Estrella
I stare across the ballroom at Anwen, surrounded by gorgeous women. A brunette throws her head back in a laugh and starts to put her hand on his arm, then pulls back. If I wanted to be kind-if I hadn't already spent three hours stumbling through conversations like some kind of backcountry rube-I would assume he didn't see the hand in time to pull away. But I know how perceptive he is. It's one of the things I've grown to love about him. And it means that any plausible deniability is impossible for me to extend. I sip my drink.
"Luna Estrella." A man about my age with jet-black hair and green eyes bows. The woman next to him, of similar age but with pale blonde hair, curtsies.
I scramble through my memories to place their faces. What gives the man away is the line of polished silver badges on his chest. He is Hollis Kar, crown prince of Snowcrest Canyon and famed archer. Apparently, the badges represent his success in Snowcrest's very strange custom of occasionally hunting in human form. The woman takes a moment longer, but eventually, I recognize Lady Sarachi, one of the most prominent members of Whaleberry Harbor's court.
"Prince Hollis, Lady Sarachi." I curtsy to both of them. "Are you enjoying the party so far?"
They exchange a quick, furtive look. Damn it! Anwen said I wasn't supposed to ask if they enjoyed the party so far because it's bad luck, implying the party might soon go wrong.
"I am." Hollis sipped his own chalice. "You make quite a splash, Your Majesty. I was surprised to receive the news."
A splash is... good? I lift my chin and try to seem like panic and rage aren't braiding in my veins. Floyd is at the heart of my anger, but its difficult to assume honesty of this snide prince.
"Thank you," I reply. "But I cannot imagine why you are surprised. There's nothing more natural than those joined by the Goddess marrying in front of the world."
Lady Sarachi titters. "Of course, you're right. It's just that, well, Sundrop Gem isn't exactly the sort of place people think of as being part of the world."
Somehow, her saying that to my face is more socially appropriate than me asking about their enjoyment.
I'll be back in Sundrop Gem soon.
"I would call those people short-sighted," I say. "Sundrop Gem may not have engaged in your politics, but that does not mean we've ceased to exist."
"Certainly not." Prince Hollis raises his glass to me. "And we are truly honored to make your acquaintance because of it."
I raise mine in turn-refusing a toast is the height of insult, apparently, even when you'd rather slosh the drink in their faces-and he grins at me.
"We will be seeing you." He bows again, and the two of them drift off into the crowd.
Irritation bubbling in my veins, I stride to the wall and position myself there firmly. I am a queen, and no one has failed to treat me as such, but Goddess above, I haven't tripped over my tongue this much since my very first ball. There are just so many inane little rules, the indulgences of a network of kingdoms who care more about statecraft than leadership. It is simply exhausting to keep up with.
Anwen's scent catches my nose, and I twist to find him on the dance floor. My bite burns. The woman in his arms is stunning. I'm not sullen enough to lie about that. Her red hair flies out behind her as they spin to the music, a flame that matches the brightness of her laughter. And Anwen is laughing with her!
I force myself to look away. I am being childish. He is my mate; he swore himself to me, and I don't think he could have lied the night he came to me in Sundrop Gem. Anwen simply looks so... at home here. The endless rules come as easy to him as breathing. And the small army of women following him around makes it difficult to forget the implication of that room he took me to after our last ball. I would be a fool to assume Anwen had tasted none other than me.
"He looks good tonight," a woman I've seen around the castle says to her friend as they pass me.
"Who?" the friend replies.
"King Anwen-Prince, I guess." She giggles. "For now."
The two of them move off, but the implications ring in my ears. King Anwen. That will be his title, when we wed and return to Sundrop. But if we had never met, had never mated, he would only ever be the prince. In a few months-I glance at Queen Raven, swaying slightly in King Kieran's arms, her belly already slightly distended with child-he wouldn't even be crown prince any longer.
Only after Father was murdered did Anwen soften in his treatment of me. Only when marrying me would grant him the one title he was destined not to have.
My stomach flips. My bite burns. I cannot think like this. I've decided to trust him. I need some air-
I turn and nearly run into Nessa, resplendent in a bright-red gown.
"Whoa!" She catches my shoulders. "Are you okay?"
I shake my head, unwilling to trust my voice.
"Shit." She frowns. "Is it the Solbergs? I tried to warn you-"
"I do not wish to talk about it," I say thickly.
