CHAPTER 10
THE AUTUMNAL BALL
– Caldris Historical Record, Vol. II
Kara had slept terribly – replaying the conversation with Sebastian over and over again. What she could have said differently. Done differently. The sting from his words hadn’t dulled.
She hated this.
It had been four days.
Only four days since she’d met Sebastian Thorne, and now she couldn’t get him out of her head.
She told herself that their magic responding to each other didn’t mean anything.
Didn’t mean that they were compatible. But with every denial, something fluttered uncomfortably in her chest. The day passed in a fog of dread, but as the sun began to set, she could delay no longer.
She had to dress for the Ball. A gown had already been picked out for her – beautiful, she’d admit that much – a satin, floor-length gown of deep green that hugged her curves, shimmering as she moved.
She’d braided her waist-length dark hair with gold thread, the plait falling over her shoulder, not really listening as her mother chattered excitedly about the guests.
Everyone would be there – delegates and families, all the Lords and Ladies, Vallenna’s nobility.
People of prominence and influence; people she was expected to impress.
Kara smiled, nodded. Said all the right things.
But inside, she was a mess. Her engagement to Henry would be announced tonight, and she’d be handed over like a prized valmare in front of everyone.
That’s how Sebastian would find out. What would he say?
Would he mock her? Be angry? Say nothing?
I could run.
All day she’d thought about it. Mounting Whisper and riding away. Once, even imagining Sebastian beside her.
Stop it. He’s probably not thinking about you at all.
Not long after dusk, the knock came at her door.
“They’re ready,” her mother said.
Kara took one last glance in the mirror – she looked exactly how she was meant to look – unmistakably Hale, flawless, composed. And completely miserable inside.
She walked with a crowd of delegates, her mother by her side.
The Autumnal Ball was the biggest celebration of the year – held in the Unity Ballroom, Vallenna’s oldest and finest establishment in the city.
It was undeniably grand – all polished stone and crystal, the three moons and more stars than Kara could count visible through the domed glass ceiling, strung lanterns casting golden light across marble floors.
The room was packed when Kara entered. Alive with music.
She was immediately swept into conversations she wasn’t listening to.
People congratulated her, pushed sparkling wine into her hands.
But she hardly heard a word. Tasted nothing.
She was too busy scanning the room. And just when she was starting to worry that he wasn’t coming–
There you are.
Sebastian was leaning casually against one of the pillars across the crowd, expression disinterested. Dressed in a black tunic trimmed with crimson and silver, hair pulled back in a leather tie. She hadn’t seen him wear it like that before – it highlighted his infuriatingly perfect jawline.
Well, that’s just not fair.
His ice-blue eyes met hers and her heart beat a little faster, a flush creeping up her cheeks.
You are about to be engaged. Stop this right now.
She was the heir to House Hale, for Gods’ sake, not some silly apprentice at her first spring festival.
And yet here she was staring at the one man whom her father most certainly wouldn’t approve of.
Kara pulled her gaze away from him. Crossed to the other side of the room – towards the group of Caldris delegates – looking to Henry instead.
He was standing with Oryen, deep in conversation, his blonde hair neatly swept back, his blue tunic and white cloak elegant in a way that made her think of calm waters.
He was good-looking. In a soft-around-the-edges way.
She wished it was enough.
Still, when he caught sight of her, he smiled warmly.
“Kara,” he said, stepping towards her. “You look... radiant.”
She smiled, grateful for the kindness in his tone, but she could see it in his eyes – he didn’t feel it either.
“Thank you.”
Henry offered her his arm, and she took it.
She could do this. She had to. The night unfolded with proper conversations and carefully chosen words.
Kara danced once or twice, smiled when expected, and laughed politely at Lord Galen Caldris’s quite frankly terrible jokes.
Though Henry and he looked similar, both with the same neat blonde hair and pale eyes, Galen was loud where Henry was quiet, boisterous where he was gentle.
Friendly, certainly, but Kara found him a bit much.
All too soon, the music slowed and conversations hushed as her father climbed onto the stage, Henry’s father in close step behind him.
Her father raised a hand and the room quieted.
