Chapter 19 - Gilded
Were beads distracting?
I stood in front of my wardrobe and ran my hands over the periwinkle beads sewn onto my bodice. The white lace over my forearms contrasted nicely with the billowing dark blue sleeves and skirt. The dress was not exactly Hyton Blue, thank goodness, but had enough of Derrick’s favorite colors to catch his eye.
From what I had heard, the ball was not going to be a large affair. Everyone was too excited for the Darkest Night in three days to bother with the heir’s birthday.
Still, my job was to capture as much of Derrick’s attention as possible to keep him away from Brietta. I needed to be more…extravagant than anyone else.
I adjusted my breasts so they formed little mounds on top of the bodice. Yes, extravagant. That was the word I would use.
The door to my bedroom clicked open and Brietta poked her head in. She was in her usual uniform of Hyton Blue and as much gold that she could fit on her body. The gems on her tiara sparkled as she gave my outfit a once-over and an approving nod.
I kept up with her confident stride as we walked to the ballroom, but my hands picked at the beads at the bottom of my bodice.
I had decided to leave my Nordingaard crystal in my room—I could not risk wearing it in front of all the Lycaster nobility. What if it fell onto the dance floor? What if it glowed and people could spy it underneath my skirt? What if someone already suspected I was a sorceress and the crystal was just the damning proof they needed?
Though it was necessary, I had needles beneath my skin the moment I removed the crystal from my leg. My mind was spinning so much, I had sent Erik to check up on Brandt at the guard house to make sure he was all right.
Might have been risky to send another raven to the guard house, but I would have done anything to quell the unease. I needed the confirmation that Brandt was merely visiting with his old bunkmates from the military academy and no one suspected him of being part of a treasonous army.
Treason. I might have been dressed in shades of blue, but I was still committing treason. Just like Brandt. Just like Evereon.
And then we would all die and Riyan would be stuck in the place West of the Moon and East of the Sun forever.
Fuck, I needed to forget the word “treason” before I vomited on the staircase.
We had just made it down the steps when Annalisa’s irate voice echoed through the hall. “No, I will not take it off!”
Brietta and I turned our heads. Annalisa glared up at Derrick with her arms folded and her Thornebow crest gleaming over her bosom. Derrick’s golden coronet gleamed in the fading sunlight from the nearby windows. His back was facing us, but I could still see a white box with a pink ribbon in his hand.
“All I am saying is you might like this more.” Derrick held out the box. “Come on, it is five o’ clock. Just take it—”
Annalisa stepped back and her glare sharpened. “What? You think you can just replace him by throwing your money around?”
Brietta and I shared a quick glance.
“That is not what I—”
“I am a Thornebow —you will never change that.” She lowered her voice. “And if you cannot accept my new blood, if you cannot accept me after all these years, then do not bother speaking to me again.”
Derrick hissed out a breath and turned on his heel. “Fine.”
He stormed past us without so much as a glance in our direction and flung Annalisa’s gift out of an open window.
My eyes followed him down the hall. Damn it, Annalisa! Whatever happened to making tonight the best birthday of Derrick’s life?
My white flame twisted around my heart—I had to fix it.
Brietta’s lips parted to speak, but I cut her off. “I will take care of this.”
I picked up my skirts and ran to catch up with Derrick. I could cajole Annalisa into apologizing and calm Derrick down. Maybe a servant could go fetch the box before half-past five. We had too much at risk to not have the evening go smoothly.
“Derrick!” I panted as I caught up to him. “She is just fond of the Thornebow pendant because she misses Grigory. I am sure she—”
He whipped around. “It looks like a fucking brand!”
My heart stopped. He looked so…unlike him with his brow hard and his eyes harsh.
He cleared his throat and his face softened. “I am so sorry, Serafina. Forgive me, I just—”
“Lord Hyton,” a servant said as he meekly peeked around the ballroom door. “Beg your pardon, but it is time for your entrance with Lady Hyton.”
Derrick let out a measured, but still frustrated breath as he adjusted the golden rose pin on his black doublet. “I will see you inside.”
I could not let him go that easily. I had to be alluring, damn it!
