53. FIFTY-THREE
FIFTY-THREE
Mina
Aghost walks with me as I pass my reflection in each glass pane. Raven hair adorned with gold clips, green eyes, and a dress woven from sunlight itself. I did not have the heart to refuse such a beautiful gown, not when the girls came together and designed it while I was sick.
They did not know the golden dress would be a dagger to my chest, summoning a sharp pain that mirrors Fareena’s wound. She walks with me now. When I turn down a new hall and pass my reflection again, she smiles back at me.
I swallow a wave of tears, locking my grief away. They would want me to enjoy the night, enjoy this life. Both for them and myself. I only hope I can make them proud with how I choose to live it.
Music swells louder as we close in on the main hall.
Darius stands in the center of eight guards, a black hole flanked by silver-armored stars.
He was painfully handsome earlier, but seeing him again now steals my breath.
If I am the sun tonight, then he is the night sky that follows it, beautiful and dangerous all at once.
I wave at my ladies as they pair off with a guard and disappear down the hallway. Everyone has an escort tonight for their safety, but they are free to dance with whomever they choose.
The rest of the guards face forward, waiting on us to take our positions at the head of the group.
Darius and I hang back for a moment of privacy, his gaze sweeping over my dress with admiration. I slide my leg out of the dress, revealing the leather strap hiding his present from earlier. His pupils snuff out the brown I love so much.
He grips my hips and pulls me against him.
I fold into his chest, weaving my hands around his neck as I try to breathe.
The air is thick with anticipation. We’re putting ourselves at risk tonight.
We will be calm and collected for the entire evening, but for this moment, we cling to each other to ease our unspoken worries.
Darius leans down for a soft, controlled kiss. His grip around my ribs tightens, and I can feel his desire to cancel the whole evening and take me upstairs. For a moment, I consider letting him.
“You look gorgeous, Mina.” His voice is so low that I almost miss him speaking. My heart jackknifes as his control slips. He deepens the kiss, tongue meeting mine in a delicious twist that makes my knees weak.
I will never get tired of kissing this man.
Any notion of fear or grief melts away when I’m in his arms. My vision blurs with grateful tears, but I blink them back to avoid ruining my makeup. Jaime would never let me hear the end of it.
“Did you enjoy your gift?” Darius asks through another kiss. His fingers wipe at my lashes, pulling away any moisture before it falls.
I nod, fingering the delicate blade strapped to my leg. The dagger’s hilt is snow white, carved from pearl, the thin blade sharp enough to cut down any threat. Compact and deadly.
“It’s perfect.”
Darius rests his forehead against mine. I breathe in his woodsy scent, letting it ground me in the here and now.
“Still with me?” I ask.
He nods and pulls back to study me. “You remember the plan?”
“Of course.”
He drilled it into me so many times, I have a better chance of forgetting my own name than the twenty-seven escape routes we established.
Leaving his side doesn’t sit right with me, but he left no room for arguing.
That was his only contingency for allowing a birthday gala with Zala’s threat looming.
A contingency we will not need, I assure myself. Zala is not foolish enough to try something at the gala. It isn’t his style. He prefers a more intimate kind of torture, like a letter designed to tease us.
With one more deep breath to steady my nerves, I step out of Darius’s embrace. I miss his strong arms instantly but square my shoulders and paint my face with the easy confidence people are accustomed to. Darius does the same.
“Let’s go and enjoy ourselves.”
As we move toward the sounds of strings and laughter, he grumbles, “I’ll enjoy myself when it’s over.”
I bite back a laugh at his double meaning. A night together will be a well-earned reward for making it through the evening. But before we can collect our prize, we have an empire to face and a crowd to win over.
Darius smiles down at me, and I give his arm a little squeeze as they announce our arrival.
“Emperor Darius Lucian Gilchrist and Queen Mina Nasrin Ardeshir.”