Chapter 40
J ahar dresses quickly, then helps Aza back into her dress.
“How did you even manage to pull this off?” Aza asks as they leave her room and head to the ballroom.
“I have my ways.”
Aza rolls her eyes at him. A sinful smile spread across his face.
The closer she gets to the ballroom, the tighter her stomach knots.
She doesn’t even really know why. Maybe it was the thought of seeing all the suitors again—or seeing him.
King Abasi. Or maybe it was a fear that things wouldn’t work out how they had planned.
Her fingers drifted to her nails, picking without thinking.
Jahar stops them, leaning her against the wall and taking her hands in his, “It is going to be alright. I will be in the room the whole time. Just keep dancing with Zhou as much as you can.”
Aza nods her agreement.
He’s right. I am just overreacting. All will be well.
Aza takes a deep breath as she enters the ballroom to find a plethora of people making their entrance as well.
Aza continued until she stood beside Baba, in front of the thrones.
Jahar stands slightly behind her and off to the side.
It felt like yesterday she’d stood there with no choice.
Now, she has one and everything to lose.
“Attention all,” Baba’s voice booms across the room, “I present to you the beautiful Princess Amiaza!”
The guests applauded, and various men in well-tailored suits approached Aza and Baba. The first man who snakes up to the front looks very familiar; Aza tries to place him.
“Prince Evander Oberon of the Lethius Kingdom and my wife, Caterina Oberon.” Aza remembers him now, the squirrely man from her announcement ball years ago.
“We’ve traveled across the sea to wish you luck in securing a husband for your daughter.
I hope you have as much success as I have had with my wife.
Enjoy your evening.” He bows to Baba, not waiting for a reply before walking away with his small wife.
“Do you think he traveled all this way to try to rub it in my face that he found someone else to be his wife, who was not me? Do you think he still holds a grudge against me for not being interested in him?”
“I surely hope not.”
Aza shakes her head and rolls her eyes.
“Game face, darling,” Baba reminded as another man stepped up to them.
“Good evening, King Nefir, Princess Amiaza. My name is Prince Landon of the Yaras Kingdom.” He says, bowing to both of them.
This was the prince she had written many letters back and forth to. She was supposed to visit him in his kingdom, but he had to cancel at the last minute—something about someone being sick.
“I apologize that we were not able to make a visit happen those few months back. You see, my sister has been ill, and it would have been far too difficult and improper to have continued to extend that invitation. I would not have been able to give you the attention you deserved. I am, however, sincerely sorry. I did miss our conversations dearly. I hope you can forgive me, and grant me the honor of speaking to you further. Perhaps during a dance.”
“There is nothing to forgive. I understand that taking care of your family and yourself comes first. I would enjoy a dance later in the evening and catch up.”
“Thank you, Princess Amiaza. You are most gracious. I will seek you out later. I wish you a pleasant evening.” He bows to Aza, then Baba, and makes his way back into the event.
Aza did like him. He seemed like a decent man. But nothing was going to change her mind about marrying Zhou to be with Jahar. However, it didn’t hurt to maintain good standing with someone who could offer a potential alliance.
Aza spent what felt like hours meeting and reuniting with other suitors, ambassadors, and whoever else tried to grace their presence.
She did it with a smile on her face, until she saw him.
She had hoped he had moved on, as she hadn’t seen him all night.
But here he was. He was dressed in black pants, a thick black jacket with golden woven throughout, and a golden robe with white fur draped over him.
“King Nefir, we meet at last. I am King Abasi Soergelen of the Amunis Empire.” He does not bow to Baba; he just looks at him before turning to Aza. “Princess Amiaza, it is a delight to see you again. You look stunning.” A chill runs down her back at his words and voice.
Although it seemed that Aza was overreacting, there was no doubting how uncomfortable this man made her. The way he spoke, the words he used, the way he looked at her, the way he presented himself as being above everyone and everything, she didn’t like any of it.
