Page 125 of Glow of the Everflame

An audible gasp rolled through the ballroom as we stepped onto the raised platform in full view of a crowd that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The massive hall had been decorated to match the palace exterior. Every wall was blanketed in dark, tangled vines speckled with glittering flowers that cast dots of light in motion around the room. The vaulted ceiling disappeared beneath a thick cloud of shadow dusted with glowing orbs that bobbed as if floating in a sea of midnight ink.

If the ballroom had been crafted into a night sky, then Aemonn and I were the full moon, bathing the room in our regal glow.

My dress was the perfect choice. The sheer panels of its corset were edged with white boning and coated in minuscule diamonds that trickled down like falling stardust. Romantic swaths of softest silk hung just off my shoulders, which had been dusted with an opalescent powder, and a waterfall of glittering gossamer skirts made me appear to float as I walked.

The all-white ensemble, together with my colorless eyes and snowy, pearl-embellished hair, painted the picture of a pure, innocent Queen.

A blank canvas. A blushing bride.

A white flag of surrender.

Soft. Virginal. Harmless.

All the things Iwasn’t.

Only my dark, thorny Crown hinted at what lay beneath.

The crowd dropped to their knees, led by the Corbois cousins I’d dined with the evening prior. I caught a few of their eyes, and we shared private, knowing smiles. They knew as well as I did that this look was a costume to disguise my true self—but now they were in on the con, and my success at the dinner had earned their complicity.

Aemonn led me down to the ballroom floor where Remis and Garath were waiting. Remis looked over my attire with an approving nod. “Well chosen, Your Majesty. I presume we’re still aligned regarding our strategy for this evening?”

I fluttered my lashes with feigned empty-headedness. “Whatever you say, Regent.”

Garath’s upper lip twitched as he tried poorly to mask his distaste. “At least you dressed appropriately this time.”

His focus dropped to the golden medallion that hung between my breasts, then shifted to his son with a subtle nod.

Remis and Garath’s wives hovered behind their husbands. They gave me polite nods but otherwise made no effort to approach. In fact, unlike both their husbands and their children, neither woman had made any effort at all to speak with me since my arrival.

My attention lingered on Garath’s wife. She caught my staring and sharply narrowed her eyes. I quickly looked away.

“You look so beautiful!” Lily squealed as she bounced to my side. She ran her hand along the fabric of my dress and sighed. “I wish Teller could be here. He would be so proud of you.”

My heart clenched. “Thank you for your help this morning.” I looked nervously toward the dance floor. “Let’s hope it pays off.”

“You’ll be perfect, I’m sure of it. And Aemonn is a wonderful dancer. He’ll help you, won’t you cousin?” She targeted Aemonn with a look that was surely meant to be stern but came off adorably unthreatening, like a butterfly trying to pick a fight with a lion.

“Of course,” Aemonn crooned. “I plan to take very good care of our Queen.”

Lily leaned in to kiss my cheek. Just as she was about to pull away, she hovered close and whispered, “Perhaps you can save one dance for my brother? It would mean the world to him.”

My face flushed, and the sneaky smile that played on her lips told me she’d noticed.

I was saved from responding by Eleanor and Taran, who threw his arms around Lily’s waist and swung her in a circle, grinning as she squeaked in surprise. Their mothers jumped forward to scold him for making a scene, and he groaned loudly before setting Lily back on her feet with a rumbling laugh.

Eleanor beamed at me proudly. “You were right about that dress.”

“All the credit belongs to you,” I shouted, raising my voice obnoxiously loud so it carried deep into the crowd. “Your advice isso veryinvaluable to me. I would be lost without you, Eleanor Corbois.”

She dropped into a curtsy to hide her grin at my lack of subtlety. “It’s my pleasure to serve such a wise and selfless Queen, Your Majesty,” she answered, equally as loud.

Taran raked his eyes over my body and gave a long whistle. “Looking good, Queenie. Too bad about that ugly growth on your arm.”

Aemonn scowled at his brother. “Don’t you have a barrel of wine to drown in? Or perhaps a certain cousin’s ass to bow down and kiss?”

Taran craned his neck around to peer at my backside. “Now that you mention it, cousin Diem does have quite a nice, round little a—”

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