’s eyes widened in amazement. Lia thought she was rightfully offended at the captain’s obvious question, but then Tavia giggled.
“Because I have heard so much about you,” the princess replied. “I—”
“What have you heard?” the captain interrupted.
Lia choked. The audacity of this man!
