Chapter 38 A Birthday Surprise
A Birthday Surprise
When they returned to the castle, Fiza helped her dress and took more care than usual to do her hair and face paint.
Elizabeth let her curl and style her hair, content to sit in silence, her thoughts occupied.
When she looked up, she hardly recognized the woman in front of her.
Her hair had been swept up and out of her face, and several honey blonde waves cascaded down artfully.
Rouge adorned her cheeks and lips, and face paint made her eyes appear large and doe-like, but it wasn’t overly done.
On the bed was the off-the-shoulder, silvery blue ball gown she had worn when she had first met Caspian. The bodice was beaded and glinted in the light, with pale blue tulle skirts embroidered with hundreds of tiny crystals that were invisible until the light hit them.
A dress for balls and shaking hands with the most important nobles in the realm.
A different life.
Fiza helped her lace up the back, and Elizabeth stood in front of the mirror.
She looked like the woman she had left behind in Rhodea.
Elizabeth glanced at Fiza suspiciously, wondering why she had set aside this particular gown for tonight. Fiza offered her nothing but the barest of smiles and didn’t offer matching jewellery, leaving her throat and wrists bare.
A knock sounded at the door, causing her to jolt in surprise.
Caspian was there in a midnight-blue suit jacket, holding a bouquet of inky black poppies. His pocket square was a pale blue that coordinated with the lightest colour of her dress.
They were a matched pair tonight. Her pulse quickened with unease. Didn’t he usually feed from her wrists or her throat? What was going on?
Wordlessly, Caspian held out his arm.
She raised an eyebrow at him in question, but he gave no explanation for the evening’s mystery and proffered his arm once more.
He escorted her to the entrance of the castle, where she was certain they were about to leave and attend a formal function somewhere else. But then he turned and led her further into the bowels of the castle.
She didn’t recognize where they were at first, but then she saw the large, gold-painted doors and knew exactly where they were.
These were the doors to the ballroom, the one she had been told not to enter under any circumstances.
Caspian wordlessly held the door open for her, waiting for her to go first. She cringed as she passed through the threshold, wondering what awaited her on the other side.
She blinked in surprise.
The ballroom had been cleaned—the floors and bannisters gleamed, and elaborate gold and crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead.
The golden bannisters on the landing gave way to a curving staircase that led them to the floor below.
An entire wall was composed of high-arched windows with dark curtains swept to the side, revealing the setting sun over the mountains.
“Wait here,” Caspian murmured. He descended to the black marble floor below.
He looked up at her expectantly, waiting. His eyes brightened as he took in the view of her standing at the top of the staircase with her hand resting gently on the banister.
Suddenly nervous, she felt naked and vulnerable, despite the fact that she had done this many times before. Holding her head high, she gave the room a closed-lipped smile and gracefully lifted her skirts with one hand. She descended the stairs with her eyes on the man waiting for her below.
Her heeled slippers echoed off the polished dark marble as she strode across the floor towards him.
Caspian walked slowly, as if approaching her in a dream. “Lady Elizabeth Ashcroft,” he said, his voice deeper than usual. He bowed low, greeting her surprisingly formally, and held out his hand.
“Hello, Caspian,” she said, narrowing her gaze in suspicion.
He lifted her fingers to his lips, all the while maintaining eye contact.
He smirked, a man confident of the effect he was summoning. The bastard was right, though; his smirk and undivided attention made her heart flutter.
Caspian gestured to the center of the floor, where two chairs and a small table waited for them. As he pulled out her chair, she smoothed her skirts under her and sat down. Elizabeth wrinkled her brow in confusion at the rare display of manners.
He poured wine for them both from two separate bottles. Hers was wine. She was fairly sure his was not.
A servant approached, holding a large velvet box.
“A gift,” Caspian said quietly, and she glanced between him and the velvet box.
The servant opened it, and Elizabeth’s jaw fell open.
Nestled in the velvet box were not dark gems like the ones often favoured here, but the most beautiful pale blue gems she had ever seen—a blue so pale, they looked like sparkling drops of ice. There was a necklace of blue gems, ringed with diamonds, and two matching eardrops.
They were fit for a queen and matched her colouring and dress perfectly.
“Are you pleased?” he asked her. His expression was wooden, but he leaned forward as if the answer was important.
