Chapter 26 The Palace Invitation
The letter from the palace came with a massive, obnoxious gold wax seal.
A royal decree from the King himself. It was for a victory party honoring his oldest son, the big scary general, Duke Claus d'Alen?on.
The note was short but basically said, show up or we'll ruin your entire family for insulting the crown.
It made me want to throw up my breakfast.
This wasn't a party.... it was a giant trap.
While everyone else was getting drunk on expensive wine, Claus would be scanning the room to see who he needed to execute next.
"I'm not going," I told my mom. She was sitting at her vanity, aggressively brushing her hair.
She didn't even look at me. She just stared at my reflection in the mirror with a nasty glare.
"Ilse, stop acting like a brat. Your father spent a fortune getting us onto the priority guest list. If you stay home, people will think we're hiding something. Do you actually hate us? Do you want to ruin everything we worked for just because you're scared of a party?"
Then my dad poked his head into the room, sounding like a total prick. "You have two choices, girl. Put the dress on, or you're out of the will and kicked onto the street by tomorrow morning."
Even Gisella was whining via a letter. 'Ilse, please. Who am I supposed to walk in with? Don't be selfish. It's just one night, then we can leave.'
I lost. They didn't care that I was terrified, they just wanted their stupid social status.
I spent hours picking out an outfit. The maids tried to shove me into loud red silk and flashing jewels, but I said screw that.
I picked a dusty, boring grey dress with zero frills.
I didn't want to be noticed. I wanted to blend into the damn wallpaper.
The carriage ride over was pure torture.
Nobody talked. Mom and Dad were just adjusting their clothes, making sure they looked perfect.
They'd sell me out for a scrap of an iron contract in a heartbeat, and all I could do was sit there sweating.
The second we walked into the ballroom, the smell of heavy perfume nearly choked me.
It was packed with hundreds of nobles trying to look more important than the person next to them.
I ditched my parents immediately, slipping toward the dark pillars near the corner.
Gisella tracked me down anyway, looking stressed.
"Ilse! What took you so long? Everyone's talking about Duke Claus. They say his carriage just pulled up."
I didn't even answer. I just wanted to find a dark corner, chug some wine, and wait for this nightmare to end.
Suddenly, the orchestra music changed. The loud chatter died down into this awkward, tense hush that spread across the whole room.
Then came the boots. Heavy, metallic thuds on the marble floor.
Claus d'Alen?on walked in.
He wasn't like the other fake nobles who smiled and nodded.
He just marched straight through, and people literally parted like the Red Sea because they were terrified.
He was in his black combat uniform, gold badges pinned to his chest.
He completely ignored everyone, didn't look at the girls drooling over him, didn't nod at his political buddies.
He walked like the room was completely empty.
I dragged Gisella behind a massive pillar on the left. "Move," I whispered.
"Why? I want to see his face!" she whined.
"Don't be stupid," I snapped. Out of sight, out of mind.
Claus got closer. He was walking right past our hiding spot. I could smell cedar and cold iron as he passed. I glued my eyes to the tips of my shoes, praying he'd just keep walking and forget the Varannes family even existed. Just keep going. Don't look.
The heavy footsteps stopped right next to our pillar.
Maybe someone dropped a glass across the room, I don't know, but he turned his head.
Right toward the pillar. It wasn't a normal look.
He stared right at me. No anger, no greeting.
Just dead, calculating eyes. Like he was checking an item off a hit list.
He kept walking, but his head stayed turned, locking eyes with me for a split second as he passed.
My throat went totally dry. He wasn't checking out my outfit. He was confirming that the girl that his aide stalked in the backyard last night was the same one standing here under the crystal lights. He kept walking toward the King, leaving me frozen against the stone.
"Ilse?" Gisella nudged me, sounding freaked out. "Your hands are freezing. What's wrong?"
I couldn't even speak. I watched his back walk away, realizing one thing, I was done for. He knew. The victory party was officially a hunting ground. I let go of her arm, my palms suddenly covered in cold sweat. "I need to get out of here," I muttered.
"What? We just got here!"
"Make up an excuse for my parents. Tell them I fainted, I don't care. I can't stay here."
I didn't wait for her to answer. I spun around and bolted through the crowd, looking for a side exit. Screw my dad's iron contracts. Screw our family pride. I just needed distance. The further I got from Duke Claus tonight, the better my chances of seeing tomorrow.