“Thank you for joining us tonight.” Baba greets.
“Thank you for having me. I look forward to spending more time with Princess Amiaza and discussing more with you, King Nefir. I think I have much to offer, and dare I say deals you won’t be able to resist.”
“We can have a discussion privately after the ball.”
“I look forward to it.”
He gives Aza one last hungry, cocky look. Aza sees his eyes shift behind her. He must have missed Jahar at first. But now, he looks toward Jahar, a sneer hidden in his composed expression, but Aza can see it breaking through. He turns abruptly and leaves.
“Baba, you cannot consider him,” Aza informs after he has left.
“Aza, I can at least hear what he has to say. He is a young king and is probably just slightly overconfident. I was like that in my youth.”
“Baba, you have always been a kind man, though. He, I believe, is far from that.”
“I never said I was going to force you to marry him or anyone you didn’t see fit. Please do not worry, my daughter.”
Aza takes a deep breath, but it does little to calm her nerves.
Another man began walking towards them. As he got closer, she sees his blood stained face and dirty, ragged clothes.
“Help me! He did it!”
“S-sir, please calm down. Who did it? How can we help you?” Aza steps forward, reaching out a hand.
Her hand passes through him, and he’s gone in an instant. Baba yanks her backwards.
“Aza. What is it?” He has a grip on her elbow.
“N-nothing. I-I need to take a breath for a moment.” She turns quickly, heading to the kitchens.
She pushes through the door and makes her way to the small room where she and Jahar first met. His footsteps follow behind her.
“Aza. What happened?”
“I don’t know. T-there was a man. He was bleeding. He said, ‘he did it,’ and asked me to help him. I don’t understand. Why now? Why won’t it stop?”
“I don’t know my love. Maybe Zhou has different healers who can help; maybe they’ll know.”
“I’m not putting my hope into that. I just want to understand. I want it to stop or to at least be able to control it.” Aza’s hands are shaking, clenched together in front of her.
Jahar places his hands over hers, “It will be alright. I will always be here for you. Always.”
Aza relaxes a bit at that. She gives him a small thankful smile. He pulls her into a hug. But they are interrupted by a clatter behind them. Ramsee stands there.
“Pardon me, Princess. Your father sent me to check on you and to encourage you to return to the party.”
“I will return momentarily.”
He nods and leaves. Jahar looks around their surroundings before quickly planting a kiss on her forehead. He leads her back out.
When Aza returns, she sees Zhou talking to Baba; he is smiling widely, and Baba has a rare smile on his face as well. Aza crosses the room without thinking, pulling Zhou into a hug, happy to see another familiar face. Zhou returns the hug.
“Hello, Princess. I am delighted to see you tonight. You look absolutely breathtaking.” He compliments, holding her at arm’s length, holding her hands.
“Prince Zhoufei was just informing me on how wonderful it was to meet you and how excited he is to discuss matters moving forward.”
Aza smiles at him, “Was he now?” Zhou smiles back, shrugging his shoulders.
“I also asked to steal you away for a dance.”
“Yes!”
“We will discuss more later. Enjoy your dance, Aza.”
They both bow to Baba. They join the growing crowd of people on the dance floor.
“Was that last guy, the guy?” Zhou asks.
Aza had once told him about the awful king she had met, but he said he knew nothing about him.
“Yes, that was him.”
“He looked like a prick.”
Aza chuckles.
“You don’t need to worry about him. You won’t have to worry about that mean man. We will marry, and all will be well,” he assures her as he spins her around.
“What if something is truly wrong with him and his empire? Seeing him again. I don’t know if I can let it go.” Aza admits.
“Then we will look into it further.”
Aza smiles at him. Wondering if all this greatness could really be true. She rests her head on his shoulders as they continue to step to the music.
After her dance with Zhou, she returned to standing with her father. She was introduced to more men, more potential suitors. She was getting quite tired of this dance. However, her spirits rose when she saw two familiar faces.
