Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Drayven
What the fuck was I wearing?
How was this kingdom so out of touch with modern apparel? Glancing at the flowy, white long-sleeved shirt they’d given me, which was tucked into the black trousers, I wrinkled my nose in disgust. It was so medieval.
"I look like a buffoon," I mumbled under my breath as Ama's door clicked open. My attention snapped to her, and I had to stifle a laugh at the monstrosity of a dress they’d put her in.
It was a puffy, pale pink dress that billowed around her in layers as it reached the floor.
I mean, she still looked gorgeous, but it had nothing to do with the dress and everything to do with her.
"It's horrendous, right?" she asked, a smile teasing the corner of her mouth.
I was happy that the guys hadn’t fought me on escorting her to the ball. I think we all knew that she needed space from us, but one of us needed to be with her for security measures. Not that she couldn't handle herself, but it gave us peace of mind for her to have one of us as backup.
Clearing my throat, I deadpanned, "You look like a cupcake."
She held her hand to her chest in mock pain, "You wound me. If you are going to compare me to a dessert, Dray, at least make it a better one than that.”
Chuckling, I strode to her side and chivalrously offered her my arm. She slid her small hand into the crook of my elbow, fitting perfectly. Glancing up at me, she asked, "Where are the others?"
I began walking towards where Jace had instructed me to take her. "They're in the ballroom already. We knew it would be best to not crowd you right now."
In my peripheral vision, I saw her eyes cast down to the floor, and a flash of pain crossed her face, causing me to growl. "Say the word, and I'll pummel him into the ground. Nico and the prince, actually."
She huffed out a laugh that didn't sound authentic as she shook her head, "That won't be necessary."
The sound of the celebration grew louder, and I stopped walking and turned towards Ama, knowing I couldn't let her go in there in this mindset. Backing her against the wall, I crowded her with my arms on both sides of her, effectively shielding her from the few stragglers heading into the ballroom.
They were giving us disgusted looks, and I couldn't help but bare my teeth at them and growl, "Avert your fucking eyes, unless you want me to pluck them out with my scythe."
My words brought a genuine laugh out of her this time, which was music to my ears. She hit my chest lightly, bringing my attention back to her. "Dray, you can't threaten the people of the kingdom whose army we’re asking for."
"Fucking watch me," I rumbled out, turning to bark out a harsh warning to those still looking at us. Ama was quick to grab my chin and bring my face back to her. She surprised me by rising up and dragging my head down to hers, pressing a kiss to my lips.
Growling out of desire this time, my arms encircled her waist, pulling her firmly to me.
I'd missed her immensely. I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed this time alone with Ama, even if it was just a few minutes.
Despite our distance emotionally back home, Ama had been a staple in my life, and I wasn’t used to sharing her attention—even if that attention included glares.
I drank her in. Greedy for more, but knowing we had an obligation to show up to this damned event, I pulled back enough to breathe out, "I love you, Ama.
I think a part of me always has, from the first time we played together out in the gardens.
I'd do anything to protect your heart so it never cracks again. "
Her lower lip quivered as tears sprang to her eyes, and she muttered, "Damnit Dray, I do not have time to fix my makeup."
"It doesn't matter. You could cry it all off and still be the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on," I answered, dismissing her concerns. I meant every word. She was beautiful, with an even more gorgeous soul that shone so brightly.
"You really hurt me all those years ago," she admitted, and all I could do was nod my head in understanding. I knew I had fucked up. "But I think a part of my heart has stayed with you ever since that day, despite the pain you caused."
Hope blossomed in my chest, surging through me when she whispered, "I love you too, Drayven." Holy hell. Ama had absolutely no idea what her words did to me.
My gaze turned primal, and she must have seen the intention in my eyes because she pushed on my chest and laughed, "We'll save that for later. For now, we have an army to procure."
I grumbled under my breath about not giving a shit about the army, but the look she sent me told me she knew I was full of shit.
Sometimes, it was insane how well she knew me.
Couldn’t we get the army while I laid her out on every surface of the devildamned castle?
I wanted more of Ama, always so much fucking more.
We headed into the ballroom, and I paused to take it all in, immediately wanting to secure routes of escape.
It was a massive room, with either side opening to large balconies.
Annoyingly, there were high cocktail tables that separated the balcony from the room itself.
Enough people were standing at them that it would be a pain in the ass to get through them, but I'd knock people over like dominos if needed.
"Wow, they look so regal," Ama breathed out next to me, and I followed the direction of her gaze to the king and queen, who were at the head of a long table at the far end of the room.
It gave them a clear line of sight to both the dance floor in the middle and all of the cocktail tables, while offering the protection of the wall at their backs.
Smart. That's where I'd make sure Ama remained.
Pushing her directly through the dance floor, I ignored the grumbles of the people I pushed through, while Ama offered them quick apologies and shot me a “what the fuck” look. We stopped in front of the royal table, and the king and queen rose to greet us with huge smiles on their faces.
"Welcome, Ama," King Cyrus said, his voice booming out with the ease of a practiced leader.
She dipped into a weird curtsey that had her almost falling over. Reaching my arm out, I grabbed her arm before she could tip over, and she shot me a meek smile, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"No need for such formalities, dear," Queen Safiya chided, "You are family after all."
Wow, they had really accepted her into the fold with no hesitation.
King Cyrus picked up his glass and lightly hit his knife to the side, the universal sign for the room to quiet down for someone to give a speech. I wasn't sure how it carried through the crowded room, though...probably some magic I couldn't see.
