Chapter 25 Auria
Isat in front of a mirror in Brielle’s room while her maid Anjana twisted half my hair up in a bun.
It was simple and elegant and would have taken me at least an hour.
The fae maid had it secure in seconds and then started pinning sparkly jewels around the bun and throughout my hair.
I still couldn’t stand the thought of my own maid, but Anjana had been incredibly helpful on several occasions.
Brielle brought a bright blue mask to the mirror and held it in place while she muttered something I couldn’t understand. When she straightened up, the mask stayed in place… with no ties.
She picked up my sparkling white and gold mask. “Would you like me to do yours?”
“Yes, please! I was afraid I’d have to tie it over Anjana’s work, and I didn’t want to ruin it.”
Anjana tapped a few spots on my head and waved at the mirror. “Is it acceptable?”
I bobbed my head. “It’s amazing. I couldn’t have done better if I had all day.”
Brielle lifted my mask to my face. It surrounded my eyes with a light-weight metal covered in sparkling jewels. “You’ve been with us for more than two months and you still don’t even think of magic as a first approach.”
I shrugged. “I might think of it as an approach for you, but time won’t make me suddenly capable of using magic.” The key under my dress, though, that might. Bylur said it would let me reach him and his magic, but I’d fallen asleep before I could ask how.
Brielle stepped back, and my mask stayed on my face. “Well, I’m happy to share anytime. I have more than enough magic to help a friend.”
A strong, quick double tap knocked on the door, and Anjana crossed the room to open it.
Brielle smiled at me. “I predict it’s your escort.”
My stomach clenched. Bylur had told me he’d pick me up from Brielle’s room, and when he did, I should look directly at his face.
He’d said the words. Told me it would be fine.
But my nerves tightened at the possibility of ruining everything.
In the moments it took Anjana to open the door, my mind replayed the conversation.
“Do you trust me?” he’d growled in his terrible bear voice.
“Absolutely.” More than anyone or anything else in my life.
“Then look at me when I come to Brielle’s door.”
Anjana turned back to us. “Lord Bylur is here for you, my lady.”
He didn’t come inside the door. He probably wanted me to go to him so I had time to muster up the courage to look at him. I grabbed my box off Brielle’s chest and faced the door.
“Do you want to leave that?” Brielle asked, pointing at the box.
“Oh no, it’s for an announcement,” I answered. I stepped toward the door. Only the dark tails of Bylur’s coat showed in the doorframe. “No fear,” I whispered under my breath.
When I reached the doorframe, I reminded myself to breathe and then looked up at Bylur’s face.
A greyish-blue mask clung to his skin, completely covering his face, chin, and forehead.
It was molded to him tightly enough that I saw his lips turn up in a smile.
He extended a hand, and I placed my fingers in his.
He bent over them, bowing and pressing a kiss into my knuckles.
The mask was a stiff fabric, but I still felt the pressure from his lips.
It soothed my nerves while simultaneously making my heart speed up.
As he straightened from his bow, he paused and whispered in my ear. “You are stunning. Thank you for looking.”
My whole chest erupted in butterflies. Me trusting him had made him happy, and that turned around and made me happy too. My heart tugged me closer to him, so I slipped my arm through his and nudged him with my shoulder. “I told you I trusted you.”
He took the box out of my other hand and passed it to a soldier behind us. “We’ll need this later tonight.” The guard nodded, tucked it under an arm, and then we all marched to the ballroom together.
I leaned closer to Bylur. “I should have mentioned this earlier, but I’ve never been to a ball before.”
He patted my hand with his free one. “I was hoping you would stay with me. I can answer any questions you have as we go.”
That sounded perfect. “I already have questions.”
A silent chuckle shook his arm. “Of course you do.” He spread his free arm out to the side and bent in a shallow bow as we walked. “Interrogate me, then, my lady. I am all yours.”
Such a statement! He probably didn’t mean it as broadly as I wanted to interpret it, but I loved how it sounded. “Will you tell me about your mask? How can you see out of it?”
We turned up a wide staircase. “The fabric is layered in such a way that it allows me to see through it in one direction. I can see out easily, well, easily enough, but nobody can see my face because of the criss-crossed layers.”
“Oh, I’ve seen fabric like that before.”
“Yes,” he said, “we use it most often in theaters and performances.”
