Chapter 8 #2
The guards held open the doors to the ballroom, and a gorgeous Black man with dark blue eyes stepped into view. “Liam,” he greeted as he shoved past the guards and embraced the fae. “Glad you finally made it.”
“Wouldn’t want to personally insult the prince and his people.” Liam and the nereid pounded each other on the back in greeting again. Ah, so this was Fergus.
I tilted my head back to study the two of them when I realized that Fergus might even be an inch or two taller than Liam. His dark blue eyes slid over Audrey, whom he embraced with just as much enthusiasm, as she patted his back during their hug.
“How is my favorite halfling?” Fergus asked after leaning back and snagging Audrey’s hand to twirl her once. His gaze studied the flow of her skirt as she did so.
“Starving,” Audrey replied after completing her twirl. “Point me toward the food.”
I was watching this interaction quietly, realizing how close these three must be, when our host’s head turned toward me, and a devastating grin spread across his face.
Good lord, Fergus was handsome.
He wore a long-sleeved tunic with a deep enough V at the collar. He was able to show off his toned pecks and abs. His dark brown hair fell into neat dreadlocks at his mid-back, with caramel-colored highlights braided throughout.
“As long as your human friend promises me a dance.” Fergus’s eyes scanned my attire too, eliciting a flutter in my heart at his attention.
Because apparently, I was that attention starved.
I wasn’t normally one to preen under a man’s approving gaze, but something about Fergus made me feel safe.
He wasn’t leering at me; he was appreciating what he was seeing and nothing else.
My gut immediately trusted him.
“If you’re patient with me.” I stepped forward and held my hand out, and to my surprise, Fergus took my hand as he bowed, pressing a warm kiss against my knuckles.
I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh at the formality of it all.
Fergus was the only man who had ever, in my thirty years, kissed my knuckles.
Fergus stood tall but kept his fingers wrapped around my hand.
“I can be patient.” He winked at me as he leaned down closer, something he probably wasn’t used to doing. “Anything to be close to a gorgeous female’s beauty.”
I internally cringed at his terminology before deciding to move past it.
“You know what? I like you,” I told him with a smile, stepping closer to his space.
He released his hold on my hand and provided his arm for me to loop mine through.
“Feel free to give me more compliments while showing us to the food.”
“It would be my honor.” Fergus chuckled as he did just that. Then Liam and Audrey were following behind the two of us, moving us through a crowd of creatures who gave us curious glances.
I could get lost in this ballroom, because it wasn’t a typical square or rectangular shape.
The walls didn’t have sharp corners; they had smooth curves.
I had no idea what shape it was in, but the architecture did a good job of creating an open concept look while providing little pockets of privacy as well.
It was difficult for me to appreciate all the gold and marble artwork and décor because I couldn’t see well over all the taller bodies.
The ceiling was a couple of stories high, and murals of beautiful landscapes were painted above.
The style was so unique, I couldn’t find anything to compare to the artwork in my world.
There was a moment where, as we were moving past a louder group of people who were starting a dance in the center of the main space, Fergus released his hold on my arm to place his palm on the small of my back, where my skin was exposed.
I shot Audrey a wide-eyed look of appreciation over my shoulder, who was already smirking at me with an eyebrow wiggle of her own.
Excellent, she was cool with me sleeping with Fergus at some point.
If he wanted to, at least.
Finally, we made it to the food, and Fergus released his hold on my lower back to face us, “I’m not quite sure what compares to human food.” He made the cutest pinch in his brow, as if concerned that I couldn’t eat the salad or exotic fruit that adorned the table. “But perhaps I can ask—”
“This is perfect.” I picked up a strawberry and took a bite, savoring its flavor and licking my lips before glancing at our host. “Thank you.” For a prince, he seemed super chill and laid back.
Now that I thought about it, so did Liam.
Neither carried themselves with this weird, holier-than-thou air that I assumed a prince would.
After contemplating that little thought, I realized that my dramatic bite of a strawberry didn’t catch Fergus’s attention in a way that let him know I was available. He just smiled politely at us before his eyes started scanning the room.
“Are you ready to dance, Van?” he asked.
I nodded enthusiastically. “If you lead, I can learn—oh!” I didn’t get to finish my sentence because Fergus had tugged my hand and led us to the dance floor. I barely had time for Audrey to take the rest of my strawberry, laughing, before we were off.
