Page 69 of The Curse of a Kingdom
“Yes, weren’t they all light blue?”
That piqued Nava’s curiosity. She strolled to the closet, eyeing the colors of her dresses. Leela was right—they were still blue, but much darker. Some indigo, others navy. “I swear I haven’t done anything.”
“Of course not. The room is charmed to tend to your needs,” her friend said, and it sounded like a practiced speech. Something she repeated often, likely to other guests of the castle. “I have never seen it change dress shades before, but it must go with your mood or something.” She shrugged and picked a gown from the bunch.
“Callisto mentioned it, and I forgot to ask her . . . Is it a room thing or is the castle somehow magical?”
“The king’s magic feeds the castle—and our kingdom in a way I don’t claim to understand, but it’s what we’re told.”
Nava looked around the room, to the ceilings and floors, feeling watched as her spine prickled with awareness. “Can he hear us?” she whispered.
“He shouldn’t—”
“Shouldn’t and couldn’t are not the same.”
“He has spies everywhere.” Leela’s words became almost silent, but she smiled after the room had grown too cold. “His power used to have more of a reach decades ago. I'm sure he has better things to do than spy on you.”
Think again, Leela.He was her enemy.
They worked through the morning and into the afternoon. By the time Leela made her way out of Nava’s room, the dress looked less like an overly decorated cake. They had picked apart one or two of the other gowns, taking a bit of embroidery from an underlay skirt here, some soft white tulle there.
It was not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but just the fact that Marni would be upset about them altering her gown had Nava smiling.
Her dress didn’t look like two women had pulled it apart at the last minute this morning, and even though it wasn’t the most beautiful gown she’d seen, it was pretty enough.
“I will try to bring you a mask to the ball to replace the one Marni gave you. But it gets very busy, I might not be able to find you,” she vowed before leaving
Fael peeked through the door, his brows lifting as he met their creation and whistled. “Now that's what I call a full transformation.”
“Aren’t you going to get changed?” Nava asked when it was just the two of them left. His black aura was a soft, billowy mist, barely perceptible and nothing compared to the royals.
“No, I can’t leave the post unattended.”
Guilt boiled in her stomach. “That won’t do. Maybe I can come with you so you can get changed. I mean, I won’t come to see you get changed, of course. What I mean is I can be close by.”
Fael’s laughter rolled over the room. “Miss Nava. Have you seen how the prince can kill by lifting his hand? It takes the royals just half a minute to break one's soul apart.” The guard cleared his throat and shook his head with a tentative smile. "I won’t change to anything else than my armor. It lends me better opportunities while I'm there either way.”
Nava swallowed, standing on shaky legs. She didn't want to give away the fact that to her, Arkimedes wasn’t scary. He was home. “I guess people do like a man in armor.”
“It’s my preferred outfit for any occasion, and unlike the rest of the crew, we aren’t forced to wear white.”
She grinned. “I bet you get lots of attention.”
“Oh, you have no idea.”
* * *
Rich red runners flowed down wide spiral stairs, leading to a music-filled room. Crisscrossed columns lined the ceilings, reminding her of the waffles Laurie used to make for breakfast. Her stomach churned, and Nava wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or hunger.
The room was vast, with decorated columns and polished marble floors where couples wearing gold, yellow, and white swirled around the dance floor. She found a band in the corner, playing unusual instruments.
Fael walked next to her as they came into the crowd. Laughter filled the air, and Nava met the curious gaze of a mask-wearing fae who snickered at the dress. She would have cared in a normal situation, but the heat soaring through her made it hard to give a crap about the disastrous puffy yellow nightmare she wore.
“How are we going to find Leela?” Nava turned to Fael, who stood a good head and a half taller than her, towering over most people.
He dropped his gaze; golden eyes shone behind a black mask. He lifted a bushy brow. “With that dress, it’s more likely she will find you.”
Nava lifted onto her tiptoes, trying to find her friend among the crowd. However, her eyes deviated away from their original task, hunting for someone else instead. “Is it too naïve of me to expect that Ar—er, I mean, His Royal Highness to join me at any point tonight?” she asked, wringing her hands together, avoiding the man’s knowing look. “I mean, I know he is going to be busy, and I don’t expect for him to come to talk to me alone, but since Devon and I are his guests, I hoped . . . You know what? I don’t care.”
