Page 53 of Cursed

Chapter Nineteen

Watching Vince and the queen take their turn around the dance floor, Edeena realized that the moment of her decision was nearly upon her. She now understood the reasoning behind the queen’s choice to open up the ballroom to a wider audience. Not only would this unquestionably draw some of the straggler Saleris in, if only out of curiosity, but it would also bring an audience. If Edeena’s choice succeeded in bringing the family together, then by God, there would be plenty of witnesses.

She smiled a little, her gaze sweeping over the dance floor—then she froze.

“Oh, no.” Putting all sense of decorum aside, she rose from her chair and strode forward, hopping off the dais. If anyone noticed that she was entering the dance floor prior to the official swell of ceremonial music, they didn’t stop her.

And what she’d just seen simply couldn’t be happening.

“Caroline!” Even across the crowded room, her responsible sister’s sixth sense for accountability meant Caro’s head lifted as Edeena called her name, swiveling around to see her. But her sister looked entirely unabashed as she squealed, then tugged on Marguerite’s arm. Marguerite also had the audacity to appear entirely thrilled to be discovered, and both of them rushed headlong toward Edeena, meeting her in the middle of the floor.

“You came off your pedestal!” Marguerite said triumphantly as she reached Edeena, enveloping her in a warm hug.

“You look absolutely regal,” Caro chimed in. Feeling her sisters’ arms around her, Edeena didn’t realize how much she’d missed them in the few short days they’d been apart. If anything, it gave her a renewed focus on what she needed to accomplish.

“I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t come,” she protested, pulling back, unable to keep the smile from her face.

“And miss your engagement? To whoever the lucky man is?” Marguerite teased. “I, for one, can’t wait to see the results. Do you think Father will turn from beast to real man?”

Edeena laughed in a short, hiccupping outburst and a nearby couple turned to her, clearly recognizing the sound. Her brows lifted. “You brought Rob and Cindy? They could leave their kids?”

“That’s apparently what grandmothers are made for,” Caroline said fondly. “The two of them have been everywhere with us. We’re perfectly safe.”

“And they’re perfectly adorable,” Marguerite said, sounding almost wistful, far older than her twenty-five years. “Everything they do, they do together, without really seeming to think that much about it. I wouldn’t even know how to begin caring for someone so well.”

“You’ll get your chance,” Edeena said firmly, and once again, her resolve was bolstered. She knew her sisters well enough, however, that it was time to distract them from how that chance would be made possible. “Have you seen the crush of people outside? Do you recognize any of them as Saleris?”

“How could we possibly?” Caroline began, but at that moment the couples closest to them parted in time to the swelling music, and a new couple twirled toward them on the heels of an ending refrain.

“Edeena!” Queen Catherine paused in front of them, laughter sparkling her eyes. “This is most excellent. Mr. Rallis was even now tiring of dancing with me. Perhaps you could allow him to escort you back to the dais? I believe your father has arrived.”

Edeena jolted. Of course Silas would arrive the moment she left her appointed post. Even now she saw him at the top of the stairs, talking with King Jasen as his gaze swept the room. She groaned, and Catherine patted her arm.

“Jasen will keep him occupied until you’re ready, dear. And Mr. Rallis will keep you safe. I have every faith in him.”

With that the queen turned away to exclaim with delight over her sisters, and Edeena found herself once again on Vince’s arm. He turned, angling them toward the dais, and she suddenly tightened her grasp on him.

“Could you . . . could you take me outside for a minute instead?” she asked quickly, as he looked down at her in surprise. “I know I have to get back, but it seems like most of the guests are in the courtyard, and I haven’t really gotten a chance to see it. I suspect it’s wonderful.”

“It’s a crowd, that’s for sure,” Vince said. Still he didn’t object, his arm moving around her back as he turned toward the thicker part of the congregation of swirling skirts and black suits. They plunged into the crowd, and Edeena sighed as the music swelled up again, seeming to create a layer of anonymity around her and Vince, as if they somehow could slip away without being seen.

A few minutes later they’d reached the great French doors that were flung open to the night sky, and stepped out onto the broad landing.

The place was lit up like a carnival.

A new set of musicians were holding forth out here, their music an echo of the internal reel and yet distinctly different, so that the two rose in perfect harmony no matter whether you were inside or out—or, like she was, caught on the precipice between. Everywhere she looked, however, there were people dancing, laughing, and talking, and the sight of it thrilled her. She didn’t know who, if any, among them were Saleris, but surely there had to be some members of her family there. Would they stand up in support of her, of each other? She’d soon find out.

“You’re sure you want to do this?”

At Vince’s quiet question, she looked up. He stared at her steadily, with an intensity that unnerved her.

“What do you mean?” she almost snapped. “You know that I have to do . . . to do something, here. All these people are here, Vince. They’re here for a reason.”

“But what reason?” he pushed. “You have to make a decision, yes. A decision for your future. Do you really think they’ll care who you ultimately choose?”

The cold, cutting, aristocratic voice of Silas Saleri somehow managed to drown out the music. “An excellent question, Mr. Rallis,” her father said, “and one I’m sure I did not expect you to have the presence of mind to pose.”

Edeena had been sparring with her father for too long to show any weakness, and she pivoted now, as calm and poised as she could manage. She had reason to feel confident. Her gown was the stuff of magic, the most sophisticated confection she’d ever seen. Tea length to allow for dancing in the open air on the wide, grassy lawn, it had several layers of jet black skirts and a black bodice, before a striking swath of cream satin emerged at her high waist and flowed upward to a black, ribbon-edged sweetheart neckline. She knew she looked the perfect mix of youth but also sophistication, as appropriate for a woman about to change the trajectory of her future.

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