Fergus was an excellent dance partner, but I had I feeling I was going to strike out with him. No matter how sensual and dramatic I made my dance moves, his eyes never stayed on me longer than a few moments at a time. Sometimes we would stay close to Audrey and Liam, chatting about upcoming events.
Other times, I caught him staring at a couple far off to the side of the room. It wasn’t until I purposefully studied them to see what drew Fergus’s attention over there that I realized the woman’s ears were rounded, like mine and Audrey’s.
Human.
She must have been a halfling, like Audrey, if she were here.
The man, however, had pointed ears like everyone else in this realm.
The couple looked completely enthralled with each other. In their own world, while standing in a ballroom filled with people.
“Do you know them?” I asked Fergus after we joined another group dance.
He blinked before turning back to face me, “Yes.” He smiled good-naturedly. His movements were loose, and his dancing fun, but something about him felt guarded now. “They became mated this year.”
I grinned at the couple, watching the man kiss the knuckles of the woman just like Fergus had done with me. “That’s exciting.”
“It is.” Fergus nodded with a sigh, and I caught a longing look on his expression before he glanced over my shoulder. “It’s an exciting time for us. For our people.”
“Sounds like,” I replied, turning away from the nereid and halfling couple once they started kissing.
“Can I ask you something?” Fergus asked.
“Sure.”
“You made a face earlier, when I attempted to give you a compliment.” Fergus pressed his lips together. “I’m worried I offended you.”
“Oh.” I shook my head before I attempted to reassure him, “It wasn’t—It’s just—” How did I explain this?
“What specifically caused your reaction?” Fergus pressed. “I—if there is some human offense I mentioned, I want to be aware. I don’t want to offend other humans I speak to.” He seemed so earnest and genuine, too. Like he wanted to get his human interactions just right.
And then it clicked for me when he gave another fleeting—but clearly longing—look toward the couple in the corner. Fergus wanted a mate. He wanted a mate really badly.
I squeezed his hand in mine and gave him an appreciative look.
“You’re the sweetest,” I told him. Fergus gave me a nervous smirk in response, so I did my best to ease his concerns.
“It’s just…” I inhaled a breath, desperate to make this as clear and simple as possible.
“In my realm, I am more than what is just between my legs.” A divot formed between Fergus’s dark eyebrows as he looked down at me, so I elaborated, “While female is technically accurate for me, I am more than that. I’m a woman. ”
The divot in his brow smoothed. “It wasn’t me admiring your beauty. You took offense to me referring to you as a female, specifically?”
“But that’s the thing,” I rushed to explain. “I know that man and woman aren’t really words your people say here.”
Fergus shook his head, straightening. “Man and woman haven’t been terms here in thousands of years, but that does not mean they never will be. Additionally, I agree with your statement. We are all more than what is between our legs, are we not?”
Fergus glanced up and turned us so we could both face the couple in the corner again. They weren’t making out anymore; instead, they were sipping drinks, deep in conversation.
“That nereid over there, while presenting outwardly as a male, has made it known that they prefer identifiers that do not shove them so tightly into a specific expectation.”
That made me smile.
“That’s encouraging to hear,” I smiled up at Fergus, who was still staring eagerly at the couple.
His smile was still on his lips, but softer.
He was lost in thought as he stared at them.
I concluded that Fergus was a romantic. Which made me think that he probably wouldn’t be one to quickly jump into bed with someone, but rather longed for a deeper connection, as the couple in the corner had. A mate.
I decided that I wouldn’t try to sleep with him tonight, because I wasn’t convinced all that soulmate talk was for me quite yet.
“I guess—” I stopped myself when a gasp sounded nearby, and I glanced around to see what spooked someone. Fergus’s hand tightened around mine as his head turned toward the large ballroom doors.
“Shit,” Audrey cursed from nearby. She and Liam were a few feet away, slowing the steps of their dance.
“This is ridiculous,” Fergus sighed, only sounding a little inconvenienced.
“We shouldn’t have expected anything less,” Liam grumbled.
“What is happening?” I reached up on tiptoes to see, but Fergus released his hold on me and straightened his shoulders before I could see anything.