“Coming?”
I strode past him, walking as fast as my healing wound would allow.“Let’s get this over with,Your Highness.”
He was threatening everything.
I’d had enough of this prince for a lifetime.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Valeris
Irritation radiatedoff Analleia as we entered the grand ball room.She attempted to hide it but proved a failure.Or maybe I had become more adept at reading her.Part of me felt guilty for forcing her to help me when she clearly didn’t want to, but the intellectual side of my brain said she had been up to something when I stumbled upon her.This was the easiest way to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t cause any trouble.I grimaced, realizing my mistake.I should have followed her first and figured out what she was up to before revealing myself.That’s what she would have done, but my first instinct when seeing her disappear around the corner had been to call out to her.
Why was I worried about completing the puzzle ball with her?
Probably because she was a puzzle herself.
And to ensure I won the grand prize tonight.
As well as the throne.
Besides, she had hunted me down at the masked ball.I was only returning the favor.
Her pale blond hair was piled atop her head, several ringlets curling at the base of her neck.I wished she would turn, that I could take in her fierce blue eyes again.Something transfixed me whenever I met them, and I found myself wanting to lose myself in them.If only to understand them.Understand her.
I yanked my thoughts elsewhere, pulled my gaze away from the sage-green dress that more than flattered her.This was a business deal.Nothing more.All I needed was to crack her code.
Instructions had already been given by the time we reached the ballroom, and servants were handing out slips of paper containing the first clues to the participants.Most attendees had gathered into groups of five or more in order to have several minds to work with.There were at least twenty different possibilities of what could be written on the paper you received, and only one paper amid the hundreds would lead straight to the prize while others led to clues that wouldeventuallylead you to the prize.The rest of the clues led nowhere at all.You could either be looking for one thing by yourself or one thing with fifty other people.
Mass confusion to make the game more “entertaining.”
Ezrielle lurked close by, sizing us up.I smirked at her as I snatched one of the papers meant only for me and my siblings.My father had arranged our own separate puzzle from the main one.I stifled a groan at our first clue.
“What does it say?”Analleia peered over my shoulder, and my gaze drifted to her at our proximity.
“Not here.”
