Page 57

Clarissa

T onight was my first ball.

It felt strange to say, considering I was technically the heir to the Veridian Empire.

In another life, I would’ve grown up attending balls, galas, and fancy dinners with silverware more expensive than a small house.

But up until eight and a half months ago, I was more used to dirty leggings and daggers than gowns and slippers.

I savored any reason to get dressed up, and tonight felt like the first time in a while that it was okay to be excited.

Giddy, even. Getting to laugh with Rose as Katrine and Devora helped us with our hair in my large suite, picking out beautiful dresses and putting on far too much makeup while we sipped sparkling wine and watched Mother try to teach Leo how to dance properly.

Rose kept tickling the underside of his tail to distract him, and he’d step on his own feet or crash into the couch.

Eventually, he whipped away from Mother, grabbed Rose and hauled her over his shoulder, then threw her onto my bed before going back to his lesson.

Katrine nearly had a fit over Rose’s messed-up curls, but the rest of us were laughing too hard to care.

Things felt right. Normal .

And I welcomed the distraction from the ache in my chest that hadn’t disappeared since this afternoon. I knew going to the cliffs with Thorne was a bad idea, but I wasn’t prepared for how much having everything I could ever want in that little alcove would crush me.

I slipped into my gown behind the partition in the bathing chamber, and my shoulders sagged when I shifted the fabric on my hips.

I remembered the way his hands felt there.

I bit down on my bottom lip and could still feel his teeth dragging against them, the memory both heating my skin and causing my heart to constrict.

“Do you need help tying up the back, Your Majesty?” Devora asked as she walked around the partition.

I cleared my throat and nodded. Her steady hands made their way up the intricate laces of the back.

It was a beautiful sleeveless gown the color of dark rubies at the bust, then fading into an ivory at the bottom.

Red gems and pearls dotted the full tulle skirt, while the top half was made of a soft satin that clung to my chest. While Devora worked, I pulled on a pair of matching red gloves that came up to my elbow.

I took one look at them in the mirror and instantly tugged them off.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No, I just…I’m not a fan of gloves,” I said. She averted her gaze from mine when I tried to smile at her, then tapped my shoulder to indicate she was done.

“You look beautiful,” she said softly, taking in the dress and my hair that she’d pulled into an elegant knot at the back of my head. Several curls hung loose to frame my face.

I reached out and grabbed her hand. “Are you alright? You’ve been quiet lately.” I’d noticed she’d taken to hanging back while Katrine chatted away with us at all hours of the day, the mischievous girl from the beginning of the tour now hidden behind a cloud.

“I haven’t been feeling well.” She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry about me—you’re going to knock them dead tonight.” She finally gave me a grin, then clamped her lips shut. “Poor choice of words. For the record, I’m pro-nobody being knocked dead.”

I snorted. “There she is,” I said. “I’m also pro-nobody dying. Well, I could take or leave Lord Penworth.”

A noise of disgust sounded in the back of her throat. “He’s the worst. I saw him kick his page yesterday for bringing the wrong carriage around.”

“Fates, what a miserable man. I hope his bed is always lumpy.”

“I hope his bed is always empty .”

I chuckled as Devora’s grin broadened. “Thank you, Devora. I needed that. I hope you start feeling better soon.”

Her face quickly fell before she righted it again and nodded. “Come on, you don’t want to be late to the ball.”

“An empress is never late,” I said, shooting her a wink. “Everyone else is simply early.”

I had to grudgingly admit that the Penworths knew how to host a ball.

Given that the South Territory was known for its jewel mines, the entire ballroom was decorated in shimmering, dazzling gemstones.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were all silver, while every piece of decoration in sight was covered in jewels.

The wine glasses, the serving trays, the candelabras.

All dotted with hundreds of miniscule stones.

Anytime the candlelight caught one, it glittered and cast its refracted light onto the nearest silver surface, and before long, the ballroom was lit like a rainbow.

Galen waited for me at the bottom of the grand staircase, looking as handsome as ever in his navy-blue suit, the official color of Mysthelm.

His jacket even bore its crest—a tree with four branches and a sword and sickle crossed at the trunk.

He’d switched out his black leather gloves for a pair of dark brown, and they felt like silk when I took his outstretched hand .

“You’re radiant tonight,” he said, bowing low. “May I have the first dance?”

I nodded. He led me past a tabletop fountain of pink wine with jewels lining the outer rims, and several tables full of more plates of food than I could count. Sweet, heavy scents of chocolate and cream wafted to me, along with a salty hint of breads and meats.

On the furthest side of the circular ballroom, near a pair of double doors that led to a balcony, was a string quartet playing a smooth, lively song.

Couples flew across the dance floor. The sounds of glasses clinking and heels clacking against the floor made my lips tilt into a smile as I watched the guests enjoying themselves.

