Page 38 of Enchanted Shadows (The Enchanted Kingdom #6)

The entire room drank and cheered for the women.

By the time we got back down to the ballroom floor, the dancing had started up.

Team One was taking it upon themselves to pair up, dance with, and protect the women.

I wasn’t sure from what, but I was going to back off and let both enjoy themselves for this night.

I moved through the crowd for the team. This team of women who had annoyed me at every turn. I was finally about to have a break from them, and I found myself wanting to do nothing other than be with them for one last night.

I moved to stand next to my wife, my hand going to the small of her back.

“Commander,” she greeted, her smile full of mockery.

“Princess,” I responded back sweetly.

I should’ve been more surprised by the fact that I had walked into a conversation about bosoms. Sam, Molly, and Wren were in a heated debate about which design of their black gowns was most comfortable for their top portions.

“ Never strapless,” Molly said vehemently.

“That’s only because you have enough to topple out of,” Sam argued. “Mine hugs me just fine with no risk of exposure.” She pinned her eyes on me. “What about you?”

“My bosom is decidedly different. ”

Emric walked up to talk to me, but also soon found what the argument was over and looked like he wanted to back away.

“You could bounce a coin off those pecs,” Sam muttered to Molly.

“Ladies,” I warned.

“Your bosom is top notch, Commander,” Sam said. “That’s all.”

“Sam!” Kessara exclaimed.

Sam turned toward her and gave her a smart look. “Tell me I’m wrong, Kessara.”

Kessara took that opportunity to take a long pull from her drink.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Sam repeated.

“You aren’t wrong,” Kessara whisper yelled. “Just not sure we should really talk about our commander like that. I’m married to him, and I don’t even talk about him like that.”

“You legally can gawk all you want, though,” Sam offered.

“Ladies,” I groaned.

“You,” Sam snapped, changing her attention immediately and pointing at Emric.

“Yes?” Emric responded innocently.

“You are not a woman, but if you were, which dress option do you think would be best? The commander here is out on the strapless option.”

Emric put his hands in the air. “I know nothing of bosoms.”

“I highly doubt that ,” Molly argued. “Didn’t you read the book I lent you?”

“Come on, Whitman,” Sam urged. “We have four different styles. Which boulder holder are you drawn to?”

Emric gestured with his head toward Molly. “Hers. Happy?”

Sam groaned while Molly put her drink in the air in celebration.

“Can we not talk about bosoms anymore?” I asked them .

Sam headed for the dance floor, “Tonight is all about bosoms, Commander. In case you missed the memo.”

I turned to Emric to find out what he had originally needed, but his eyes were fixed on Molly.

“Thank you,” she told him. “Would you like to dance? Or are you afraid of my bosom?”

“I would,” he agreed, holding out his arm for her. “I find your bosom... tenebrous?”

I tried to keep it in, I really did. But instead, I found myself laughing. Hard. Emric and that damn word. It appeared Molly was who he was referencing earlier in the hall. I knew he was due to return to Dra Skor with Keir and Esta, and I wondered how that would affect his feelings for her.

I was going to have to cut back on having him help with training if he and Molly got serious. Then again, I was already married to one of the women, so was I really one to talk?

As I stood there laughing, Kessara shook her head at me. “Have you been hitting the whiskey without me?”

“No,” I laughed. “I told you, we need to stay sharp. I just—” I turned us, taking in the dance floor. So many faces I knew well. So many people in this room I trusted. “It’s a good day. I’m happy.”

“You’re stuck with me for your thirty days off and you’re happy about this?”

I shot her a slow grin. “There are worse ways to spend it than with a princess in my bed.”

The dance floor transitioned to a Nerede dance. Elsie and Remy were squealing with excitement, grabbing random guards for it.

“Shall we, wife?”

She pulled me toward the dance floor but said, “Sometimes I want to punch you, you know that?”

I pulled her in close and added at a whisper. “Make it count. ”

She muttered, “I so wish I would’ve hidden my dagger in this dress; I thought about it.”

“That’s not very princess like,” I chided.

“Don’t act like it doesn’t excite you,” she fired right back. Then as if realizing she was flirting with me, she demanded, “Shut up and dance with me.”

So I did. Dance after dance. I told myself we had to, for appearances.

But if I stilled long enough to really think about it, I knew I liked the feel of Kessara’s hand in mine, the feel of her body next to mine.

She was my wife. And we’d been married out of necessity, a blockade against Calix trying to marry her, but the fact remained that she was my wife .

That meant something to me. More than I was willing to admit.

We stayed until the Slay Sisters had gone back to their rooms. I trusted most of the teams present, but I also wanted to make sure everyone left safely. I was going to need them all back and ready to go in thirty days, just after the holidays.

“I’m so glad we don’t have to be up early,” Kessara yawned.

“Me too,” I told her. Miles was walking behind us, making sure we made it upstairs and then he was finally done for the night. “But don’t be too surprised if a young prince or two wakes us. I promised them I would spend some time with them tomorrow.”

“You’re good with kids,” she told me as we turned the corner. “And though you did try to get us all to quit for the first week, you were a pretty good general too.”

“Is that a compliment, honey?”

“A backhanded one, yes.”

I laughed as I moved us toward the elevator, but as I did, I felt and saw Kessara’s gold magic flare.

I turned toward her. “Kess?”

One moment she was there, the next, she was gone.