Page 41 of Dueling the Suitors

“I’m not stupid.” She flung her legs to the side and rose from the bed. “And I’m not fragile. I can walk to the changing screen and back just fine. So if you try to carry me again, I will not hesitate to defend myself.” She shook a finger at him before pushing past him and grabbing the silver nightgown her maid had laid out over the trunk of the bed.

Silas chuckled behind her. “As you wish, Little Dragon.”

She held back from reprimanding him again and went behind the screen.

“If you need any help…” Silas called out in a singsong tone when she was in the middle of unbuttoning her gown.

Astoria scoffed. “What makes you think I needhelpwhen I have magic? I can beat my suitors in a duel but cannot undress myself?”

“I didn’t think you couldn’t. But what husband would I be if I didn’t offer my wife help, in case she is struggling and is nervous to ask me?”

“Well,” Astoria huffed, unlacing her corset and shedding it on the floor. “Fortunately for you, the wife you’ve got is a woman who can manage herself quite well without your help.”

“As you wish, Little Dragon.”

Ugh!Astoria clenched her jaw and yanked the nightgown over her head with a forceful tug.That annoying nickname!

Once she was properly dressed, Astoria gathered the wedding gown and her undergarments from the floor and marched out from behind the screen. “Your turn.”

She tossed them onto the chair in front of the dresser and began taking off her jewelry. In her peripheral view, she saw Silas walking towards the screen with a change of clothes on his shoulder. When she saw him turn to her, she averted her attention to her reflection in the mirror, illuminated by the enchanted candles in the room.

Astoria breathed a little easier when he disappeared behind the screen. She took out the pins from her hair and began to unbraid it. She combed her fingers through it, the golden magic untangling the knots and weaving through each strand. When she was done, her hair was smoother and shinier than anyone could make it with a brush and some oil.

Sighing in approval, she began to braid it again.

“Why not keep it down instead?”

Astoria nearly jumped out of her skin and turned. Silas was leaning against the wall at the opening of the changing area. His white nightshirt was unbuttoned at the top, exposing a glimpse of his chest. Though in the dim light of the room, there was only little she could make out.

“You—”

“I had no idea my wife had such beautiful hair,” he continued, staring at her hair. “So long it reaches past her waist, so shiny it glimmers against the candlelight like the ocean in moonlight.” He shook his head.

Astoria’s eyes narrowed. “Are you reciting a poem?”

Silas shrugged and met her gaze, his lips twitching at the corner. “One that is in progress, I believe; it was born only a moment ago.”

Astoria rolled her eyes at the ceiling and turned back to the mirror, continuing to braid her hair. “You are being ridiculous.”

Silas chuckled and walked towards her. Astoria tensed, her eyes widening as he appeared behind her in the mirror. He met her gaze, winked, and dropped his clothes on top of hers on the chair before walking towards the bed.

“You can sleep on the bed. I will take the—”

Astoria turned towards him as he paused and saw him glancing around the room with a baffled look.

“Why is there not a single couch or an armchair in this room?” He met her gaze.

Astoria hadn’t noticed this either. She groaned. “I think you should ask my father that.”

His eyebrows rose. “He expects us to sleep together, doesn’t he?”

Astoria was grateful there wasn’t enough light in the room so he couldn’t see the colour of her cheeks. “As a matter of fact, heneedsus to.” She turned back to the mirror and continuedbraiding. “He thinks that’s what is needed to fulfill the rituals to magnify our powers since it didn’t work after the ceremony.”

“Doyouwant the magnification?”

She pivoted back to him. “Of course not.”

His lips twitched. “Good, because it’s a myth.”

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