Page 129 of Enchanted Kingdom
I squinted at him. “It came as a gift. The note with it said it came from you. Therefore, I cannotnotwear it.”
He looked the dress over again. “I didn’t send it to you, though for the record you do lookfantasticin it.”
Both of them kept looking at the dress and not me. “Eyes up here, Your Graces,” I snapped.
Both sets of blue eyes flew to mine.
“I was sent a dress that is far more revealing than I am comfortable with nor used to, the letter with it was signed that it was from Keir, but Keir said he did not send it. Then who really did send me this dress?”
That had them quiet.
“So,” I snapped. “Again, I require your assistance. Where the hell did this dress come from?”
“Probably our father,” Krewan suggested.
“Aiyana?” Keir guessed.
I brought a hand up to my temple and tried to take a deep breath, though I was feeling the panic rising. “Oh gods, if it’s from Aiyana, I wouldn’t put it past her to have doused it in acid or something. I’ll probably be nude by the night’s end.”
Keir stood and walked over to me. “Hey. We will figure it out, okay?”
I blinked rapidly, my eyes stinging with his kindness. “Okay.”
“Does she have to wear it?” Owen said roughly from where he leaned against the wall. “She does, doesn’t she? If it came from your father, he will know if she doesn’t wear it.”
Krewan groaned. “And then he will know of her defiance, thus have a reason, in the very least, to question her.”
All the air left my lungs at once.“What?”
Keir placed a hand on my shoulder. “Jorah, it’s going to be okay.”
Krewan added, “I know you are uncomfortable. And I know this is messed up, but the good news is that other women have worn far less.” He made a choking noise. “And also tried far worse.”
I didn’t even want to know what he meant by that last part. The tears were now burning my eyes. I really didn’t want to cry in front of these three. “Yes, but—” a tear slipped out before I could do anything about it, “but now the entire night I will be whispered about and gawked at even more.” I took a shaky breath. “I am so tired of feeling like a shiny object. So damn sick of it.”
“Does she really have to wear it?” Keir snarled at no one in particular. “What if it is from Aiyana after all?”
Krewan shook his head. “That makes no sense. Jorah looks amazing in this dress.Flawless.And will be getting a ton of attention because of it. Why would Aiyana do that on the night that her family is attending the ball? She wouldn’t. She wants to be the center of attention tonight.”
I wiped at my eyes. “So why would your father send it to me then? Doesn’t he also want her to be the center of attention tonight?”
Owen groaned. “He’s taunting you. He doesn’t think you’ll really wear it, and he wants a valid reason to get you away from us.”
“He still wants that sample of your blood,” Krewan added.
I looked up at the blurry ceiling. I was sick of all these games.
“Jorah,” Krewan said firmly.
My eyes went to his.
“Listen to me, okay?”
I nodded and tried to take a deep breath while Keir rubbed a hand between my bare shoulder blades, trying to calm me down.
“You have to wear it,” Krewan started. “And it’s not right. It’s not fair. He’s trying to make a spectacle out of you and trying to trip you up. But the way you screw him on this move is that you wear it. You wear it and you act like nothing at all is wrong the entire night. You smile. You dance. You flirt with Keir. You act like if there were a thousand dresses, you’d have picked this one all along. That is how you win this particular hand of cards, love.”
I took a deep breath. I hated to admit it, but Krewan was right. “Okay. We all know my court mask is horrid, but I suppose I can try.”