Malik and Zain made their way up to Aza to say hello. Their father trailed behind them. The twins bowed to both of them. Their father took up a conversation with Baba, and Aza talked to the twins.
“A lovely party you are throwing, dear Princess.” Zain compliments.
“Yes, lovely.”
“We must ask, who are you choosing? We know it isn’t either of us, don’t feel like we will be offended.”
“We just want the details.” Malik chimes in, chuckling.
Aza lowers her voice, “I have chosen Prince Zhoufei of the Xiaodan Kingdom.”
“Oh, interesting choice. We are going to have to make sure he is in shape to care for our favorite princess, though.”
“Yes, yes. And please, Princess, do come to visit us sometime. We always have great fun together.”
“I will be sure to do so. It was lovely to see you too.”
“And you! Save us a dance for later?”
“Of course.”
The twins hug her and take off to the dance floor. She sees them later on bugging Zhou, but he seems to be enjoying the twins' teasing.
The rest of the evening blurred together. Aza danced with so many men that she had lost count. She was only thankful she didn’t have to dance with Abasi. He seemed to have disappeared from the party.
It didn’t matter. Aza had said her goodnights and now made her way to her room, Jahar in tow.
She had barely seen him all night, but when unease crept in, she remembered how he’d been inside her—how some of him still lingered.
Anticipation flared. Of course, Ramsee trailing behind her dampened it slightly.
When they finally made it back to her room, she announced, “Oh no. I left my bracelet in the dining hall. I had taken it off because it got snagged. Oh, Ramsee, would you please go back and fetch it for me? It’s really important to me. Jahar is fully capable of guarding me while you’re gone.”
He looks unamused but nods and leaves. Aza waits until he is out of sight and she can no longer hear his footsteps. Then she grabbed Jahar’s hand, pulling him into her room.
“Aza.”
She shuts the door behind him. She dives in for a kiss. Her lips crash into his.
“I can’t go through tonight without you. I’ve had far too many other hands on me tonight. Your hands are the only ones I want roaming my body. Take me, Jahar. Remind me who I belong to.”
“But Ramsee. The other guards.”
“We have enough time right now. When he returns, I will tell him you weren't feeling good, and I sent you away. He doesn’t have enough care to do anything. Quite honestly, I don’t even know why he became a guard. But that’s not important. I want you inside me now.” Aza demands.
“Okay, but first… turn around.”
Aza gives him a quizzical look, but does as he asks. She can hear him rummaging in his pocket.
“What are you doing?”
She hears something tap the floor, “Aza?”
She turns around to see Jahar kneeling on the ground, a small box opened in his hands. Inside it the gorgeous ring that looked like a flower and the sun mixed in one golden band, the one she saw in the market on her visit to Zhou.
“Jahar?”
“I know. I-I didn’t know how to do this, or when, or if I should.
But what I do know is that I love you with all of my heart.
I have loved you for years. I have spent years denying it, but I cannot do that anymore.
You are my sunshine, my heart, my life, my everything.
I know you must technically marry a prince, but if you’ll have me, I want to be your true husband. Will you marry me?”
Tears sprang from Aza's eyes and she gasped, “Yes! Yes, with everything I am, I want you to be my husband and I your wife!”
She rushes over to him and wraps her arms around him in a hug. His arms envelop her. When they break free, he slips the ring onto her finger, a perfect fit, and she couldn’t stop staring at it. A giddiness is taking over.
“H-how did you get this?”
“I went back and bought it before we left. Even if I were to chicken out of asking you, I knew you loved it when your face lit up to show me that day. I just needed to make sure you had it. Zhou approved when I showed him. Told me he would host a beautiful secret wedding for us where he would be your man of honor, and Li could be my best man.”
“Oh my goodness. I love that so much. I love you so fucking much.” He leans in and gives her a kiss, “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted you more.”
“Whatever you wish, my beautiful, wonderful Princess.”