Chapter 33
Theo
As soon as Adelaide and Theo headed to the center floor, they were interrupted by the clinking of a glass.
He turned to spot Amaris still chatting with Alan, smiling even.
He squinted. Alan had one, too, but where was Esaias?
Theo didn’t see his hair poking out among the members of the crowd.
They only had a few hours left and needed to be ready.
Theo returned his gaze to his father standing above the crowd with Lord Godfrey at his side.
“It’s with great honor that I present Lord Caratacos Godfrey.”
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause but was quickly silenced with a single raise of his father’s hand. A commanding presence was what he was, nothing more.
“Tonight, we celebrate the future union of Lord Luther Fastrada and my daughter, the Honorable Petra Godfrey,” Lord Godfrey began.
“It has been quite a time since we had the opportunity of such a union to bring together two families as one. May it bring prosperous trade and long-lasting bonds between Luana and Ebonmaw.”
Theo’s father raised his glass. “To the groom and his bride to be. Amyamam!”
The crowd raised their drinks in unison and shouted, “Amyamam!”
Everyone in the room threw back their goblets in one swig, and the entire room exploded in applause. The small band resumed their lively chorus, and a throng of people flocked around them to the floor. Theo gripped Adelaide tighter and pulled her along to the music.
“I would’ve thought you’d forgotten how to dance,” she said.
“You don’t think I had the opportunity while away?”
She raised her brow, and the edge of her lip curled. He pushed her out and spun her to the cadence of the song. She flung back into him, grasping his arm and following his lead.
“I see you’ve become an exceptional dancer,” he noted as he dipped her.
She flourished her arm in a dramatic arch. “I’ve always been the better dancer.”
Theo narrowed his eyes at her, but a smile poked through his demeanor.
She leaned in, lowering her voice. “Keep that smile, and don’t allow your face to show what you’re about to feel.”
“And what am I about to feel?” His head snapped down to her.
“Look back up and smile,” she ordered, not averting her eyes as he lifted her. “Bennet isn’t here.”
“What?”
“Eyes up and smile. I haven’t been able to track him.”
“Why—”
“Theo, you changed while you were away, but so have I. I’m not a child anymore. I’ve been keeping tabs on him since your flogging.”
He gripped her hand tighter, but kept his face composed as he whispered, “Why are you trailing him?”
“Something is happening under my nose that I can’t quite figure out. Alan has been keeping an eye out as well. He’s been listening to the duke’s meetings.”
“He’s been what?” He could hardly hear what was coming from her lips, but at least it explained how she knew the secret goings-on of the manor.
“Theo, you need to think critically. We’re in the middle of what could very well be the beginnings of an internal war.”
He glided Adelaide across the floor, neither of them faltering in their steps to the song they knew by heart. Genevieve had insisted on regular dance lessons. Adelaide dipped back, her hand grazing the floor.
“If you keep doing that, people will start watching,” Theo snapped.
“Let them. It’ll keep their eyes off Amaris.”
Adelaide’s eyes shifted, and he followed her gaze as she stared at Luke dancing with Amaris.
“Who’s dark and mysterious?” Adelaide asked.
Theo’s eyes flared and his teeth clenched at the sight of him. “I thought you didn’t want to get married?”
“Who said anything about marriage? Besides, I can admire.”
How could she care about eyeing a man now? Bennet was nowhere to be found, likely putting a knot in their plans, and they had only a few short hours.
“I don’t wish to hear about men you find attractive or your intimate relations. As your older brother, I’m already obligated to kill any man who looks your way.”
“You’re so dramatic,” she groaned. “But who is he? He seems awfully chipper with Amaris.”
He spun Adelaide around to get a better look at them. Amaris was following him, not perfectly, but she wasn’t tripping over her feet either. Luke grasped her waist and spun her out. He laughed as she stumbled back into his arms. Theo’s jaw tightened.
“Are you jealous?” Adelaide prodded.
“No,” he snapped. “She can dance with whomever she likes, and that is Luke Gavell.”
“As in Prince Luke of Mensnet?”
“One and the same,” Theo answered.
“That would explain the guards I saw in the gardens.”
Theo glanced around the edges of the room and spotted the prince’s guards in their black tunics and their faces shrouded in hoods.
“We’re about to switch. Grab for Amaris.”
Theo counted the beats until the switch at the end of the song.
