Page 100 of Shade of Ruin

“I’m going to miss being this close to you,” I say. “More than anything else, I’m going to miss being bound to you like this. You make me think the Immortals got at least one thing right.”

He turns to me, and I look up into those bright orange eyes. “I don’t want to end this betrothal. I don’t want to stop being tied to you. Maybe we can’t be married yet. Maybe we can’t live together, but I don’t want to stop being your betrothed. Not now. Not ever.”

“I don’t either,” I say softly. “I thought I was happy. I thought I had everything I’d ever wanted before I met you, but I was wrong. Everything that matters was missing. Cole, I don’t want our betrothal to end either.” He smiles at me before turning back to look out at the city below us. The wind that comes down from the top of Skycrest blows past us, bringing a coolness with it.

We sit there together in the dark and silently stare into the night. Just like we’d stared into the fire on the way to Draenyth together. The only difference between then and now is the way our fingers fit together and how our emotions and minds brush against each other so wonderfully.

Now that I think about it, that’s a much bigger difference than I’d have ever expected. And maybe that difference is why I’m smiling now instead of annoyed.

It’s why it’s going to be so hard to walk away from Cole in two days.

Chapter 42

It is a strange thing. Only Vyran has spoken to the darkness. Only she has heard it speak. The rest of us do not understand it, and the thought of going back to it is strange. It is not returning home for me like it will be for her. But Vesper waits for me there, and where she goes,

I will follow forever.

~Sidon the Strong, A History of Magic and Dragons

“What am I supposedto do again?” I ask. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous before. Never. Not when I was a child and Vesta expected me to do things on my own. My ten-year-old self hunting a deer with a spear for the first time was fearless. Not when we first got to Draenyth, the home of literally every scary story ever told to human children. No, when I stepped foot intoDraenyth, me, Lee, and Darian saved a group of humans from slavery and being eaten.

Now, though… Now, I’m terrified. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m here to dance and talk and pretend to be the happiest wife-to-be there ever was. I’m here to play the only role that’s allowed me to walk around Draenythwithoutbeing hunted for food.

And that is terrifying.

“You just smile and be nice and pretend like you’re an idiot. Everyone’s going to expect that, so just… don’t get into any fights, okay?”

I grin at Cole, but I think it looks more like a wolf’s attempt at a grin. All teeth and no smile. Then again, that’s who I am, isn’t it? Vesta’s belt knife is strapped to my thigh. I snuck a footman’s spear into the dining hall under the table we’re supposed to be seated at.

Maybe I like to have sharp teeth. After a lifetime of hunting side-by-side with predators, would anyone expect me to show up without my teeth and claws?

I am wearing a dress, though. Not armor or even a good thick pair of leather pants. No, I’m wearing a dress fit for a princess, and I don’t know if I love it or hate it. I can hear the dress sizzle as I walk. There’s a heat to it you’d never find in any normal fabric. If I were to stand in a completely dark room, you’d see the fabric burning. Shimmering reds and oranges move just like any good fire would, and that warmth gives me more comfort than I’d have expected. It feels like Cole’s hands are on me all the time.

The actual dress is like that first dress, except that this time, it is absolutely, unequivocally a House of Flame dress. There’s no silver or steel anywhere on it. No touch of earth or shadows.

And it’s not exactly a poofy dress, either. The fabric is thin and lightweight and clings to my chest and stomach because of thecut of the dress rather than with a corset, the only request I had. The bright orange fabric flows down to the ground smoothly, but roses as large as my hand decorate the hem. Where the rest of the dresslookslike it’s on fire, the roses aremade ofit.

They’re flames that don't burn anything. I don’t know how it all works other than that it has something to do with these spellstones, which no one has bothered to explain to me at all.

I haven’t been too inquisitive, though. There have been a few other things on my mind.

One of those being how wrong this dress feels on me. After knowing what I could do with shadows, I know that the midnight dress is what I should be wearing. Pure midnight darkness.

But I obviously couldn’t wear that to this ball.

Cole, on the other hand, doesn’t look like he’s showing up at a magical ball for the ages. He would look almost at home in Blackgrove at one of the handful of minor affairs that Uncle Trevor and Aunt Prudence held over the years.

How does he get away with a black set of tails with barely noticeable red thread woven throughout it? A bright red cravat runs around his neck, the fabric notable because of the bright crimson hue, but otherwise, it wouldn’t be all that surprising on Uncle Trevor.

Until I put my arms in his, and we step into the ballroom, andhecatches fire. Every inch of his skin looks like the roses on my dress. A fire with no heat, and when I run my hand through it, it’s like I can feelhim. Cole’s flames feel different from the normal fire of a stove or candle. They’re tender, and while I know they can burn, they don’twant to.

“Do all the men in the House of Flames dress like that?” I ask.

Cole just grins and looks over at several other men who are obviously wearing House of Flames colors. They’re all wearing bright red vests that are on fire, just like my dress. Not eventhe smallest hint of flames on their bodies, though. He doesn’t respond at all.

It seems like not every male is allowed to wear their flames like Cole does, but I’m not sure if it’s because of his rank or his skill.

My eyes move through the crowd, and I’m amazed at all the gleaming steel. It’s a stark division between the House of Steel and House of Flames. Where Cole’s House has almost no metal anywhere, the House of Steel is covered in it.

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