Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A “small affair” meant there were only twenty nobles and their guests present, and the dinner was held in what Kason called the “small” dining hall rather than the grand ballroom.
The room was still larger than anything I’d seen to date, and more opulent than the other areas of the palace that, honestly, I’d tried not to pay too much attention to.
Because if I did, then I’d realize all over again exactly where I was and that… that was supremely uncomfortable.
I was from the fucking Slipshod . How was it possible that I was walking the corridors of the royal palace?
Oh right. Because I accidentally married a prince.
This is the best entertainment I’ve had in millennia , Rhianough crowed in my mind.
Fuck off, you eavesdropping harpy .
That just made her laugh louder.
The one thing I could appreciate about this whole affair was Kason.
Unlike my betasseled outfit—which I’d taken a pair of scissors to, as he’d suggested—Kason’s suit was sleek and sophisticated.
Instead of velvet, his coat was made of a silky fabric, something I’d never seen before and had no hope of identifying.
It had a subtle sheen, turning the dark-green hue into purple as we passed by the sconces in the hall.
I couldn’t help but glance over every time, utterly captivated by the shift in color and the way the fabric hugged his broad shoulders and chest.
Kason aimed us in the direction of his family’s table at the front of the room, but we’d barely gone half a dozen steps before a small group of people interrupted our progress.
They all wore similar clothing to Kason’s outfit—unadorned and with muted colors—and I thanked the gods I’d taken Kason’s advice and cut off the tassels.
Unsurprisingly, they were all human. No doubt the only other sprites in the palace were those who worked behind the scenes.
A thought that made me all the more uncomfortable.
“Lord Kason,” one of the women in the group simpered. She was about my height with pale skin and brown hair piled atop her head in a sleek updo that added nearly a head more to her height. “What a pleasure to see you here. It’s been too long.”
Kason smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and I preened at the fact that I knew him well enough now that I could recognize that. “Lady Emiliade, so nice to see you.” He took her proffered hand and lightly brushed his lips over her knuckles. “And how has your estate fared since last we spoke?”
She tittered as she took her hand back. “Oh, fine. Nothing to report there.” She turned her smile to me, and for an instant, it seemed as sharp as my pointy teeth. “And this is?”
Here we go . As much as Kason had said he wanted everyone to know who I was, now that he was faced with it, I promised myself I wouldn’t be mad if he shied away from the truth. I could be simply a guest. I didn’t need him to claim me as much as he thought I did.
So little faith in him , Rhianough scoffed.
“May I introduce my husband, Mokido Azenas.”
My gaze shot back to Kason, and I was shocked to see a genuine smile on his face as he looked at me, so clearly real after the fake one he’d pasted on to greet Lady Emiliade.
“Mokido, this is Lady Emiliade Harrow of Ghousterna.”
“How do you do?” I managed, thankful I didn’t stutter over any of the words.
“Husband?” Lady Emiliade shared a confused look with her companions. “Well. That’s… I hadn’t heard congratulations were in order.”
“We’ll plan a celebration once Mother is feeling better,” Kason said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.”
“Of course.”
Kason guided me deeper into the room, a hand on my lower back as he leaned in to whisper, “That was fortunate.”
“How so?”
“She’s the biggest gossip in court. Giving her the news that you’re my husband will spread the information more efficiently than if I’d stopped to speak to every table.”
I wasn’t sure if that was as fortunate an outcome as Kason thought.
Dinner was…tolerable. We sat at the royal family’s table with Kason’s siblings and their guests.
Telurin had invited a friend from his school days, Quin Bratton, who was now a high-ranking officer in the Navy and had plenty of adventurous stories to share.
Desha’s guest was a handsome man named Evart Dillinant with light-brown skin, whom she kept making eyes at.
He seemed just as interested in her—I mean, who wouldn’t want to date a princess?
Other than myself, of course—and they spent most of the dinner with their heads bent together, talking softly.
I had just started to believe I would get out of the ordeal unscathed when the final plates of the dessert course were cleared and Telurin announced it was time to mingle.
He cast a speaking look at me. He’d commented on the missing tassels on my coat when we’d first sat down, and I didn’t think he’d forgiven me for my alterations of his gift.
