Page 92 of A Kingdom of Destruction

She shouldn’t stay there listening to his troubles. She shouldn’t be anywhere near him because she’d vowed to keep her distance, if only for the sake of appearances. No one wanted to see Cillian’s fiancée throwing herself at Roran and attempting to claw his eyes out.

Or worse. Bawling like a baby.

He got under her skin worse than anyone else, but at the moment, with this realization rocking her inner world, she was… sad for him.

True, King Donal hadn’t been obligated to make any kind of claim on Roran. Although it would be a decent thing to do. The kind of thing a good person would do, stepping up for the child they helped create.

No wonder Roran had a chip on his shoulder the size of the palace.

Rather than staying and risk him finding her where she didn’t belong, Aven hustled off with only the smallest swish of her skirt. It felt better to have a flute of champagne in her hands. To bury herself in a sip and let the bubbles burn their way down her throat and into her stomach.

Heat tickled her side, and when she looked up from her next sip, Cillian stood beside her wearing a radiant smile. “Sorry to be away for so long. Are you having fun?” He reached for her free hand and held it against him.

Aven nodded even though her gut hollowed out. “Sure,” she forced herself to say. “Although I’ve missed having you here.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Father wanted to talk about some last-minute additions to the wedding, and I had no choice but to lend him my ear. He’s putting all of this together for us, after all.”

Cillian gestured toward the room.

Yeah. For both of them. What a joke.

None of this was for her, and she knew it. She was the pawn being moved across the game board to ensure a win for whoever held her.

“What kind of additions?” she wanted to know.

Cillian chided her, clicking his tongue before he gently took her flute of champagne and set it down on the passing tray of a server even though she hadn’t finished. He took her in his arms and whisked her onto the dance floor, the two of them falling into a natural rhythm among the rest of the dancers. “I don’t want you wondering or worrying, Aven. Tonight is for us to celebrate! Our engagement means great things for everyone.”

“What did your father want?”

Cillian’s attention flickered to something over her shoulder, and two small lines furrowed between his brows before he looked down to her again. He smoothed the expression away as though it had never existed. “Details for the wedding. He wants to make sure everything is going to go off without a hitch. I assured him we are right on track.”

“There’s no need for him to worry. I’m sure you told him we’re on top of matters,” she insisted.

They better be for all the moments of the day they spent putting the plans together.

Cillian wanted things to be perfect.

Most women dream of the day and would agree with him immediately. Even Nora had spoken about her dreams for a wedding, once she found the right partner to spend the next few hundred years beside.

Her lady’s maid bubbled over with ideas for her future ceremony.

Maybe there was something wrong with Aven. She couldn’t care less. And maybe that was why she threw herself into thepreparation. To prove to herself and everyone else she actually cared.

She did her best to enjoy the night.

Cillian moved her in circles across the floor, and her thoughts spiraled the same way, going around from the dance to Roran to the King and back again.

The dresses and the food, the music and the revelry, it felt very much like a fairy tale.

Eventually, it wore her down.

In the very best way, she decided, because she deserved joy in her life, even if it felt like trying to convince herself. She deserved fun and laughter and everything that came with a ball. Cillian spun her with his hands on the small of her back, and her head tilted back, drawing a laugh.

It didn’t matter what people said about her. Or what happened in Roran’s past and what it meant for the trajectory of his future. He said his mother had left him on the doorstep of the palace?

She wanted to know more.

Those were also issues for future Aven, if she chose to focus on them, and with more stressors stacking up by the minute, she wondered if she’d ever deal with them properly. Right then, in Cillian’s arms, with the world slowly tilting into the right direction, she felt?—

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