I put on a smile and forced my clenched fists to release my skirt. “Would it be too bold to ask for a dance later?”
He smiled back, returning to the Derrick I knew. “Of course not.”
He kissed my hair and then his soft whisper skated across my forehead. “Every second you are here mends my heart a little more. Thank you.”
My heartbeat slowed down even as he pulled away. “Happy birthday, Derrick.”
He gave me one last smile before following the servant.
Just like I had planned, even with Annalisa’s hiccup. All I needed to do for the rest of the night was hang on Derrick’s arm, bat my eyelashes, and make him look good enough to ease Duke Hyton’s nerves about his heir’s image.
Freya’s explanation of my body as currency was spine-chilling, but Brietta and I needed to temporarily play by the rules if we were going to break them.
I just needed to get Annalisa in the game again.
Brietta had already moved to the ballroom to make her grand entrance, so I followed the echoes of sobbing to find Annalisa curled up against the wall with her head on top of her knees.
I swallowed most of my frustration and put my hand on her back. “Come on, Anna. We have to go in. Remember what we—”
She snapped her head up. “I know, damn it! We have to gild Derrick’s laurels even more.”
She shoved herself off the floor and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. I ran behind her as she marched to the ballroom. My stomach flipped—was Annalisa about to break something? Was she going to cause a scene in the ballroom?
Wide-eyed servants quickly opened the ballroom doors as Annalisa barrelled for them. I caught up to her just in time to grab her hand.
“Just stay next to me,” I panted. “At least until Derrick makes his entrance—”
“I know.” Her chest rose and fell with her furious breath. “I always know he comes first.”
We moved through the edge of the crowd as Derrick and Brietta slowly danced together, keeping each other at arm’s length.
My heart sank a little as I watched them. Their tight smiles and refusal to meet each other’s eyes was a far cry from the way they laughed and twirled at the Suitors’ Ball.
“Happy birthday, Derrick,” Annalisa whispered to herself.
I looked around—not a single clock in sight, but somehow Annalisa still knew the time. Even though her full lips were pursed in disdain, her eyes that matched her twin’s were glassy as she watched him dance.
I had once missed my brothers so deeply that hating them was easier than grieving. Maybe Annalisa was grieving a brother that was still living.
My chest warmed with white light. I was a healer—I could help.
The hands of a clock somewhere in the palace were inching ever closer to Annalisa’s birthday. I did not have a box with a pink ribbon to give her, but I had something more valuable.
Maybe Annalisa would not feel so ashamed of her grandmother if she finally knew something about her.
I raised on my toes to get closer to her ear, keeping my words soft as feathers so they were only for her. “Your grandmother had hair white as snow cascading down her back.”
Her brows softened, even as Duke Hyton entered the dance floor.
He flashed a smile to the crowd. “Could he get any more stiff? Let us get him some better company!” He yanked Derrick away from Brietta and threw him into a chair that had been pushed onto the dance floor.
Laughter cracked around the ballroom. Derrick looked up at his father with wide eyes, but Duke Hyton turned to the crowd with his arms out like the beginning of a show. “How about we celebrate the heir turning twenty-two years the Hyton way?”
The Hyton way? My heart raced, but I kept focus on Annalisa. “She also had lavender eyes.”
Annalisa’s lip trembled, but she stared at the dance floor.
Someone whistled over the din of the crowd. A few men howled. Sharp footsteps tapped against the dance floor.
I turned to see what the commotion was about and my heart stopped—it was Mother.
Mother stalked onto the dance floor with a tiny fluted glass between her fingers. She was not dressed in a fine gown or simple jewelry like she had as the Baroness of Ravenwood, but instead wore a black dress that was barely more than undergarments. The scant fabric of the dress was thin and clung to every part of her body, revealing… everything.
My hand flew to my mouth. What was she doing?
Mother’s sultry lips were blood red and her eyes were rimmed with black. She lifted her skirt, completely exposing her right leg, and straddled Derrick’s lap.
The crowd hollered. I could not see his face, but Derrick’s hands gripped the bottom of his chair so hard that his knuckles turned white. Mother swirled her head around, her dark hair streaked with silver feathering out behind her. She arched her back and grabbed his chin with her free hand.