Though seeing that my clothes did not at all adhere to the current courtly fashion, I thought the word gift was something of a misnomer.
“You’ll make the rounds as well, Mokido?” Though Telurin’s voice had a questioning tone, I could tell it wasn’t a request. Kason’s hand tightened on mine under the table. “I know everyone is eager to meet the person who captured my little brother’s attention.”
I gritted my teeth and forced my lips to curve. “Of course, Your Highness.”
Telurin smiled back at me, just as fake, and rose from his seat. A servant appeared with a short glass of some amber liquid for both him and Quin, and they melded into the crowd. Desha and Evart had already disappeared; into the crowd or to somewhere more private, I didn’t know or care.
“We won’t mingle for long,” Kason promised, his lips close to my pointed ear. “Just enough to say we did. Okay?”
It wasn’t okay, but what could I say? “Sure.”
This was going to be bad, I just knew it.
My hunch was proven correct as soon as we stepped away from the royal table. A short, rotund middle-aged man, balding, with his pale skin reddened by drink, appeared in front of Kason. His pale-blue eyes shot daggers at Kason.
“Is it true?” he demanded. He glanced at me and sneered before turning back to Kason. “Did you marry this—this creature?”
Kason didn’t try to plaster on a smile this time. “Lord Choffrey, you would do well to remember where you are.”
“Is it true?” Choffrey’s voice rose as he swayed slightly. “You chose it over my son?”
My eyes widened. What?
“Such speciesist language won’t be tolerated in my presence.” Kason looked over Choffrey’s head and jerked his chin at someone.
“You were betrothed to Mawryn,” Choffrey continued, getting louder. “And you betrayed him for?—”
“You were betrothed?” I breathed.
Kason groaned. “No, I?—”
“I demand compensation!” Choffrey shouted as a pair of palace guards appeared and grabbed his arms. “I demand?—”
“You will demand nothing,” Kason stated, his voice low. “I broke off the engagement more than a year ago, and you well know it. Now, go with the guards to your quarters, my lord. Sleep it off.”
“No!” Choffrey yelled, even as the guards tugged him through the crowd. “It’s not fair. Mawryn was supposed?—”
Whatever his son was supposed to be, or do, was swallowed up by the crowd as they tittered and murmured, watching the noble be carted off.
Kason leaned close. “It was not a formal engagement, more of a general understanding that we would make a good pair,” he quickly explained in a low voice.
“I like Mawryn well enough, but he didn’t want to travel with me, much preferring to stay in Kardonan with his friends and pastimes, and I wasn’t ready to settle down.
I ended things—not that there was anything beyond friendship, honestly—and he agreed it was for the best.”
Kason’s rushed explanation warmed my heart, even as it still shuddered from being called creature and it . “Thank you,” I whispered.
He held my gaze, his eyes intense and his mouth open slightly as though he were trying to find words to tell me something else. “Mo?—”
“Ah, Lord Kason,” a feminine voice interrupted. “It’s such an honor to see you at court after so many years. That was a nasty business with Choffrey. So unbecoming of him.”
The raw intensity in Kason’s gaze shuttered immediately and the fake smile made another appearance. “Lady Shonna. A pleasure. May I introduce my husband, Mokido?”
Lady Shonna was a middle-aged woman, going by the faint lines around her eyes and mouth.
She had medium-brown skin and mahogany hair unmarred by gray in tight curls bunched atop her head.
She wore a sleek, well-tailored gown in emerald green and aubergine.
Next to her stood a younger woman who shared enough of Lady Shonna’s features to be her daughter or perhaps niece.
On the lady’s other side was a man close to Kason’s height, wearing a fashionable suit much like Kason’s, if slightly less expensive-looking, with tan white skin and dark hair, who seemed to match Lady Shonna in age.
He looked bored to tears, with a hint of something in his eyes that suggested he was about to make the night less boring for himself.
I instantly disliked him.
“Well met,” Lady Shonna said, with a slight bow of her head. “Kason, you remember my husband, Lord Fertry, and my daughter, Kobia?”
“Of course,” Kason said. “Lovely to see you all again. Did you enjoy dinner?”
Good gods, this was worse than being called creature.
