Chapter 20 #2
“That doesn’t surprise me. Tell me, princess, what are they?” He leaned in closer to me. The musky scent of oil clung to him.
I hadn’t smelled anything like it since I was in the human realm. My back stiffened as I pulled myself away from him.
There were far too many things I wondered about that I knew I couldn’t name. Few were probably appropriate. I would have to play with courtly conversation. “What was the most surprising thing you’ve traded with the fae for?”
He set the glass down beside mine as he exhaled loudly. “Our men handle most of the shipments.”
This was sure to be a long evening if our discussions continued this way. “There isn’t one thing that you crave from Nythrel’s trade?”
“You are most unusually invested in this.” Soren lifted a hefty chunk of fish on his fork before he scooped it into his mouth. “It is the coin I favor the most. I care little for whatever else they trade with us.”
My eyes drifted back to Fyn’s. If I had asked him that—he would have had a most unusual pick.
I glanced back at Soren. “Do you like to dance?”
“I like it just as much as any man.” He blotted his mouth with an inky napkin.
It had been so long since I danced, or attended a feast. Aelira and Lioran hadn’t hosted a single ball since the war.
Novena leaned in towards her husband as he traced the bracelet around her wrist. She nodded as the music began, gracefully rising beside Kilan. Her deep locks glowed purple in the candlelight.
Soren wasn’t going to ask me to dance—he wasn’t going to ask me anything.
“Could we dance now?” I couldn’t bear sitting for another idle moment.
“You truly are as your brother says.” A strained smile twitched on Soren’s lips.
I had rarely ever heard Agan say anything nice about me. “Does that displease you?”
“As long as we’re aligned, you’ll find very few things displease me,” he said. “If you wish to dance, we shall dance.”
I studied the steps of the women on the dance floor. They slowed with the cadence of a tune I had never heard before. “I don’t truly know this dance.”
“We can sit this one out.” He seemed most unamused.
“I’m sure I’ll learn it.” I rose before he did.
“Think of it as a challenge. I wonder, Princess Ashlyn, how quickly can you learn the ways of my court?” He grabbed my hand and led me out onto the dance floor.
Hopefully, it would be faster than trying to learn the ways of the fae.
Fyn stepped to the edge of the dance floor. His dimly glowing eyes found mine before I turned from him.
“You’ll have to stand closer.” Soren slid my hand in place on his shoulder.
Every passing dancer watched us as we turned. My gown swept the floor as it spread.
Soren’s midnight eyes found mine when I faced him again. “What do you enjoy, Princess Ashlyn? How do you fill your time?”
“I like to read.” It was the safest thing I could relay.
“We have a rather grand library here. You are welcome to access it.” He pulled me closer. “Anything else?”
I needed to know if his energy could match mine—if he was different than the men in Bailoc. “I enjoy training with my sword.”
“I must have misheard you.” His hand slipped down my back as the movements in the dance grew smaller. “You didn’t say you have a sword, did you?”
“You didn’t mishear me. I do, in fact, own a sword. I brought it here with me.” I sucked in a hard breath.
“What need would a princess have for that?” His smile faded.
I tried to force myself to breathe so I wouldn’t say something I shouldn’t. I knew it was unusual for a human princess. “It quiets the mind.”
“You’ll have little use for it here.” He twirled me as the music slowed.
“I assume you know how to use a sword?” Maybe Agan was right—my choice of words would always be my downfall.
“What kind of prince would I be if I didn’t?”
I was never one to let something go. “Perhaps we could spar sometime.”
“I will not hold a blade against my future bride. Nor would I want another man to. You will find there are no women here who practice.”
Pressure built in my chest as I fought my frustration. I wanted someone who would challenge me at every turn, but not like this.
When the dance ended I let my hand slip from his. “I wish to watch the next dance. I fear I still have much to learn about the ways of this court.”
“Certainly. If you are serious about visiting the vineyards, a trip can be arranged for you with one of the guards if you wish it.”
That was not exactly what I had in mind. “You wouldn’t take me?”
“My schedule is extremely full tomorrow,” he said.
“If it’s possible, I should like to see the market instead.” Every gown that passed had caught my eye. Each seemed more vibrant than the last. The ladies’ laughter and chatter around us nearly rivaled the music. “To see what life is like here in Estlen.”
He seemed relieved that my request was simple. “That I can easily arrange.”
Kilan placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder as he tugged Novena closer to where we stood on the edge of the dance floor. “You two look like you belong together out there.”
“She compliments you well.” Novena’s tone was soft and melodic—almost like the fae, but entirely even when she spoke.
“Are you blushing, brother?” Kilan laughed.
Soren looked past him to his brother’s wife. “Novena, would you be interested in accompanying Ashlyn to the market tomorrow?”
“I am in need of some new gowns,” she said.
“Darling, I don’t think you could possibly be in need of anything. You’re there nearly every week,” Kilan replied. “But if it makes you happy.”
“Indeed, it does, my prince.” She leaned into her husband, looking up at him with a coy smile.
“You may pick out whatever you wish, Princess Ashlyn,” Kilan said. “We dote endlessly on our women.”
Novena glanced around the room before her eyes returned to mine. “Tomorrow we shall shop and have our hair done if you wish it. A new color could look stunning on you.”
Soren slipped a blonde tendril behind my ear. “I must admit I’m partial to her hair the way it is.”
I scraped my teeth on my tongue as I eyed Novena’s plum hue. I wanted something just as bold.
“She’ll be in good hands, Soren. Nothing could change how beautiful she is,” Novena said.
Soren nodded, but his flicker of faint amusement faded.
A sour feeling settled in my stomach.
“Is something wrong, Princess Ashlyn?” Kilan asked.
“No, nothing at all.” The sensation started again—the heat almost as suffocating as the starlight.
I needed it to stop.
“Now we’ll carry on the rest of the night as if we wish to be here.” Kilan’s words came precisely the moment the heat released.
“You don’t wish to be here?” I had craved this moment for months—to stand in a room with my kind—to be the princess I once was, and they didn’t even want to be there.
Soren’s lips formed a half-smile. “It’s a dull affair, I’m afraid, but we must always be present.”
I drew inward.