Chapter 28
Petra
Two weeks of waiting for this ball. Two days of pacing my chambers as guests arrived from all over the realm. Two hours of having my hair curled and twisted and pinned and my face lathered and painted and rouged.
Now I’d been sitting in my chair on the dais for two minutes, watching people shuffle into the ballroom, and I was about to implode.
Every one of these people had read my call for aid and had chosen not to believe the reason why it was needed. But here they were, ready to show off their money and status at a stupid fucking ball.
I was not too proud to admit Queen Irli had done a notably good job planning the affair.
The smell of fresh blooms mingled with whatever had been roasting in the kitchens since before dawn.
The orchestra in the corner played a lively tune that further stoked my anger.
Goblets were filled as laughter floated through the grand ballroom and set me on edge.
I closed my eyes and tried to soften my features. “How angry do I look?” I murmured.
Cal looked back at me earnestly from where he sat at my side. The surcoat he wore was molded perfectly to his body. I caught an obscene amount of women staring unashamed in his direction as they passed by, and all the effort I’d put into softening my features was gone.
“Somewhere between a demon lord has infiltrated the realm and I’m being forced to attend a stupid fucking ball. So, I’d say you look just about as angry as you should be.” He reached over, clasping my hand in his. “Take a deep breath. You’re exactly where you need to be.”
I found the line in my head that connected me to Adorex and gave it a tug. Here , I heard echo back to me. Plan. Good. I nodded to myself. The impatient part of me wished I’d chosen a ballgown. This fitted dress was so tight around my thighs, I could hardly bounce my leg as I waited.
Miles was rigid where he sat on the other side of me, his breaths coming rapid and shallow as his eyes stayed pinned on the ivory tablecloth. “Are you okay?” I whispered. I’d lost count of the amount of times I’d asked him that exact question since Eserene.
“Fine,” he pushed out through gritted teeth. I gave him a sidelong glance. Tyrak looked at him, too, from where he sat on Miles’ left.
King Laion stepped onto the dais, Queen Irli at his side. “Your Majesty,” he snarled, his eyes moving up and down my body as his lip curled. “In Nesan, black is only to be worn for funerals.”
I made a show of preening under his stare. “I’m aware. I wanted to remind your guests of their guaranteed fate should they decide not to heed my call. ”
His lip twitched for a moment before he yanked Irli’s chair out for her far too violently then lowered himself onto his own seat. Irli gave me nothing but a split second of a smile, her stamp of approval.
I stared out over the growing crowd, at the array of colors and fabrics that came from every corner of the realm.
The number of people streaming in slowed to a trickle, the center of the room quickly filling with couples dancing to the orchestra’s music.
Keeping my face soft was a fight. I had a feeling I looked constipated.
Cal pushed back from his seat, righting his surcoat before he extended a hand in my direction. “Dance with me, Petra.”
I raised a brow. “The world is on the brink of burning to the ground.”
“All the more reason to dance with me before it does.”
I didn’t want to dance. I wanted to yell. I wanted to rage. I wanted to sweep every table setting from its place, smash every instrument playing that irritating melody, undo all of Irli’s hard work and tell everyone to take me seriously .
But seeing Cal’s hand reaching for me, the dimple marking his cheek as he smiled… It did something to my insides. With a deep sigh, I took his hand and let him lead me down the dais.
“I can’t dance,” I said as we settled into a spot toward the outside of the crowd, his free hand falling to my waist.
“Neither can I.”
His forehead dropped to mine, and we simply swayed back and forth.
Other couples moved around us, their footwork and spinning evidence of extensive training.
My midnight-black gown was like a magnet, attracting the attention of everyone around us, but I didn’t care.
The orchestra’s pace was quick, the melody jumpy and joyful, but we swayed to a song the orchestra wasn’t playing.
We swayed to a song only the two of us could hear.
“You were right,” he murmured in my ear. “I do like this dress. ”
He pulled away for a moment, raising his hand to spin me. And despite the white-knuckled anticipation still roiling through me, I threw my head back and laughed as I twirled, the movement nowhere near as graceful as those around us.
My laugh died in my throat when I remembered this was temporary.
I settled back in Cal’s arms, my hands against his chest. “This is nice,” I breathed, but the words were mangled as they caught in my throat.
Cal’s thumb hooked my chin, pulling my face to his. “Hey,” he said, swiping away the errant tear rolling down my cheek. “We will have this again, you know.”
“What, the opportunity to sway off-beat in the middle of a crowded ballroom?” I asked, desperately trying to infuse humor in my voice.
“No. You and me, at peace. But it’ll be for more than one minute next time.”
