Page 110 of Enchanted Kingdom
He rolled his eyes. “Unbelievable.”
I squinted at him in faux rudeness. “Do go do something princely and leave me to my window.”
He tipped his head back to laugh as he went on his way.
I found I was rather looking forward to the rest of the evening. Yes, there were more Savaryn families in the room, lots of whispering strangers, but there were also some disloyal. For the first time since the first night I walked through these castle doors, I felt like less of an outlier.
* * *
The dancing was beginning.I had to just stand in line and watch Prince Krewan and Prince Keiran dance the night away. I was doing my best to only consider Keir and my relationship, but I couldn’t help but notice how he was around Delaney. Even with Aiyana, he was more patient and kinder than I would’ve preferred. And recently he had even taken to Gwen more. Which felt weird. She was one of my best friends and I was happy for her, yet we were dating the same prince.
This was madness. I didn’t know how long this tradition had gone on in Wylan but it needed some improvements. Like a good old fashioned de-hareming.
I noticed the king was up in his perch at his indoor balcony, and I did my best to ignore him completely. He seemed content to do the same with me.
Renna, now done with her dance, came and stood next to me in the rear of Keir’s line. I was immediately grateful for her presence. It was a weird night with the others in the room. It was like we were all being watched and scored based on our performances.
“How are you?” I asked her.
She let out a sigh. “I am itching to get out of this dress.”
I snorted. “But it does look fantastic on you.” Prince Krewan’s women were in beige, and if Renna’s dress were only a little lighter and brighter, it would’ve made a lovely wedding dress. Maybe it was heavy or something though.
“Thank you,” she said with a nudge to my shoulder.
“Sure you want to be seen talking to me tonight?” I asked softly. The night was young, but if her family was important to the king, chances were good she’d be told to stay away from me.
She gave me a look.“What?”
“Don’t you hear the whispers?” I asked her at a whisper, and the irony was not lost on me.
She rolled her eyes. “They only whisper in surprise because you are the only Nerede woman left. And they know the king doesn’t like that, yet here you are.”
I felt the king’s presence at my back and inhaled deeply. “Oh, so it’snotmy dazzling personality then?”
She squinted. “That’s a close second.”
I snorted. We looked to the dance floor to see Aiyana dancing with Keir and Molly with Prince Krewan.
Molly said something that had Prince Krewan actually laughing.
“Oh. So he does laugh,” I muttered.
Renna sighed. “He doesn’t laugh enough. But when he does, it does feel extra special.”
I wasn’t putting it past Molly to be the one to get the job done either. She was hilarious and rarely in a bad mood despite being looked down upon by most of Savaryn. “Will the two of you be okay?” I said gently and quietly. “The longer this thing goes?”
She didn’t hesitate to begin nodding. “Oh yes. Completely.”
Gwen stood on the other side of Nara, and I wanted to say the same for us, but I wasn’t that sure. At all. Gwen had been pulling away from the group while Nara had been happy to slide on in.
Molly eventually joined us, and they were my emotional support for having to go last. Molly had me giggling soon, and by the time it was finally my turn to dance, I was feeling less nervous, though I knew in my gut the king was watching us.
“Jorah,” Keir grinned at me.
I gave him a textbook bow. “Your Grace.”
“This feels an awful lot like our first dance,” he said playfully as he kissed my hand and got us into proper dancing hold.
