Chapter 12 #3
She felt a small amount of tension between the two males, but she just stepped closer to Silas and placed her free hand on his chest.
“We just need to stay for a while and then we can leave,” she mumbled.
She couldn’t leave yet and she despised the situation entirely. It was customary for her to dance with the King, and she had to wait a while longer to fulfill that obligation, then she would leave as fast as possible back to room and away from the politics that haunted her.
- - - - - - - -
The three of them stood on the edge of the room away from the dance floor, Kaden standing guard a few feet from her and Silas. It had been a few hours since her encounter with Declan and she was getting exhausted.
They had mingled around the floor and spoke to some of the court members she had not met.
Most of them gave her a disapproving look at her outfit, the males casually staring at her chest when they thought no one was looking.
She saw it though, and she made a mental note to stay far away from them if she ever met them while alone.
She recognized the scribe who she found out was named Logan, and he seemed to be more relaxed now that he wasn’t currently working.
Most of the questions people asked she expected. How did you escape? What did he do to you? Do you plan on returning to Maydalsa?
It was almost like she was in a trance after the first few times, just repeating the same answers and it was starting to make her exhausted.
She refused to get into detail, brushing off some of the more personal questions and once she felt she had mingled enough, she headed back towards their spot on the wall.
She pulled Silas in front of her to hide between him and the wall, his body brushing up against hers. She rested her head on his chest and let out a long breath when his hand started to stroke up and down her bare hip.
“I just wanna go back to our room,” she mumbled as more people walked by whispering.
“Soon, I promise,” he said, his words faint against the music playing.
The music suddenly quieted and Emris stood on his dais addressing the guests. “Alyra,” he projected loudly. “Please join me in a dance of trust between our people before the night is over.” His eyes scanned the room until he saw her stepping out from the wall.
She took a breath and raised her chin before walking towards the king, both males in tow behind her.
The king had stepped down the stairs of the dais and waited for her to join him, the crowd disbursing to make room for them on the dance floor.
She kept a smile on her face while the king placed her in their dancing hold and the music started again.
He was a great dancer, but she also knew he was one to always show off any time he could. His wings helped glide them effortlessly across the floor, the music filling the large stone room around them.
The minimal contact was keeping her from reacting to it, her nerves shot from having to wander around the crowd earlier.
“We need to talk,” Emris whispered low enough she knew only she could hear. She nodded in response and kept pace with him. “You need to work on getting that power back quickly. I think you might be right about someone betraying me in my own castle.”
She took a breath to soak in his words without changing her emotions for anyone to pick up on. “I’m doing the best I can, funny how now that you suspect someone it's a sudden emergency to you.”
“You always were a feisty one.” His voice was sharp, his eyes glancing between them down her dress. “It’s a shame your mother didn’t listen to me when she was alive.”
“My mother probably knew whatever you said was selfish on your part.”
“I do have my own way of doing things.” He spun her around again, their conversation not affecting their movement. “Get your power back and help me, it could be the same person that betrayed your people. Don’t you want them to be brought to justice?”
“I’ll kill them before they get put in front of a court. Do you have any idea who it is?” her eyebrow raised slightly.
“I have suspicions but I won’t tell you yet.”
“You think it's someone close, Silas mentioned someone in the court.” Her eyes searched for confirmation.
He nodded but didn’t say anything back as the music died and their conversation was no longer safe. The guests clapped in praise before returning to their social activities, Emris escorting her back to Silas and Kaden.
“You are dismissed.” Emris said, his eyes staring at Silas a second longer than normal.
All three bowed discreetly and made their way out the door to head back to her room. Between her moment with Silas, Declan being a dick, and the king's conversation, her head was spinning from the events of the night.
She didn’t say a word as they walked together to her room, Kaden nodding farewell when they got to the door and disappeared down the hall out of sight.
Silas squeezed her hand and she felt a spark in her magic inside her when staring towards the darkness Kaden had disappeared into, then entered the room without another word.