He spun Adelaide, who twirled straight for Luke, and Theo waited as Amaris spun freely through the ballroom.
If he hadn’t been desperate to cling to Amaris, he would’ve pulled Adelaide back and as far from Luke as possible.
He, instead, took hold of Amaris’s hand, and she slammed into his chest. Her breath escaped her.
The song ended on its whistling tune, and a slow drum began the next melody, a soft lullaby his mother often sang to him and Luther. Amaris leaned into him. The warmth of her penetrated through his clothes and coated his palms in perspiration.
He grasped her tightly around the waist, pulling her over the dance floor. She emanated serenity. He couldn’t help but smile, at least one of them was calm. It was as if a trance had fallen over her as she closed her eyes and felt the room around her. A soft smile curved on her lips.
Was this what it was like to truly feel?
A bliss transcending over a person? For days, he wondered what it’d be like to embrace her.
Now, with her cheek pressed to his chest, her fingers interlaced with his, and her other hand resting on his shoulder, he didn’t want to let go.
He allowed himself a moment to breathe. Why did it have to end?
In a matter of hours, she would be departing for Duncaster.
He pulled her closer and allowed himself to feel. To drink in every last moment with her.
“Are you lost in thought?” he finally asked, his steps carrying them to the drum’s steady cadence.
“I’m happy,” she breathed, “truly happy.”
He felt her smile, and he pulled her tighter, the smile overcoming everything as he glided her through the dance.
She leaned into him, relinquishing herself to his guidance.
He braced her hip and spun her to the steady increase of the beating drum before tugging her back once more.
His hand fit perfectly along her waist, conforming to her curves.
Her chest met his, and her heartbeat fluttered against him.
What if he left with her?
“Amaris,” he breathed.
She gazed up at him, her eyes lost in a cloudy haze.
She was striking, utterly beautiful. His lips curled into a smile at the sight of her wide grin and that single-dimple imprint on her cheek.
She sank into him, her body growing heavier in his arms. His brow furrowed, and he gazed into her dilated pupils. She was drunk.
His hands clutched her waist, and he led her out into the hall.
They passed small gatherings of people scattered about, but most everyone was in the throne room having an extraordinary night.
She squinted against the dull lights emanating from the candles they passed.
He assessed her balance, carefully guiding her through the manor.
“Where are we going?” She grinned, leaning against his arm.
“We’re going to get you some water and bread,” he whispered back, trying not to let his anxiety show.
She wasn’t in a state to think properly, let alone continue dancing. He opened the door to the kitchen, but she pulled from his grasp and stumbled through the door, giggling to herself. He reached out, picking her up and setting her on the counter. Her brows rose, and her eyes flared.
“Viv was the only one who used to do this for me,” she said while he scavenged the cupboards for some bread. Ms. Borstad would have made extra loaves for the occasion. “She once sat with me on the bathroom floor for an entire night while I puked my guts out.”
“She sounds like a true friend.” Theo filled a glass of water and returned to her side with a small chunk of sourdough bread.
“She is.”
She swayed as she reached for the glass, but he grasped her hand instead, pulling it to the counter.
The pads of her fingers drew soft circles under his palm.
He brought the cup to her lips, praying it would aid in sobering her and shifting his focus from her hand caressing his own.
This had been reckless. She’d known she was supposed to have only one drink.
She took a sip, slurping the liquid as a shimmering smile gleamed in her eyes. Pulling back, she bit those rose-tinted lips. A drop spilled down her chin. His hand mindlessly grasped her jaw, wiping it away.
“Do you love her?”
“Who?”
She grabbed the lapels of his coat, tugging him closer. He gripped the counter to keep from falling into her chest.
“Helen.”
Theo raised a curious brow, and a small laugh escaped. “We’re simply friends.”
Her eyes softened. She curled her fingers deeper into the fabric and pulled him closer, planting a kiss upon his lips. Water spilled from the cup in his hand as she released his jacket and shoved him away.
A smirk grazed her lips. “Good.”
His chest burst into a thousand scorching suns.
His eyes drifted to her lips then back to those sparkling blue eyes.
He discarded the water cup and caressed her jaw, their lips meeting.
A gasp escaped her, but her hand slid into his hair.
It wasn’t a short peck or one of a deep longing.
It was ravenous. She toyed with the strands behind his ear, pulling at his mask’s string to discard it on the floor.