“Honoured guests,” Alaric began, his voice commanding but warm, “tonight we gather to celebrate the strength and unity of Vallenna, as demonstrated beautifully in this year’s Arcalon. But we must also look to the future.”
Kara fought the urge to run from the room. This was it. Her mother squeezed her hand, but Kara couldn’t look at her.
“I am proud to share that two of Vallenna’s finest will soon be joined in marriage. A match between my daughter, Karalynna Hale,” Alaric said.
It’s actually happening.
“And Henry Caldris.”
The world spun around her. Her hands went numb. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think of anything except–
Sebastian knows.
Applause rose around them – swelling as guests nodded and smiled in approval. Everyone was staring at her. She had to move, play to the crowd. It was expected. So Kara stepped forward, Henry at her side. He offered her his hand with quiet grace.
She took it. It was steady in hers. Not fire, not lightning – just steady. Lord Caldris turned to the crowd, beaming, but it was Henry who spoke.
“We’re honoured by your support,” he said, voice clear and calm. “This marriage is about more than us. It’s a promise to Vallenna’s future. And... I couldn’t be happier.”
He looked at Kara as he said it, his smile soft, genuine. But she saw it: a moment of doubt before his smile returned.
He deserves more than this. We both do.
Kara could feel Sebastian’s stare from across the room. She fixed her gaze on the polished marble floor; every instinct of self-preservation willing her not to look. Her vision actually blurred with the effort.
Don’t look, for the love of the Four. Do. Not. Look.
She looked.
Sebastian’s eyes were on her. She’d known they would be.
But his face was blank. No expression. No reaction.
As if she were no one at all. She would rather he’d mocked her.
Raged. Anything but that emptiness. But she couldn’t leave, couldn’t show it.
She had to play the good little heir. The happy bride-to-be.
Even if it broke her. Desperate, she reached with her Lyran instincts, trying to feel past her own turmoil, past the crowd’s tide of emotion.
Nothing. Too many people. Her own emotions too loud.
If Sebastian felt something, she didn’t find it.
Or maybe he just didn’t care.
The rest of the night was full of warm congratulations, first from Oryen, then Morra and so many others. Everyone seemed content to talk of weddings; flowers, food, colour schemes. Would it be held in Hale or Caldris? So many questions Kara couldn’t answer.
Her father could, though. “It will be held in Hale, of course,” he boomed to one group. “The preparations are already being made. It will be before the end of this Fire Cycle.”
Sienna, however, didn’t congratulate her. She approached her quietly, expression full of concern. “Are you okay?”
She was the only one who’d asked that question.
“Not really,” she admitted. “But I will be.”
Sienna hugged her tightly. And as she did, Sebastian stole into the corridor outside.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” she said and followed him out.
Kara found him in one of the empty hallways off the ballroom. It was dimly lit and lined with old Council portraits. He didn’t turn at the sound of her footsteps.
“Sebastian!” she called.
He kept walking.
“Sebastian, wait!”
He turned reluctantly to face her as she caught up.
“Are you leaving?” she asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business what I’m doing,” he said bluntly, “but I’ll be gone by morning.”
Her heart dropped. “Where are you going?”
“Does it matter? Away from here. Away from...” He gestured vaguely back towards the hall.
Me?
“I wanted to say–” she began, but he cut her off.
“I suppose I should say congratulations, Lady Hale.” His voice was acid. “Looks like your father does approve of something. Even if it is books over bravery.”
Kara balked at the bite in his tone. “Sebastian, I–I wanted to say I’m sorry. About last night – I never meant–” The words tumbled out, messy and raw. “I never meant to hurt you.”
He stared at her, his face giving nothing away.
“Hurt me?” And to her horror, he laughed. The sound was hollow, almost cruel. She stepped back, unsure. “Don’t flatter yourself, Kara,” he scoffed. “I was just curious about the magic. You didn’t think there was anything else to it, did you?”
She tried again with emotion magic, to see behind the damn mask he wore. To prove he was lying. This time, alone in the empty hallway, his emotions slammed into her.
Fury. Unyielding, searing fury.
