Anwen
I rap on Estrella's door, the hallway behind me humming with activity. All the delegations are here-including Snowcrest-and the servants race around like ants in a colony, completing final preparations before the welcome ball just getting underway downstairs.
She opens the door.
"Fuck," I mutter.
"I am going to take that as a compliment." She puts out her arm for me to take.
"You should." I shake my head to clear it. She's beyond stunning. Candace told me tonight's dress was her concession to Bright's near conniption over the rest of the wedding clothes, but Bright seems to have lost anyway. Another wrapped dress drapes over Estrella. The base fabric is a dove gray that almost perfectly matches her eyes. Over it, though, is a rainbow riot of decoration. Jingling beads, dancing embroidery, everything I could imagine to liven up the Dun's Crossing gray I never thought was boring until I met her. Tiny jewels in a thousand colors glimmer in her hair. Tonight, she wears it loose in curls that flow over her shoulder.
And, okay, her breasts look spectacular. These wrapped dresses really cup her every curve, but this one is cut a little lower than usual, revealing sandy swells of skin. It's gonna be a fight to keep my attention on the ball with her next to me like this.
She shakes her head. "I could arrive in a nightdress, and you would still stare."
"Most of your nightdresses are sheer." I grin.
She elbows me, and we begin walking down the hall together. It feels like we're dancing already, or like someone replaced the stone floors with clouds. I'm escorting my mate, my soon-to-be-wife, to a ball celebrating us. No standing across the room pretending to flirt with strangers all night. Just her mouthwatering smell and puzzle-piece curves. It's better than my birthday.
"Perhaps I should've dressed down." Her smirk belies how much she likes the attention.
I pinch her ass. "Just try it and see."
She squeals and swats my hand. "Anwen! There are people everywhere."
"They're servants, and they all know we're headed to a party celebrating our wedding." I push her against the wall, cage her in place with my arms, and kiss her soundly.
For all her protestations, she arches up into me and bites my lip. I hiss softly and pull back.
"I believe part of the plan includes me talking all night." I touch my lip and check my finger for blood.
"You fuss too much. You're fine." She smiles as she tucks her arm back through mine. "And I don't suppose you are unfamiliar with marking one's territory."
Goddess above. If weeks of planning didn't rely on us showing up downstairs, I'd drag her back to her room and fuck her right now.
I glance at a clock on one wall. Maybe we could sneak back and just-
"We are already running late to our own party." Estrella marches inexorably forward. "There is no time, and you shouldn't have started something you couldn't survive leaving unfinished."
"I can't believe this is going to be my life forever." I force my tone to be sullen, but I still feel like I'm walking on air. This, this woman, is my life forever!
She laughs. "Assuming we survive this week. To that end, what do you know about Alpha King Andri? Does he have a queen?"
"I met him once when I was, fuck, eight? Diplomatic visits were for the crown prince." Bitterness leaks into my voice, and Estrella squeezes my arm. I shake it off as quickly as I can. "Luna Queen Lara Kar died a little over a decade ago, which was the one time I managed to meet him."
"Her funeral?" Estrella frowns sympathetically.
I nod. "They were mated, so he never remarried. Only had one son, Hollis, a little younger than us. I don't remember much about the king other than he's a fucking wall of a man, topped with the first red hair I'd ever seen. I think I might've asked if he was on fire."
She giggles, a sound I can't wait to hear every day. "I'm certain that made a good impression-at his wife's funeral."
"Hey, I think he smiled," I say. "Or ordered me to stay quiet for the rest of the service."
She giggles again. My heart's going to beat out of my chest and move into hers if she keeps doing that.
"He was obviously the kind of man willing to ally with my father," I say quietly. "But Snowcrest has never been an expansionist kingdom, at least as far as I've heard. There was a rumor going around for a while that Snowcrest basically showed its throat as soon as Father set foot on the border."
"So he may have allied himself out of survival, not any desire to be connected to King Gavin." She nods seriously. "Are they active in politics?"
"Very." I roll my eyes. "If there's one thing Snowcrest loves, it's embedding an envoy in foreign courts. Floyd's not the only one-I wouldn't be surprised if you left tonight with an offer of the same in Sundrop."
We round the final corner and see a stream of well-dressed nobles flowing into the ballroom, pausing only briefly for the page to announce them.
I bend down and whisper in Estrella's ear, "Last chance. We could always run now, elope, live the rest of our lives on the run."
She sucks her lower lip into her mouth like she's seriously considering it, then shakes her head. "Father deserves better. But perhaps talk to me when all of this is done."
