An older male as tall as my stalker gives a curt nod, and I can tell immediately that he is their leader. Lord Taevis Vaelor. It’s in the way he carries himself, along with his expression.
The king clinks his golden chalice with a knife, signaling the end of his speech. It was a bit lackluster, if I do say so.
The crowd begins to disperse, spreading throughout the extensive ballroom. The middle of the floor empties out for dancing, but most of the elves opt to retrieve drinks first. Many stand on the edges of the room behind onyx columns, looking unsure, mistrusting. A band begins to play their instruments at the front of the room, and far less people begin to dance than what is typical of a normal ball. People are on edge tonight. Or, perhaps, they’re more interested in observing our foreign, unfamiliar guests.
“My lady.” A voice very close to my ear makes me jump. Okay, perhaps I’m on edge myself.
I spin to find a male with neatly styled black hair and bright green eyes beaming down at me, his white smile almost blinding. An elf.
One who smells like pleasant trees.
“Sir Greenwood. You startled me.”
“Apologies, my lady. And I told you to call me Adrian.”
“Adrian. Sorry.” I’m not sure why it’s so hard for me to call him by his first name. Of course, I did sort of grow up with him, but he was a few years older than me. He attended different classes. Had a separate friend group. I crushed on him from afar as a girl, but lately, he’s finally been paying me special interest.
“It’s okay.” He grabs my hand, placing a gentle kiss on the back with his very pink, smooth lips. “Save me a dance later?”
“Of course.”
“For now, I have some business to discuss with your father, unfortunately.”
“Duty calls,” I say with a polite smile.
With one last glance back at me, he strides off into the crowd, and I turn, on a mission to find some pink wine. It’s made from bittersweet hazeberries, and it tastes divine. Hazeberries are so named because it’s said they didn’t exist until after the curse settled over us. With the limited sunlight that trickles in through the thick, dark haze, strange things started growing, while others disappeared completely. Our climate was forever changed. Another reason the elves remain in power over the whole land—verdant magic allowed us to grow our own fruits, vegetables, and more without the direct sunlight that was lost.
The wine helps me get through nights like this with some sanity. After one or two glasses, I’ll most likely be out on the dance floor, frolicking with whoever is within my reach, but leaving with no one. It fills you with a sense of euphoria, even on your worst nights. But it can be addicting. I tend to stay away from the stuff except for on special occasions. Many elves have succumbed to the addiction, forgetting about reality and living in a dreamlike state.
I stumble upon a beverage table that not only holds a spread of drinks and snacks, but also my only friend, Meela. She stands in front of it, weighing her options.
“Pink wine, obviously,” I say as I stop beside her. I reach out and grab my own glass. She grabs a different one.
She rolls her eyes as she faces me. “Ugh. I prefer to be broody and miserable, actually,” she drawls, finally meeting my gaze with her dark brown eyes.
“Suit yourself,” I say, holding my glass out to hers. Her glass holds a black liquid. Nox wine. Miserable stuff. My first sip just a year ago had me gagging with its burning, sharp flavor, and I swore the stuff off forever. Plus, it does make you rather gloomy. And usually, kind of horny. I don’t know why those two would be paired together, honestly. Or why anyone would willinglysubject themselves to that. Seems like it would make for a strange night. But I wouldn’t know about such things. Meela, on the other hand, disappears early with a different specimen every single time she drinks it. But she never looks particularly happy about it, even though it’s always voluntary.
“So, what do you think?” Meela ponders as we stroll through the crowd to our usual spot. Now that everyone has spread out, we don’t have to fight through so many bodies.
“About?”
Another eye roll from her. Most people are put off by her gloomy attitude and bluntness, but I’ve known her since I was a baby. She has a good heart, under it all. She just doesn’t like to show it, for whatever reason.
“Our visitors, obviously.”
“Oh. Yeah. I don’t know, honestly. I haven’t decided.” I leave out the part about my new stalker. Meela and I have known each other since birth, but we have many secrets between each other. We both know it, but we never bring it up. Why? I don’t know. That’s just the way it’s always been, and I think it’s more my doing than hers. I’ve always been on the secretive side, ever since I was young. I still consider her my closest friend, though. I’d trust her with my life.
“Well, I think they’re harmless,” she admits as we take a seat on our cushioned bench in a dark corner, hidden partially by black shiny pillars. Eventually, we’ll go our separate ways for the duration of the night.
From here, we sit back peacefully and watch people interact. The dragons seem to split up, dispersing into smaller groups. I don’t see the asshole, but I have a feeling he’ll make himself known eventually.
“Captain Greenwood asked me to dance.”
Meela scoffs. “Why do you insist on calling him that?”
“Adrian,” I correct myself.
“He’s awful,” she murmurs, taking a sip of her onyx poison, gazing at the crowd.
