Page 11 of Enchanted Kingdom
She smiled, and it didn’t seem vindictive or rude. “Ahhh, but our will is not determined by our level in the kingdom, or whether or not we wield magic;weget to decide that.”
I thought about that for a moment.
She placed her hand on my wrist. “I’m sorry if I overwhelmed you. Again, not my intention. It was good to meet you, Jorah.”
“Thanks, you too,” I found myself saying but at least halfway meaning.
I had just met an Enchanted? That had been somewhat nice, and I hadn’t wanted to run from? This night just kept getting stranger.
I worked my way back to the truffles, avoiding the dancing and lines of candidates waiting for their chances to dance with the princes. From what I could see, each woman was only getting about a minute each before the next woman would swoop in to take her turn.
And yet by the end of the night, each prince would decide which thirty women they would like to pursue based off a few minutes and a few surface level conversations. That seemed smart.
“Here, miss, a fresh water.”
I spun to find the same server as before, holding a fresh water for me on his tray.
“Thank you, Rinaldi,” I smiled and swapped out my previous drink for a fresh one.
Deciding I needed one more truffle for the night, I popped the third into my mouth, again letting out a content sigh. I looked down at my cleavage for a moment, wondering how I could drop some truffles into my dress and take one home for Mother to try. They were the best things I had ever tasted and dammit if she didn’t deserve one, half melted or not. Plus, then we could figure out how to recreate them once I got home, providing we could get our hands on some cocoa powder.
A cleared throat from next to me had me snapping my attention up. And for the second time tonight, I found myself staring into some steel blue eyes. But now that he was right before me, I noted they looked grayer.
“Jorah, love, you would appear less suspicious if you would at least pretend for even half a moment to be interested in either me or my brother.”
Embarrassment traveled down my spine. Prince Krewan had just caught me looking down my own cleavage, and also apparently knew my name. But also realizing he was trying to scold me and feeling indignation over this entire debacle of a night flare back to life, I decided to take a drink of my water so I didn’t have to respond right away. If for no other reason than to make him wait a little. “Well if I was,” I began, “and I’m certainly not, but it would not be the brother I’m currently looking at.”
I probably shouldn’t have been that brutally honest with an Enchanted, potentially immune to magic or not, but I was over this bizarre trip already.
His blank stare never left my eyes, but I saw his jaw clench as if my disrespect angered him. His voice went quiet, as he took a step closer to me, scanning my eyes. He may have been the shorter of the twin princes, but he still towered above me.
His words were quiet but lethal, whipping through the air with each syllable. “Donotmake an enemy you aren’t even remotely prepared to face.”
I fought the need to take a step back but met his stare before he spun on his heel and left.
One of the crown princes had caught me coveting my chocolate and likely also my bosom. And then I had let my mouth run free and insulted him. Probably not my smartest move, but at the same time, I almost certainly wouldn’t be in Prince Krewan’s Assemblage. So I did have that going for me.
* * *
Most of thewomen stayed away from Ivy and me, knowing we were the last in the room and thus the Nerede women, so I kept checking in with her as the night wore on. It had to be after midnight. Or close to it. And the dancing was still in full swing, both brothers now on the dance floor with a lineup of women waiting to go next. The king was still on his perch, always watching.
Rinaldi had just handed me a fourth water when I heard Ivy gasp next to me.
“What is it?” I asked as she looked at me with wide eyes.
“Your dress,” Ivy said, eyes bright. “You’re glowing.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Look!” Ivy gasped again.
I quickly looked around to see that Ivy wasn’t the only one now staring at me. Finally glancing down, I saw that, sure enough, there were apparently tiny lights sewn into the lining of the dress that were now glowing.
How?
But then I remembered Flora’s determination that her designs get seen inside the castle and I knew,knew, she had done this.
Damn Flora and her brilliant ways.