I gasped, frozen in place as my mother kissed Derrick on the lips.
My knees went weak and I fought to keep myself upright. Annalisa clutched my hand so hard her fingernails dug into my skin.
Mother slowly pulled away, her lip paint smeared and her eyes half-lidded. “Happy birthday, Lord Hyton.”
Whistles cut through the air like whips as Mother thrust Derrick’s head back and tipped her little glass of faerie wine down his throat.
I pried my eyes from my mother to look anywhere else and found Freya. She sat on her throne and glared daggers at Duke Hyton, clutching her golden goblet like she was about to crush it. Derrick’s six older sisters stood around the dais, their faces frozen in shock and disgust.
Duke Hyton paid them no attention as his voice boomed over the raucous crowd. “My son got the first potion, but now everyone can join in for Ravenwood Rota! ”
What the hell was Ravenwood Rota? I did not even care, I wanted to leave.
A servant wheeled out a cart topped with a circular tray that held dozens more tiny fluted glasses in a circle around the outer rim. Each glass held either faerie wine or dark purple liquid.
Duke Hyton wrapped his arm around Mother’s waist and lifted her off his son’s lap. “The Viper whipped up some special treats for tonight! Let us make some magic happen!”
Mother kept her smile painted on, but her eyes were glassy.
A crowd of men rushed for the tray and I lost sight of Mother and the Duke. Derrick pushed his way out of the crowd, his face colorless except for the red paint smeared across his lips.
His eyes found mine for a brief moment before they snapped up to Annalisa. Her hand was like granite around mine, but even from the edge of the ballroom I saw Derrick’s shoulders start to shake.
I had to get him out.
Before I could even take a step toward him, General Hyton clapped a hand on Derrick’s shoulder and led him away.
Even though my limbs were frozen, my chest was raging with white fire. Duke Hyton was a monster. I wanted to roast him alive. I wanted to…
No. I had to stay in control.
I yanked my hand out of Annalisa’s and gripped my skirt. I closed my eyes and counted my pounding heartbeats, forcing myself to calm down.
My usual tricks were not working. I was about to combust. I was mere seconds away from igniting every glass of faerie wine and dooming myself.
Then I looked deep within, focusing on the fractals of the diamond in my heart. Annalisa needed a friend just like I did. Making her happy could calm me down.
The crowd had rushed for the dance floor. The din of laughter and clinking glass would drown me out.
“Anna, your grandmother…” I opened my eyes and looked up at her. “She was strong. She was stubborn. And…she did not need to see herself to know she was beautiful.
The fire within me calmed and my limbs started to weaken. My heart’s desire had led me down the right path again.
Annalisa swallowed, considering. She eyed a nearby servant holding a silver tray. “You know what I really want for my birthday?”
She grabbed the poor servant’s arm and dragged him next to us. The gleaming silver tray held at least a dozen tiny glasses of faerie wine.
My eyes danced across the shimmering cut glass. “Anna, but remember last time—”
Annalisa picked up two glasses. “I want to forget everything we just saw. Everything that we feel.”
She handed me a glass and I bit my tongue. Drinking the faerie wine was risky. I could spill secrets. I could get sick like Annalisa had.
But the last time I had faerie wine…I was happy. For the first time since my blood bond had been removed, I had finally felt warm.
My heart ached as I stared at the glass, yearning to feel warm again.
My upbringing had been a lie. My mother was a whore. Derrick was heartbroken. Brietta was no longer my friend. Ilsa was still a mystery. Riyan was still little more than an executioner.
And I was still so unhappy. And exhausted. And frustrated.
Once, I had scorned Riyan for drowning his woes at the bottom of a bottle, but I finally understood him. It was foolish and dangerous...but I just wanted to forget it all, at least for one damn night.
I took the tiny glass from Annalisa. We locked eyes before we poured the faerie wine down our throats. Then we took another. Then another. I grabbed two glasses and downed them. I could not stop. I took more and more.
Stars tickled my belly. Sunlight filled my veins.
And I was finally warm again.