Page 30 of House of Ydril

Nuala lets out a shy chuckle. “Even if the prince were into guys, which he’s not, he wouldn’t be into Leo. His type is thin, blonde, sophisticated.”

“Really?” I squeeze out, my eye immediately darting to the bunch of blonde girls I saw sullenly standing near the entrance. “I see you’re not the only one who knows that.”

“Itis…known, I guess,” I hear her say.

For a second, I keep staring at all the blondes, natural or not, waiting for their Little Prince to show up. I don’t like what I feel so I make myself snap out of it and turn back to Nuala. “And who are you hoping to ask to the Ball yourself, young lady?”

She just shakes her head and looks at the empty pitcher of beer in my hand, saying, “I didn’t know you could drink so fast.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, dear Fionnuala,” I reply with a grin.

It’s at that exact moment that I notice a shift in the atmosphere, people’s heads snapping to the entrance. I crane my neck and seehimwalk in, the blondes coming to life as they start fluttering behind him.

I can’t help myself. I try not to be obvious, but I watch him walk across the smooth polished floor, dressed in a perfectly tailored casual suit. For a second, I think he’ll march up to me to give my outfit an inspection or something, and my heart breaks into a gallop.

But he chooses to ignore me. He walks past without so much as a glance, joining a group of people at the other end of the hall.

I turn to keep chatting with Nuala, but she soon becomes too fidgety to lead an actual conversation. At one point, she declares that she has some business to take care of. I know she’s going to ask her secret sweetheart to the Ball and she apparently doesn’t want to talk about it. So I let her go without prying.

Once she’s out of sight, I fight not to look, but I fail, miserably. Faust is still standing in the same group of people, but now he’s surrounded by a whole host of gorgeous girls, not just the blondes. And my curiosity is getting the better of me. As I sip what’s left of Nuala’s beer, I find myself glancing at them, trying to figure out if there really is truth to what my friend said a minute ago, about his type of woman.

Not five minutes later, Leo walks up to me with a smirk on his face. “Well, hello,” he drawls, eyeing me up and down. Now that I see him up close, there’s something a bit creepy about him.

“Hello,” I reply, fighting not to let my reaction show.

“You know,” he says, “I never got the chance to thank you for rushing to my defense at the opening ceremony.”

And his voice is sweet and what he’s saying is really nice, but that look in his eyes makes me want to just… get away from him. But it’s too tempting, this opportunity to dig a little deeper.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say flatly. “I mean, as far as I could tell, the prince was being a giant asshole.”

There’s a flash of surprise in his eyes. “So you don’t fancy him?”

I scoff. “No.” Squinting at him, I say, “But I did get the impression that the two of you have history.”

He lets out a chuckle. “Our families do.” He pauses before he says, “You see, it wasmyHouse, House Aalders, that was supposed to be on the throne.”

“But then his family,” I cut in, “intervened.”

“Exactly. But enough talking about theprince,” he says as he takes a black rose corsage out of his pocket and holds it out for me. “Let’s talk about the Winter Solstice Ball.”

He wants to take me to the Ball?

“Um”, I start, but all of a sudden, I have a strong feeling that I’m being watched.

I glance around nervously.

“Well?” Leo insists, licking his lips as he gives me a smile.

Now, I definitely don’t want to go to the Ball alone, but I just don’t like the guy’s vibe and there’s no helping it. “You know, I think I’ll have to pass.”

He looks honestly surprised and, well, not pleased, at least judging by the way the smile just slides off his face. But I don’t give him a chance to react.

I turn on my heel and I go take a stroll around the hall, beginning from the end farthest from Faust and his groupies.

I don’t get very far before I notice Nuala, leaning against the window closest to the entrance, looking down at her hands as she fidgets with her rings.

When I walk up to her and ask what’s going on, fearing the secret sweetheart has said no, she won’t say anything, but she doesn’t look happy.

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