She flinched in spite of herself. He noticed. And in that instant, she swore she would never reach for him with that magic again. Not if it meant feeling this.
“Whatever you thought you saw in me,” he said, “you were wrong.”
“I–”
“If I gave you a reason to think otherwise, I regret it.”
“N–no,” she lied, her voice thin. “Of course I didn’t. I just... I needed to know there hadn’t been a... misunderstanding.”
His eyes narrowed. “No, I understand you now – loud and clear.”
Heat prickled in her face. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Henry Caldris? Really?” He scoffed. “Soft hands. Softer spine. But at least the perfect Hale girl has her future secured.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shot back.
“Don’t I?”
“You think this is what I wanted?” she snapped, but her voice broke – more plea than accusation.
“Maybe not. But a safe, steady Caldris? Very predictable, Kara.”
How dare he?
“Better steady than someone who hides behind his blade – too afraid to feel anything real.”
The words ripped out of her before she could stop them. He looked as if she’d struck him, hurt blazing in his eyes before he locked it down. Regret crashed in instantly – she wanted to snatch the words back. But the damage was done.
His anger flared, hotter than before. “Hale has never respected Thorne. What we do, what we endure, to keep Vallenna safe–”
“That’s not–”
“–you thank us by looking down on us for getting our hands dirty–”
“I didn’t mean–”
“We’re too violent. Too accepting of death. We know what you think of us.”
“No! I don’t see you like that–”
Not anymore.
“I am like that,” he raged.
“You know that’s not what I meant–”
“I thought you were different, Kara.”
He started to turn away, but she grabbed his arm on pure instinct. “Sebastian, don’t walk away from me again. Not like this.”
He looked down at her hand on his arm, then back to her face. Something raw flashed in his expression.
“Why, Kara?” he asked. “It’s like you said. Hales and Thornes don’t mix.”
Kara stared at him. She opened her mouth with no idea what she was going to say, but – too late.
He pulled his arm away and stalked into the night, leaving her standing alone for the second time in two days.
Silent tears fell thick and fast and she threw herself into a small room off the corridor behind her, out of sight.
Once she was safely inside, she began to sob in earnest. They were the kind she couldn’t have muffled if she tried.
She hated him – and she hated herself more for wishing he’d stayed.
Footsteps approached from the corridor. Light, hesitant, and familiar. The door creaked open.
Sienna.
She didn’t say anything at first, just sat beside her and offered a clean handkerchief. Kara took it with shaking fingers.
“You care about him,” Sienna said gently. It wasn’t a question.
Kara dabbed the cloth on her face. “Don’t.”
“I’m not judging you.”
Kara’s voice cracked, quiet but certain. “Yeah. I care about him. More than I should. I–” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him.”
Sienna’s expression softened, but Kara pressed on, “I can’t, Sienna, I can’t feel this way,” she cried desperately. “And he doesn’t.” She buried her face in her hands.
“He does. I saw it during the trials.”
“No, it wasn’t like that – he said–”
“Kara.” Sienna pulled her hands from her face. “I felt it – his emotions. In the Fire Trial, when you went into that burning house, he was terrified for you.”
Kara’s breath caught. She wanted to believe that, but she forced the hope down. “That doesn’t mean anything. He’s trained to protect people.”
Sienna shook her head. “And tonight – after the engagement was announced – he was careful with his face, I’ll give him that, but his feelings? They were screaming at me. That wasn’t training. That was you.”
Kara swallowed hard. “What did you feel? Exactly?”
Sienna hesitated. “Pain. Sadness. It hurt just to sense it. Then everything went cold. Furious.”
Oh Gods.
More tears spilled down Kara’s cheeks. Sienna squeezed her hand lightly. “If he says he doesn’t care, he’s lying.”
Kara was silent for a long time. When she finally spoke, her voice was raw. “They can’t matter – these feelings. They – they can’t. I’m engaged.”
“You don’t have to go through with it,” Sienna whispered.
It was na?ve of Sienna to think that. But she had choices Kara never would.
“Yes, I do.”
Sienna squeezed her hand tightly, her silence saying more than words.