They walked around the table and stopped at Ama's side, the king inconspicuously elbowing me out of the way.
I bit back a growl and backed away just a few steps, glancing around the room to see where the other guys were.
I finally spotted them at a cocktail table that was almost on the balcony itself.
They gave me nods of greeting, then glued their eyes back to our girl.
Fuck, I was actually accepting her as ours and not just mine. When had that happened?
"We've gathered you all here for a celebration, but we have not told you the reason," Safiya called out before looking at Cyrus to continue.
From out of nowhere, Jace materialized and came to stand between his father and Ama, twining his hand with hers. She started to give him a narrow-eyed look of annoyance, but then I quickly saw her realize she needed to play along in front of these people.
"We are so pleased to announce the engagement of our son, Jace, to his mate, Amare," Cyrus bellowed.
What the actual fuck? Engagement?
At first the room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop, but then it quickly filled with the roar of cheering and thunderous applause.
Ama looked as white as a ghost as she forced a smile to her face, while Jace dropped a peck to her cheek. I wanted to remove his head for thinking he could kiss any part of her.
I knew deep down she was moments away from giving the bastard a piece of her mind, army be damned. She was not a woman who would roll over and be told how she was going to live her life, and she most definitely would not be marrying that prick.
"Please eat, drink, and be merry as we welcome our soon to be daughter into our joyous kingdom," Safiya yelled, clearly smitten as hell with this situation.
The partygoers resumed their chats, and couples returned to the dance floor as the musicians near the royal table began to play again.
I felt the guys gather at my back as Ama turned away from the crowd to address the royals privately. We moved closer to them as a group to support her in silence, and her words could be heard clearly from where we stood.
"I do not appreciate being blindsided like that in front of an entire kingdom, and I don't know where you heard that I would be marrying your son, but that is not true," she informed them coolly, her temper barely contained. I knew it wasn’t a smart move, but I fucking craved seeing Ama give them a piece of her mind.
The king and queen looked taken aback, but Jace was quick to cut in, "I told you guys that we had to take this slow and let her get to know us and our kingdom."
"Well, we..." Safiya stumbled, "We just assumed that she understood this made her a princess of our kingdom and that a marriage of unity was a given."
"Why wouldn't you want to marry our son? He's your mate!" Cyrus asked incredulously.
Ama facepalmed and pinched the bridge of her nose before replying, "I've told you before, but I will make it clear again: I have six other mates, and I will not be leaving any of them for your son."
"Damn right," Finias said behind me, causing a few of the other guys to chuckle.
Ama's head whipped to us at that, and she offered us a sweet smile. I was glad to see her warming back up to the group slowly after the blow out earlier, and I'm sure it eased a lot of the anxiety brewing in our group.
"Cyrus, talk some sense into her!" Safiya exclaimed, holding a hand up to her forehead as if she was faint.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the dramatic act. How was it such a foreign concept that Ama wouldn't be marrying a man she had met the day before? I mean seriously, it was common sense.
Plus, I’d had far too many fantasies of spending the rest of my life with my princess to let this prick waltz in and act like he had a devildamned right to that privilege.
"Please, just let it be," Jace implored his parents.
Cyrus ignored Jace as he pinned Ama with a genuine look of bafflement. "How could you expect us to provide you with an army, if we don't have the assurance that you're going to be tied to this kingdom in a union?"
Ama's eyebrows damn near rose to her hairline as she quipped back, "Because I was hoping that you wouldn't be exactly like the damned pure-bloods, who don't give a shit about anyone different from them."
Shock and anger filled the king and queen's faces as Ama barreled on, clearly no longer giving a shit about offending them.
"I had hoped that I had found a people who wanted unity between the kingdoms. So that we could put this feud of senseless bloodshed and hatred behind us and usher in an era of love and equality. "
She sounded like a devildamned queen, and an image of her on a throne with both kingdoms bowing at her feet filled my mind. My princess was a force to be reckoned with.
"How about we settle this the old-fashioned way?" Jace was quick to cut in before his parents could recover from their state of shock.
Ama arched a brow at him, "How so?"
He smirked, "A duel between your men and myself. I will choose five warriors to aid me, and if we win, you stay here with us and forget the war. But if you win, you get the army and our full support."
I swear she didn't even have time to blink before she said, "Done. Schedule it for tomorrow, and tell your armies to prepare to leave the day after. We will win."
My blood thrummed in my ears, and my heart raced at her steadfast belief in us. I knew there was no way any of us wouldn't fight tooth and nail to live up to her words. We'd ensure this victory was ours.
"Done," Cyrus shocked me by agreeing so quickly.
Safiya gave him a wide-eyed look but shook her head, "So be it."
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to retire to my room for the night. I'm feeling worn out from the journey here," Ama politely said, not waiting for their approval of her decision.
Jace called out, "I'll have dinner sent to you."
She glanced back and thanked him before approaching us and saying, "Which of you is going to escort me back to my rooms? I know you guys will freak out if I go alone."
That was a devildamned fact—she wasn’t wrong. We had nearly lost Ama last time she’d left an event alone.
Adrien stepped forward and offered his hand to her, "If you'd allow me, beauty, I'll accompany you."
I’d had my moment with her on the way here, and I was surprised that I was okay with taking the back seat now and entrusting him with her safety.
Ama took his hand and gave us a parting smile, "I'll see you guys in the morning."
We said our goodnights, and I watched the crowd part for her as she left. This time, they weren't looking at her with disgust for being with a pure-blood. Instead, their gazes were filled with curiosity and respect.
Maybe there was hope for us after all.