“Cal, there’s a very real chance that we all die on that battlefield, wherever it is. I can almost guarantee it.”
He backed up, extending his arm to give me a twirl again, a short reprieve from the intensity of his stare. “Maybe so,” he continued as he pulled me back toward him. “But if I die on that battlefield, my mind will be right here, with you tucked close to me in our own little world.”
I breathed him in, his smoke and cedar scent wrapping around me. “My mind will be in the house you built me.”
His gemstone eyes gleamed, his smile blindingly bright as he pulled me even closer. “I’ll meet you there.”
I leaned my forehead against his chest, savoring the way I could feel his heart beating. “I love you,” I whispered.
He pressed a kiss to my hair. “I love you,” he said, and goose bumps rose across my skin. “Are you ready for tonight?”
“Ready to shove proof in the faces of everyone who doubted me?” I swallowed hard, letting my anger flare again. “Yes, I’m ready. ”
“That’s my fuckin’ girl,” he laughed.
I beamed up at him. Soon, dinner would be served and my plate would go untouched as the sound of silverware clinked around the ballroom.
Then, King Laion would call everyone outside to the gardens for entertainment as he’d phrased it, and I’d call the drivas.
They were going to scare the ever-loving shit out of everyone, and I couldn’t fucking wait. I just had to make it through dinner.
“Excuse me, King Belin,” a gruff voice sounded from behind me.
“King Laion, Queen Irli,” Cal said with a curt nod, his face hardening when he saw King Laion and Queen Irli waiting expectantly.
While Irli’s lips were turned up in a demure smile, Laion looked uncomfortable, his jaw tight as he looked right past me. “Would you mind if I stole Queen Petra away for a dance?”
Cal raised a single brow. “She’s right here, is she not? You can ask her yourself.”
Laion’s face scrunched for a split second, his lip twitching as his eyes moved begrudgingly to me. “Queen Petra, may I have this dance?”
What the fuck? I stepped away from Cal, the two of us sharing a look that lasted a fraction of a second yet conveyed every bit of confusion. The last thing I wanted to do was dance with Laion, but I pasted a smile on my face. “Sure.”
Cal extended his hand to Irli, a polite smile on his face, trying his best to make it appear as if he knew how to dance. Then they were gone, swallowed by the crowd, and it was just me and King Laion and the ice-cold tension between us.
One of his hands reached for mine and his other settled gingerly on my waist, making as little contact as possible — something I was very, very grateful for.
And then we were spinning, Laion taking the lead as we joined the crowd of partygoers.
My steps were awkward as I stumbled to the music, but Laion was surprisingly quick on his feet, the only reason we moved with the crowd with something akin to ease.
“It is customary for the King and Queen to dance with the guests of honor,” he grumbled in explanation, his eyes looking anywhere but at me.
“Don’t worry, King Laion,” I mumbled, keeping my face neutral. “This is just as uncomfortable for me as it is for you.”
“Well, Queen Petra, you’ll come to find there are many uncomfortable things that come with wearing a crown.”
“I’m no stranger to discomfort, your Majesty.”
“Maybe not, but you are a stranger to the weight of a crown on your head.” His words were spoken so sharply they were like fangs, the venom entering my bloodstream immediately and making me feel small.
Why was he so Saints damned hateful? I was here trying to do the right thing, trying to round up a force strong enough so that the realm didn’t have to simply lay down and burn.
My teeth gnawed at the inside of my cheek, trying to think of something to fill the silence. “You grew up here in Araqina, yes?”
“I have no interest in entertaining the questions of an Astranian.”
I reared back, a humorless laugh escaping me as I stared at him. “Are you kidding me? You know, I may not have grown up with much in the way of an education and my manners may not be up to royal standards, but at least I know how to speak to people.” Sometimes , but I kept that part to myself.
“You haven’t been royalty for long, so allow me to share a piece of wisdom. As royalty, you cannot be afraid to step on toes. I do not have time to entertain the frivolous questions of a foreign queen.”
He intended to make me feel small. He intended to keep me one step beneath him, one peg below him. And I wouldn’t fucking let him .
“Well, King Laion,” I started. “I don’t plan to step on any toes.
I plan to stomp on the neck of the one who is the reason we’re here in the first place.
I suggest you don’t get in my way, because I have no problem stomping on yours, too.
” Disdain hardened his features as the orchestra’s melody began to slow, coming to a stop.
“And it would do you well to remember I am not royalty. I am divinity. If you ever need a reminder, I won’t hesitate to provide one. ”
His jaw ticked as we stepped away from each other and I turned to find Cal. But my search was cut short when an ear-piercing scream cut through the air, followed by the all too familiar sound of the Occulti.