Page 88 of The Rose in the Shadows

“No one parties quite like a Prince on his birthday,” Rankor agreed.

I doubted that would be fun for me at all.

“I think I’ll pass on the afterparty,” I replied stiffly.

“Because you have such better plans, Miss Moore?”

His voice had an immediate effect on me, sending tremors throughout my body and, though I hated to admit it, warmth between my legs. My jaw locked, and my back stiffened. My core was molten lava, and my heart fell into my stomach. By theGods, what kind of man can do that with his damn voice alone before I’ve even laid eyes on him?

Clayton Vail could.

Clay briefly kissed Iris on the cheek before hugging Camilla and Lorelai and bumping fists with Rankor and Kent. All I got was an icy stare, but I met it without flinching. My stomach might be toppling with butterflies, but there was no way I would let him see that.

“A night spent evading Hyrax’s hound would be preferable to an evening spent with you, Mr. Vail.” I smiled.

Rankor covered his laugh with an aggressive cough while Kent whistled appreciatively, leaning back on his heels and tucking his hands into the pockets of his breeches. Clay glared at them both, an expression that would have sent anyone else fleeing.

“I’m only appreciating that our future Council member has been studying her mythology,” Kent explained.

Clay sighed, beckoning a servant to bring a tray of particularly small drinks to the table. Rankor winked at me as he passed one out to each of us. It smelled vile, which likely meant it was precisely the kind of drink I needed in a moment like this.

“You would think,” Clay scolded, “that someone who has been so diligent in her preparations for her trials would know how to respect her future king.”

Lorelai slid her hand out from under my elbow as she went to stand by Iris. The two clasped hands and exchanged worried glances as the tension between Clay and me became palpable. Still, I didn’t back down. I was too furious.

I was furious at him. I was furious that we both needed to prioritize our future marriages and children above our current desires. And I was furious at myself for not just acting on that desire that day in Hyrax Estate, if only to have experienced just once - because that desire had been burning me alive ever since.

But if I was going to burn… I was going to take him down with me.

I rested my elbows on the table in front of us, pressing my breasts together as I peered up at him through hooded eyes. “And here I thought you might want to act like a real boy on your birthday.”

“I seem to recall I’m not the only one who struggles to set aside their title to have some fun,” Clay reminded me, that damn eyebrow perched mockingly. “And you and I both know I’m far from aboy.”

My breath caught. The memory of his body, his manhood, pressed against me was sudden and overpowering. My cheeks burned, and I knew they were visibly reddening. Still, I stood tall, and I didn’t miss when his gaze dropped to the low cut of my gown. That cut had been the exact reason I chose this gown above the others. Grinning wickedly, I lifted the tiny glass towards him in a toast.

“Happy birthday, your grace,” I whispered.

Our friends drank rapidly, losing themselves in laughter, but Clay and I held each other’s gaze for a moment that was excessively long, both unwilling to surrender to the other.

The party lasted utterly too long. Most people seemed to enjoy themselves. I just wasn’t in the mood for dancing or socializing. Still, I could admit it was a proper celebration, more so than any I’d experienced in the palace thus far. The food had been divine, the twelve-foot ivory cream cake had been the sweetest thing I’d ever tasted, and the music was contagious,filling your soul and pushing you towards your feet whether you intended to or not. Those damn sirens certainly made it hard to stay in a bad mood.

And Clay was genuinely happy. It was rare to see him like that, entirely relaxed and content, but people had traveled far to be here with him. He treated every person he saw like a long-lost friend, joking with the men and dancing withallthe girls. And by the Gods, did they all swoon over him.

Which isn’t to say he wasn’t swoon-worthy. I could at least admit that. There was nothing wrong with admitting that he was handsome. Anyone with eyes could agree with that. Especially tonight, when his golden jacket made his sandy hair seem particularly bright. I hadn’t always noticed the hints of red in his hair, but tonight, they were there for all to see. And his smile, the one he so rarely unleashed upon the world, made me positively weak in the knees. And those damn leather pants…

When had I become so hopelessly enamored by him?

It was impossible to deny the reaction I had to him, but it was nothing more than a physical attraction. Physical attractions were completely natural. Nothing more than hormones at work. Well, that and the effects of three glasses of champagne and constant flashbacks of what it felt like to have his tongue down my throat and his hand between my legs.

I shook my head as if to dislodge that memory from my consciousness.

The after-party was the talk of the room. Lorelai had made it seem like an exclusive event, but nearly everyone under sixty was planning to be there. There was to be a large fire by the lake on the outskirts of the palace grounds. There would be singing and dancing, and I’m sure Rankor would end up throwing people into that water after a few more drinks. He’d been eyeing up people all night, no doubt trying to devise the order of his victims.

“You don’t want to come,” Lorelai noted, coming to stand by me on the edges of the ballroom. “To the lake.”

“How’d you guess?”

“I’m a Truthseeker. It’s my job to know things.”

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