“What about breathing? The fabric I’ve seen doesn’t let air flow more easily in one direction.”
We turned off the staircase and down a narrow corridor I didn’t remember visiting.
“No,” he answered, “my breathing is quite… muffled.”
“Oh. So wearing the mask every evening all the time is probably not a good solution.”
He stopped in front of a door. “No. I am happy to wear this mask for you tonight. And perhaps on other occasions in the future. But I will be very relieved when I take it off after the ball.”
I squeezed his bicep where my hand had been resting. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “It is my privilege.” His voice was so warm and sincere that my heart tried floating right out of my chest. When this year was over, I would reach up and touch his face and kiss his skin—
A guard opened the door in front of us. As we crossed the threshold, we entered the second floor of a ballroom that must have been enchanted to look like the night sky.
Bylur led me to the top of a grand staircase as someone called out in a magically magnified voice, “House Umbran Lord Bylur and Lady Auria.” I stood up taller and tightened my hold on Bylur’s arm.
A small orchestra paused their song, and several hundred guests on the dance floor below turned toward us and bowed.
We stood at the top of the staircase for several seconds, then Bylur dipped his head slightly and spread his free hand to the side.
The orchestra picked up the music again, and a buzz of conversation filled the room.
I blew out the breath I’d been holding. “That was terrifying.”
He chuckled again. “You should be glad, then, that I didn’t make you a queen.”
The idea of all those people staring at me all the time was horrible. “Yes. Absolutely. Very glad about that.” Of course, I still had a plan for this evening that involved them all staring at me again.
Bylur must have sensed my anxiety over it, because he led me toward the dance floor and offered me his free hand. “Worry later. Dance with me?”
I set my hand in his, and he shifted our other hands so he led me with a hand on my back.
We started out slow, as if he didn’t want to knock me off balance, but he held me so that I could feel him start to turn.
My body responded to every nudge, and soon we moved in perfect harmony.
Like two ribbons spinning together, we twirled across the dance floor.
Magic in two tones—his dark shadows and his glowing moon magic—swirled and coalesced around us.
His warm hand on my back felt just as safe as when I’d tucked myself into his bear form. I’d never been so happy.
Slowing us down, he smiled, the layers of his mask shifting with his lips. He leaned closer to me. “Do you still trust me?”
“More than ever.” My voice sounded breathless after all the spinning we’d just done.
He dropped my hands, settled his on my waist, and then hoisted me into the air. I spread my arms as if I were flying, and then—
I was!
He tossed me several feet above him and, two seconds later, caught me by the waist again. He guided my fall so I landed on my feet and then spun out the rest of my momentum. As my spin waned, he caught my hand and pulled me back to his chest in a dance position. The music slowed with us.
“You’re a dream, Auria,” he whispered as we barely swayed. “And I don’t want to wake up.”
He said he couldn’t feel my soul, but those words touched the deepest emotions I had. And my mouth responded. “We don’t need to wake up. I already love you. Bylur, we’re married! We have everything we need to be happy together.”
We stopped moving. The music faded away into an eruption of applause, and Bylur took my head in his hands. He pressed his fabric-covered cheek against mine and whispered in my ear. “I want to rip my mask off and kiss you properly.”
I covered his hands with my own and nudged one to the front of my face so I could kiss it. “Wouldn’t your court be scandalized?”
He shook his head. “They are notoriously difficult to embarrass.” As if to confirm it, someone whistled from the side of the room.
“Maybe tonight?” I suggested instead. “I can still close my eyes.”
He stepped back and bent in a deep bow from his waist. “I would be honored.”
I curtsied, dropping to the floor in the most awkward tangle of my own legs. Luckily, my dress covered my legs, and I was almost certain nobody realized my curtsy was an elaborate fall.
Except Bylur.
He smiled and offered me a hand, neatly helping me to my feet and tucking my arm around his.
* * *
Bylur introduced me to several nobles before escorting me to the thrones.
I eyed the jewel-covered padded chairs suspiciously. “I thought we weren’t doing the king and queen thing?”
He laughed. “We’re hosting the ball, so we have to sit here. It has nothing to do with ruling.” He tipped his head at the ornate chairs. “And nobody has been attacked by a throne in all our recorded history.”
I folded my arms. “There could always be a first.”
He sat down. “Please join me.”
“Fine.” I sighed and slid carefully into the throne next to him.