“You being here with me is helpful enough.” He kissed her back, harder, before pulling away and touching his forehead to hers. “Unfortunately, we must go to dinner now, love.”
“You promise to behave?”
He grunted, squeezing her hip. “Yes, I promise.”
Hand in hand, they left the bedroom to meet Quinn and Jorrar. Quinn was in a chair by the fire, furiously glaring at the wall as if it had committed some mortal sin. Ava paused, suppressing a laugh.
“What a lovely outfit, Quinn,” she said quietly.
“Fuck you.” Quinn adjusted her skirts. She wore a similarly styled dress as Ava’s, though hers had silver stars and was a pale pink.
“I’ve never seen you in a dress. And it’s pink.”
Quinn rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah. I’ve worn dresses before. It’s just not my preference. But this…is hideous.”
“I wish I had a way to show this to my brother. I honestly think he’d love it. You look beautiful.”
Quinn rose as Jorrar joined them, dressed similarly to Casimir in an ivory jacket with gold thread and matching pants.
“Thank you. I hate to admit it, but it is comfortable.”
“See? It’s not all bad.” She turned to Jorrar. “You’ll take the lead on the discussion of the book and translation, right?”
“I will.”
“And I must try to convince Orion to join us in the war,” she said with a sigh. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“It’s going to take more than just tonight,” Jareth spoke from the doorway. She hadn’t even heard him open it.
“You’re back?” Ava eyed him suspiciously.
“I’m here to escort you to dinner. Apparently, I’m Father’s errand boy today,” he said with a hint of irritation.
Was there bad blood between Jareth and his father? Interesting. Ava took a mental note of this in case it could work in their favor.
Jareth looked Ava up and down, his eyes lingering on her breasts. “I knew that dress would look phenomenal on you.”
Casimir’s hand tensed on her lower back, but he remained calm.
Ava ignored him. “Of course it does. Now show us the way to dinner.”
Jareth’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, seemingly surprised at Ava’s lack of a reaction. He led them out of the suite. “Follow me.”
24
“Where the fuck is he?” Quinn whispered, sitting on Ava’s left.
They were seated in the opulent dining hall, ivory curtains billowing in the breeze of the open windows. A crystal chandelier hung above them, glittering with thousands of tiny gems. The light wooden table stretched across the room atop a cream-colored rug. They were the only ones there.
They’d been waiting for half an hour and King Orion had yet to show up.
“This is just like him,” Casimir murmured from Ava’s right.
“Do you have something to say, brother?” Jareth chided from across the table.
Casimir glowered at his brother. “It’s disrespectful to your guests to show up late for a meal.”
“That would matter if the guests were important,” Orion’s voice boomed from the doorway, his wife quiet beside him.
