Chapter 55 #2
“Yes,” the duke agreed, clapping his hands together. “Wonderful idea. I’ll ensure that you are given the most luxurious guest quarters available.”
“Separate rooms, please,” I rushed out impulsively. Elias stiffened and dropped my hand.
Melonius now looked too curious. I just had to panic at the thought of sharing a room with my fiancé, didn’t I? “Very well,” he said, turning into the manor’s wide-open doors. “Please follow me.”
Like the coastal paradise outside, the interior was also a work of art. Black and white marble, elaborately crafted iron, obnoxiously bright floral arrangements.
And of course, there were more naked statues. Almost as if the duke wanted all his visitors to be thinking of one thing and one thing only.
We sequestered ourselves to our rooms and were invited to tea and dinner in three hours’ time.
I spent the first hour soaking in the large marble bathtub while Shera groomed the dirt out of her silver fur and the sand from her paws.
Once I was clean, I started rolling the ring I still wore around my neck between my fingers.
I didn’t realize I was doing it until my hand began to cramp up.
I knew it was probably time to take the ring off, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
The dress the duke requested I wear was pale pink silk with a cutout in the back that bared most of my spine save for a thin strap fastened around my neck to hold up the entire piece.
The very outer skin of my breasts was barely visible, teasing their roundness, and the long slit in the side exposed my leg almost to my hip.
I obliged, only because it was more fabric than I expected he’d give me. I let my silver-blond hair dry in natural waves over my shoulders rather than tying it up, even though it felt far too warm to not. My hair could cover more of my skin if I felt the need.
At exactly the three-hour mark, everyone showed up at my door.
Elias in front, then Gemma, Finn, Mavic, and even Ezra, who leaned against the marble wall with his arms crossed, refusing to make eye contact with me.
The men wore black pants and thin cotton dress shirts in various colors, while Gemma looked stunning in a silk navy gown that showed off her precious rounding belly.
“My gods, you’re incredible,” Elias uttered the moment he saw me, his breath hovering low in his chest. “You look?—”
“—perfect.” Gemma pushed past him and offered me her arm. “She always does.”
We descended a wide, winding staircase into the grand foyer, where Melonius and his three sons, along with a few other guests, awaited our arrival. The duke approached me before my sandaled foot reached the bottom step.
“You are exquisite, Your Highness.” He offered me his hand. Despite Elias’s grim expression, I took it. “I must ask… Which of the gods’ powers will you show me first?”
“She’s not a dog !” Gemma snapped, but I shot her a look and held up my hand toward the trilevel water fountain in the center of the foyer.
The room fell silent as I used Rainar’s magic to draw the water into a single stream, up toward the ceiling, before I clenched my fist and the water burst and sprayed throughout the room in a cloud of mist. I then pulled the water back out of the air and deposited it safely back into the fountain.
Melonius let out an astonished laugh. “Oh, how spectacular!” He offered me his arm, which I reluctantly accepted, and led me through the foyer into a grand dining room with wildly inappropriate paintings lining the walls.
“You must sit near me during dinner. There is so much I would love to discuss.”
I glanced back to see the others looking worriedly after me. Especially Eli, who was red-faced and, by the way his veins flexed in his forearm, about to shatter the glass in his hand.
All of dinner was spent discussing cultured things I knew little about but had read enough in the last eight months that I was able to keep up.
Diplomacy was brand-new to me, and uncomfortable, but Melonius was more than willing to carry the conversation.
Gemma, Finn, and Ezra sat quietly toward the other end of the table.
Mavic sat across from me, freely chatting with one of Melonius’s sons, while Elias sat silently beside me.
His eyes were fixed on the duke’s hands the entire time.
It wasn’t until the end of the dinner that I found the courage to inquire about the book we came here for.
“Melonius.” I leaned forward slightly. “You are a most gracious host, and your generosity of spirit is unmatched.” Gods, what was I even saying?
“As Elias mentioned, however, we ultimately aren’t here for…
pleasure. I’ve been told you have in your possession a rare book that has never been opened, even by…
my father.” I wielded the lie like a curse. “It requires magic.”
The duke leaned back in his chair, studying me. “I do possess it. It was entrusted to my ancestors centuries ago.”
“Entrusted by who?”
The duke hummed in thought. “ That remains a mystery even to me. Regardless, you may borrow the book at a cost.”
My fists clenched impatiently in my lap. “When was it last opened, Melonius?”
“Never,” he answered, lifting his glass to his lips. “I have no magic.”
“Then you have no use for it.”
“Even so, it is in my possession, Your Highness.” He drank from his cup and swallowed.
“While you are our queen, and you are very much alive, thank the Selvaren, do you expect every one of us to hand over our possessions and receive nothing in return?” He tsked, shaking his head. “You must be eager to prove yourself.”
I was having a hard time controlling my breathing. When Melonius glanced down at my angry, heaving chest, draped in thin pink silk, his pupils only widened.
“Spend a night with me,” he continued, “and the book is yours for as long as you wish. Along with my home, my resources, my money. Anything.” Elias stiffened on my other side.
As if he hadn’t predicted this exact thing would happen.
I could feel the heat of his stare shift down as Melonius reached under the table and touched my knee.
His fingers tightened over the silk of my dress and shifted toward my hip.
“I think you’ll find that my generosity of spirit extends to many, many places, Your Highness. ”
Before I could process any movement, Elias was out of his chair with his dagger pressed against the Duke of Peradine’s throat.