I laugh as we stride into the crowd. It parts for us like tall grass, and we reach the page within seconds.
The page blows a long, loud note on his horn. "Crown Prince Anwen Solberg and Luna Queen Estrella Sollabella, the guests of honor!"
Arm-in-arm, we descend the wide steps together. Damn near everyone in the ballroom turns to look at us. Estrella was being dramatic when she said we were late. The ball started maybe ten minutes ago, but most kingdoms have stricter rules about tardiness than Dun's Crossing, so the room is packed. It feels like the eyes of the whole world are on me. An old instinct I thought was dead-the same awkward impulse of a kid who thinks they're invisible suddenly discovering they're wrong that made me ask if King Andri was on fire-rises up in me. I want to squirm, to duck my head, to do anything but watch them watch me.
Estrella straightens even further as I start to shrink into myself, and it's like a bucket of ice water on my head. I don't need to watch them. I can just watch her. I know every inch of this castle like the back of my hand. Her skin glimmers in the firelight like she's covered in fairy dust, but there's a smudge missing where I cupped her face in the hallway. I marked my territory, in my own way. I smile.
Suddenly, we're on the floor, just two amongst the crowd. The tension in my shoulders releases. This, I know. I've been attending balls since I could walk. I guide Estrella quickly away from the bottom of the stairs so the next pair doesn't run into us. We nearly careen into Nathalie and Evangeline, the mother-daughter pair from Redwood Nimbus and the peace ball.
"Prince Anwen! We were hoping to see you again." Nathalie curtsies.
Her mother follows suit. "We were just talking about it, weren't we?"
"How thrilling to see you both." I bow. "This is my mate, Luna Queen Estrella."
Estrella curtsies. "Lovely to make your acquaintance. How did you meet Prince Anwen?"
Nathalie titters behind her hand. "Oh, the last ball, Your Majesty. I'm so sorry I didn't get to meet you then as well."
"You should be. She was ravishing that night." I wrap an arm around Estrella's waist and pull her close then murmur in her ear, "Keep the talk light until people have time to get drunk. Questions that require specific details are tactless."
She nods.
"You lovebirds are sweet," Evangeline coos.
We trade pleasantries back and forth for a few more moments, and Estrella seems to be finding her feet. I promise to speak to Evangeline and Nathalie again later then drift away. There's much bigger game to hunt tonight than a no-name pack like Redwood Nimbus.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Estrella asks tightly.
I hum. "Questions like that are best left for after the second drink is done, but before the third, while they can still remember the details. Ask about anything you know about their kingdom. It makes people feel special. Never say goodbye, always promise to talk later, even if you're not going to." I glance around the flow of people. "If you want to talk to someone privately, ask them to dance but know that's going to create some gossip."
"That is not-" She pauses, shakes her head. "Thank you, but I would not like to be corrected while we are in the middle of a conversation."
I cross my heart dramatically. "There's a reason I didn't offer these tips beforehand. I know these big events aren't exactly your forte, but I trust you. Even if you don't nail all the courtly manners, people are going to love you."
She takes a deep breath. "I will endeavor to 'nail' them anyway."
I kiss her on the cheek, and we join another group of people talking.
The rhythm of the night takes over. We drink; we dance; we chat. Estrella stumbles a few more times, but she corrects herself quicker every time, helped by the fact that whenever we leave a slightly awkward conversation, she demands to know what she did wrong. I'm not stupid enough not to realize that, as much as the party's relaxing me, it's tensing her up, but I'm not sure what to do. Balls aren't difficult, just complicated, and I know she's smart enough to get the hang of it. She just needs a little more practice.
While deep in conversation with a couple of Dun's Crossing noblewomen who keep insisting they have to dance with me at "my last ball as a bachelor," no matter how many times I refuse, I look down, and realize Estrella's no longer at my side. Did she leave without saying anything? Is she all right? I instinctively start to reach out through the mind-link, but the Goddess-damned wedding is still a week away.
"Prince Anwen?" Gia puts her hand on my arm. "You seem distracted."
"I'm fine," I reply absently then inhale as deep as I can, searching the room for Estrella's scent. If she is hurt, I'd feel it. I just need to know she's still here.
There. If she weren't my mate, I'd never be able to pick her out in the crowd, but I can't mistake her scent for anything. She's over by one of the large windows that looks out over the main courtyard. Probably just needed air, and I didn't hear her say it. Completely understandable.
I smile. Let her relax. I'll manage the room for the both of us.