She nods, smoothes the sleeves of my dress. "Gotcha. Um... I never asked you about the boat ride back to Sundrop."
Her awkward attempt scares a small smile out of me. "Less nauseating, thankfully."
"Goddess, I hear you on that. Father always tries to convince me to take a river boat home, but no way." She grins. "I'd turn greener than Queen Raven's dress."
I chuckle. "Father was the only one in our family who didn't have at least a little of that curse. But I had the rare pleasure of growing up in a desert. He liked the occasional ride, but he couldn't get one without entering the Lonely Sea."
"Lucky." Nessa clucks her tongue. "I'm surprised to see you without Princess Candace. She always seems to be around these days."
I nod. "The princess has been very kind to me as we drift ever closer to becoming family."
"Lucky for that, too." Nessa can't keep the bitterness out of her voice.
My chest aches for her. As much as I might worry about my perfect prince dominating the dance floor, she knows what King Kieran thinks of her. His heart belongs to another so truly I could see it at that first breakfast.
"The next Haze." I rub her arm. "I am sure of it."
She offers me a tired smile. "Definitely."
A trio of women march up to us, all Dun's-Crossing pale.
"Nessa!" the one in the front trills. "I thought you were gone with your father."
"My father returned days ago, Joli," Nessa replies. "And I never left."
"Right." The woman, Joli, taps her lower lip as if in thought. "I just basically haven't seen you anywhere since King Kieran and Queen Raven took over."
The women behind her giggle. My instincts tingle. Something is happening here that I lack the context to understand.
"I've been busy." Nessa curtsies. "With Dun's Crossing opening its borders, an envoy has a lot more to do."
"And so does his daughter?" Joli watches Nessa but doesn't even approach curtsying. "Here I thought you were banned from court life for, what was it?" She turns to the women behind her. "Girls, help me out."
"Queen Raven said she could either shut the fuck"-the second blonde lingers over the curse word-"up about the Solbergs and Queen Raven or leave the castle, Joli."
"That's right." Joli snaps her fingers. "And you don't exactly have much else to say."
Nessa's jaw tenses infinitesimally. "I don't have much else to say to you three. Sorry if you thought that meant I disappeared. As you can see, I've made better friends."
All three women look at me then freeze for a second before dropping into some of the lowest curtsies I've ever seen. Joli babbles apologies. Nessa touches my elbow, a brief apology, and walks out of the ballroom altogether.
My heart goes with her. These women are monsters-and, if I had to guess, the old friends Floyd mentioned when I spoke to him outside Father's frozen chamber.
"Stand," I say imperiously.
They obey in unison. I consider several responses, different ways to humiliate them. In the end, simplest seems best. I turn on my heel and leave after Nessa without another word. Let them tell that story and seem like the heroes.
Luckily, Nessa is not hard to follow. I trail her red dress through the crowd and to a small door, away from the general hum of the party. With a deep breath, I knock.
"Occupied," she calls tearfully.
"It's me," I reply.
There's a heartbeat of silence. Then, Nessa opens the door. Her pale skin is blotchy, and a few tears line her cheeks in the harsh light of the powder room she's hiding within. She grabs my wrist and tugs me inside before shutting the door.
"Old friends." She dabs her face with a towel. "If you can believe it."
"I can." I pry the towel from her hands, wet it with cool water from a pitcher in the corner, and start dabbing myself. "I made it very clear what sort of treatment they will earn from Sundrop Gem if they treat people that way."
Nessa laughs wetly. "Maybe I should've stuck around for that."
"Perhaps." I smooth some of her hair back into place. "Personally, I believe they already humiliated themselves."
"Good luck convincing them." She shook her head.
"I don't much care to." I smile at her. "I care to convince you."
Nessa stares at me for a long moment, searching my face. Thoughts churn behind her eyes, but I cannot guess what they are.
"Your father was killed," she says, low and urgent. "Why are you helping me?"
I start to tell her why Father would've wanted me to, but then the piece that fills the gap in her statement snaps into place. She would only ask that question, only about her, only like that if she suspected some of what we suspect. If some part of her knows of her father's involvement in the death of mine. My stomach drops. But there's no fear in her gaze, just confusion. The last worry that she may be involved melts from my chest.
"You have been through enough," I say, as she did to me in her room so long ago.
Nessa grins.