The song ended, and a moment later, the band struck up a slower ballad. Galen faced me and placed a hand on my hip, and I couldn’t help but scan his arm for any sign of exposed skin. I put one hand on his shoulder, and he grabbed the other, and we fell into step with the other couples.

The space between us was strained and awkward.

I tried not to think about Thorne. About how mere hours ago he had me pushed against the wet stone wall.

How I now knew exactly how the column of his throat felt beneath my lips, or how his shirt had looked clinging to his skin, with droplets of water falling from his beard.

“So how was your day at the cliffs?” Galen asked after a long moment of silence.

I cleared my throat. “It was fine. You’re right—they’re very beautiful.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t go. Maybe next time.”

“How was your meeting with Lord Penworth?”

He sighed. “It was about what I expected. Him complaining about all of the things I haven’t been doing that he’s had to take on for his territory.

Budget constraints, amendments he wants made to Mysthelm’s ordinances, things like that.

I’m thirty-two years old, and he talks to me like I’m a child.

” His grip on my left hand tightened. “It doesn’t help that they’ve all watched me grow up.

I just want to prove I’m more than these last eight months have shown them. ”

I gave him a placating smile. “You will, as long as you don’t give up and get so in your head about it.”

“You make all of this look easy, you know that?”

I scoffed. “If by hiding behind you and your guards for the past three days to avoid someone trying to kill me again is ‘making it look easy,’ then sure, it’s a breeze.”

“You’re not hiding . You’re staying safe. Protected.”

“Now you sound like Thorne.”

“Well, he has become the rational one of the three of us. As long as you’re over here plotting ways to use yourself as bait for potentially nonexistent Shifter assassins, I’m happy to sound like him.”

I rolled my eyes. “You two are no fun.”

The humor slipped from his face as his eyes fell to my elbow, then up to where our hands met. He twisted the engagement ring on my finger with his thumb. My arm involuntarily flinched at the movement.

“Really, Clarissa. Promise me you won’t try to draw them out? I don’t—I can’t risk something happening to you. Not before we’re married.”

The easy banter we’d fallen into dissipated in the blink of an eye. I dropped my arms to my sides, my body heating for an entirely different reason than it did with Thorne.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty,” I said coldly. “I’ll be sure to keep myself perfectly intact. What good am I if I can’t save you?”

His eyes widened. “No, Clarissa, that’s not what I meant.” I shook my head and turned to walk away, but he grabbed my hand. “Please, let me?—”

I yanked my arm away, then looked around the crowded ballroom and schooled my features. I didn’t want to cause a scene, but I also didn’t want to be around him.

He furrowed his brow and took a step toward me, reaching for me again. This time, however, he didn’t get the chance to touch me.

A hand landed on his shoulder.

“Is there a problem?” Thorne asked, his voice low and with a hint of danger.

Galen straightened his jacket. “No, Thorne. Just trying to talk to my fiancée.”

My cheek twitched at the word. “We have nothing more to talk about. You should make your rounds, Galen. Your people are expecting you.”

He let out a noise of impatience. “You’re being difficult. If you would just let me explain?—”

“You don’t need to explain. I understood you perfectly,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “I know what my value is to you. What my purpose is. Let’s not pretend this has to be anything more.”

He looked like he was about to argue when a messenger approached. “Your Majesty, a letter has arrived for you from Palace Grimaldi.” He held out a silver platter with a folded piece of parchment to Galen.

Galen batted the tray away. “Not now.”

The messenger shuffled on his feet. “It’s urgent, Your Majesty. About your mother.”

That got his attention. He looked over at the messenger, then down at the envelope. Grabbing it, he gave me one last look and said, “I need to see what this is about.”

I didn’t respond. He turned on his heel and strode out a side door in the ballroom. I let out a breath and felt my chest deflate, along with all the tension I’d been carrying.

“Are you alright?” Thorne murmured, stepping closer.

“I’m fine.” I waved a hand in the air. “Just another day of never knowing what side of him I’m going to get.” Over Thorne’s shoulder, I spotted the doors leading to the balcony. “Excuse me, I’m going to get some air.”

The ivory bottom of my gown brushed across the floor as I made my way through the crowd and opened the double doors.

It was a beautiful stone balcony, with dark vines twisting around the rails and over the edge.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

I missed being out under the stars whenever I wanted.

The night’s breeze was a cool reprieve against my skin, and I rested my elbows on the stone rail to take it all in.

When I opened my eyes, they landed on the sprawling grounds of the Penworth Estates several stories below. The tall hedges bordered acres of beautiful gardens, with winding paths and fountains that glistened in the moonlight. And on the very periphery of my vision?—

A shadow.

I squinted. It looked like a cloaked figure running along the trees on the edge of the property, heading toward the entrance?—

Before I could focus on the dark image, a scream burst through the ballroom.

“Come quick! It’s the king!”