“Of course,” Lady Shonna tittered. “Though we seem to be rather lacking in beverages at the moment.”
“Oh, I can—” Kason started.
“No, no. I won’t miss out on a chance to bend your ear for a moment,” Lady Shonna said, her voice soft and amused. “Why don’t you ask your husband to refresh our drinks?”
Kason opened his mouth—and from the way his eyes darkened, I was sure it wasn’t to agree to Lady Shonna’s demand. “Of course,” I said quickly. “I don’t mind.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice gentle.
“Yes.” I smiled at him softly, so he knew I meant it. “If you’ll excuse me.”
I knew what Lady Shonna was doing—subtly putting me in my place by making me act the servant—but the joke was on her. I was smart enough to take the escape she offered, if only for a moment.
I made my way to the side of the room, where I’d spotted a buffet with a selection of tiny dessert bites for those guests who hadn’t had enough food over the five courses of dinner, and a selection of pre-poured cocktails. As I walked, I couldn’t help but catch snippets of conversation.
“Can you believe it? A sprite?”
“I swear I’ve heard that name before—Mokido—but I can’t quite place it.”
“Did you see what he’s wearing? So last season. It’s Bashtik, I think, but he’s cut off the tassels! How rude.”
I had no idea if Bashtik was a style or a person, and I didn’t care. I hated that I was the topic of conversation for so many people. By the time I’d selected drinks for Lady Shonna and her family, my shoulders were all but up around my ears. I jumped when someone touched my elbow.
“Leave the drinks,” Kason said in my ear. “We’re going.”
It took me a moment to realize his voice was trembling, and one glance at his face told me why. He was seething.
“Were they that bad?”
“Worse,” he muttered. “Let’s make our escape while we can. Unless you want to subject yourself?—”
“Ah, no. Not at all.” I put down the glasses I was holding and eagerly followed Kason out of the dining hall.
I cast another look at him as we walked down the corridor. The anger was still there, but underneath it was something else. Shame?
“I know you don’t think the way everyone else seems to,” I said, my voice low enough that only he could hear me, not that there was anyone else nearby.
“The fact that anyone thinks you’re lesser because you have pointed ears…”
“And sharp teeth.” I bared my fangs and snapped my mouth at him playfully. “Everyone forgets that part.”
His lips curved. “I wish they didn’t. They’d all do well to remember the legends of sprites being bloodsuckers.”
“Oh gods. Don’t resurrect that nonsense.” I wrinkled my nose and shuddered. “The only thing worse than being looked down upon would be being feared at the same time.”
Kason paused and grabbed my hand, pulling me close. I had to tilt my head back to look up at him, something I hated when it was anyone else. But somehow, the reminder of his height, his strength, comforted me.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “It’s not fair.”
“Only those of noble blood believe life is supposed to be fair,” I retorted, but there was no heat in it.
“Even so.”
I couldn’t keep my gaze from traveling from his beautiful eyes to his generous lips. His mouth was perfectly shaped, with luscious curves that begged for kisses. He began to lean forward, his intentions clear.
“We shouldn’t,” I whispered.
“We should,” he countered.
“We’re in the middle of the corridor. Anyone could?—”
“I don’t care.”
And with that, his lips touched mine.
We’d kissed a few times since we’d decided we were going to stay married, but every time, it was a revelation.
How wonderfully his lips fit against mine, how soft and pliant they were, how he didn’t shy away from my fangs when his tongue danced against mine.
One of my hands gripped the back of his neck as he took the kiss deeper, my fingers diving into his waterfall of golden hair to press against his skull, to pull him closer, closer…
It felt like he could never be close enough.
Kason broke away first, gasping, and leaned his forehead against mine. “Mo, I?—”
“Kason!”
We jerked apart at his sister’s voice, looking over as she and her delegation of guards approached. I tried not to feel like we’d been caught doing something untoward, but she definitely didn’t look pleased to find us kissing in public.
Kason cleared his throat. “Desha, what?—”
“Dr. Orella wants to see us,” she stated. On the surface, her tone was unconcerned, but my ears caught the tremble at its core.
I grabbed Kason’s hand as we followed Desha toward their mother’s quarters, hoping we still had time to complete our impossible quest.