“Yes! Of course. That’s very kind of you, thank you. But may I ask … why the gift?”
His eyes crinkled in amusement. “Is it not … your birthday?”
She swallowed, surprised he had sought out this information, or deemed it important. “It is.”
“Then birthday blessings to you,” he raised his glass in a toast to her, smiling. His teeth were tinged red, the only imperfection to his beautiful face. A subtle reminder of what he was.
Words failed her as Caspian took a sip out of his goblet, set it down, and rose to help her put on the necklace. His hands made quick work of the clasp, and his fingers brushed her collarbone as he withdrew.
She fixed the eardrops onto her lobes and touched the sparkling gems at her throat. “I love them. Thank you again.”
Caspian surveyed her intently as he said, “I notice you do not like the dark colours favoured in Arboras.”
She hesitated, not wanting to offend him.
He waited, unflinching and unsurprised. For once, she decided on blunt honesty. “I find them depressing. I like to feel more … pretty and lighthearted.”
“Then wear whatever you like,” he said simply.
Elizabeth frowned, wondering why he had tasked Fiza to dress her in this particular gown tonight. She fiddled with the beading on the bodice and waited for him to say something, but he only nodded at the servants.
An elaborate meal of venison steak and steamed potatoes and vegetables was placed before her.
As he had done once before, Caspian had a plate set in front of him as well with what looked like barely cooked steak, a single, small potato, and a garnish.
He cut the meat lightly and pushed the garnish around on his plate.
They ate in silence, but it was a comfortable one.
The sounds of a violin and piano began to play delicately in the background.
She glanced up. “There’s music playing,” she breathed.
It was beautiful. She turned and saw several musicians playing in the corner.
He grinned, a wide smile that showed his teeth. “Yes, apparently demons can’t play music for shit—I had to outsource.”
“You surprise me,” she said, her face nearly hurting from smiling so much. “Tell me, where did those stones come from? I’ve never seen their like. I’ve never even read about them.”
Caspian tilted his head, his expression amused. “Oh, I’m glad you asked. They’re called ice diamonds. They are only mined in the furthest reaches of the Winterlands and extremely dangerous to get to.”
“Why are they so dangerous?” she asked curiously, leaning forward in her seat.
She fiddled with the largest pendant in her fingers. It was a beautiful gemstone, but it didn’t look any more dangerous to mine than any other stone would be.
“Because they are only found in the deepest ice caves. Hundreds of leagues into the caves and deep underground. Many miners have died trying to find them.”
“Have you been in one? An ice cave?”
“I’ve been in one when it caved in, actually. If I weren’t skilled at magic, I wouldn’t have survived.”
She smiled warmly, propping her chin on her hand. “What did you do?”
“I blasted away the larger chunks of ice and enveloped my body in a shield so it wouldn't be crushed by the debris raining down.”
His eyes brightened as he realized she was listening to him with rapt attention, and he swiftly launched into the tale.
“Shards of ice as big as my forearm, sharp like daggers, and raining down all around! I had to nearly exhaust my powers to keep myself warm in the cold and to shield myself from impact. Once the dust settled, I blasted my way back out, manifested my wings, and took off. I made it to the nearest town and had to sleep for a week to recover.”
“Your wings?” she asked sharply. “You have wings like Asmodeus?”
He paused, hesitation crossing his features. “Yes.”
“I’d like to see them sometime.”
He humoured her with a smile.
“What were you doing in the ice caves?” she asked, curious.
“Well, ice caves are incredible if you’ve never seen them.
The sun on the ice makes the caves look like they’re glowing from within.
You can easily get lost if you don't know where you are. I was after the ice diamonds; they’re worth a fortune.
I was travelling with a mining group and had snuck away, trying to make off in the middle of the night with all the diamonds we’d collected.
I wanted to steal them and keep the profits to myself. ”
She wrinkled her nose. “That’s horrible.”
“Yes, I was a bad lad. Perhaps the mountain knew.” He chuckled. “Anyways, these were bought, purchased properly. I didn’t steal them.”
“Law-abiding behaviour? From you, Caspian? What would your friends say?” she teased.
Caspian lowered his voice and said with a conspiratorial grin, “Best you not tell them.”
She laughed outright.
“And you? Do tell me something positively devilish you have done.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at her, waiting.