When the dance ended I let my hand slip from his. “I wish to watch the next dance. I fear I still have much to learn about the ways of this court.”
“Certainly. If you are serious about visiting the vineyards, a trip can be arranged for you with one of the guards if you wish it.”
That was not exactly what I had in mind. “You wouldn’t take me?”
“My schedule is extremely full tomorrow,” he said.
“If it’s possible, I should like to see the market instead.” Every gown that passed had caught my eye. Each seemed more vibrant than the last. The ladies’ laughter and chatter around us nearly rivaled the music. “To see what life is like here in Estlen.”
He seemed relieved that my request was simple. “That I can easily arrange.”
Kilan placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder as he tugged Novena closer to where we stood on the edge of the dance floor. “You two look like you belong together out there.”
“She compliments you well.” Novena’s tone was soft and melodic—almost like the fae, but entirely even when she spoke.
“Are you blushing, brother?” Kilan laughed.
Soren looked past him to his brother’s wife. “Novena, would you be interested in accompanying Ashlyn to the market tomorrow?”
“I am in need of some new gowns,” she said.
“Darling, I don’t think you could possibly be in need of anything. You’re there nearly every week,” Kilan replied. “But if it makes you happy.”
“Indeed, it does, my prince.” She leaned into her husband, looking up at him with a coy smile.
“You may pick out whatever you wish, Princess Ashlyn,” Kilan said. “We dote endlessly on our women.”
Novena glanced around the room before her eyes returned to mine. “Tomorrow we shall shop and have our hair done if you wish it. A new color could look stunning on you.”
Soren slipped a blonde tendril behind my ear. “I must admit I’m partial to her hair the way it is.”
I scraped my teeth on my tongue as I eyed Novena’s plum hue. I wanted something just as bold.
“She’ll be in good hands, Soren. Nothing could change how beautiful she is,” Novena said.
Soren nodded, but his flicker of faint amusement faded.
A sour feeling settled in my stomach.
“Is something wrong, Princess Ashlyn?” Kilan asked.
“No, nothing at all.” The sensation started again—the heat almost as suffocating as the starlight.
I needed it to stop.
“Now we’ll carry on the rest of the night as if we wish to be here.” Kilan’s words came precisely the moment the heat released.
“You don’t wish to be here?” I had craved this moment for months—to stand in a room with my kind—to be the princess I once was, and they didn’t even want to be there.
Soren’s lips formed a half-smile. “It’s a dull affair, I’m afraid, but we must always be present.”
I drew inward.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
FYN
Iwasn’t sure what made them stare more, her golden locks that clearly weren’t common in this court, or my ears.
