Page 7 of Of Storm and Emerald
“What about him?” Piper asked as she inclined her head toward a tall man across the way.
Auraelia squinted to try and get a better look as the man in question turned and smirked at them. Even with a mask obscuring half his face, she knew who it was within a second. With her lips turned down in faux disgust, she turned to her friend and snickered, “Being as that’s my brother, he’s not really my type.”
Both women had to cover their mouths to try and suppress the giggles that threatened to escape as Xander approached them. With a raised, quizzical brow, he waited patiently for them to regain their composure. When they finally calmed themselves, he cleared his throat and directed his attention to Auraelia.
“I suppose since it’s your birthday, I should ask you to dance. But I’m not sure how inconspicuous you would remain after that, dear sister.” With a wink and a smirk, he turned his attention to Piper and bowed, “My Lady, would you care to dance?”
Piper and Auraelia shared a glance, then after a small shrug from Auraelia, Piper curtsied, placed her hand in Xander’s, and they headed to the center of the room where other couples were dancing.
Left to her own devices, Auraelia began to observe the crowd around her. It was a different experience being on the outside of an event, rather than at its center. The ability to merely exist in a space, without the pressure of being perfect all the time, lifted a weight off her shoulders that was heavier than she realized.
Standing just outside of a group of women, she rolled her eyes and laughed to herself as they gossiped about the men in the room that they found attractive, which included her brother, and listened to their petty jealousies towards the women who were dancing or conversing with those same men—like Piper.
Her amusement grew when she witnessed the men doing much of the same. She had to suppress a laugh as she listened to them try to work up the nerve to ask any of the ladies to dance. Fixing their hair, straightening their lapels, all to just stand in a group and not make a single move.
A bunch of preening peacocks, the lot of them.
Standing by the wall of windows that faced out into the garden, Auraelia watched while couples twirled and dipped their way across the dance floor and realized for the first time that day that she was genuinely happy.
“Hello, my star.”
She jumped. Lost in her own thoughts and the gentle sway of the music that coursed throughout the ballroom, she hadn’t noticed the firm body pressed against her from behind, nor the warm breath at her ear as a large hand snaked its way around her waist, looking to pull her closer.
Shock turned to pure loathing and ran rampant through her at the sheer audacity that someone could be so forward, especially out in the open surrounded by people. Seething, Auraelia quickly pulled from the embrace, and–with an incredulous look on her face–spun around. “Excuse me, who do you thi—”
As soon as their eyes met, her seething turned into a simmer. Trapped in the depths of his gaze, she faltered, and her heartbeat quickened. Even with his mask on she could tell that he was gorgeous, and a feeling she couldn’t quite place bloomed in the center of her chest, like a thread had been pulled taut between them.
Lifting one eyebrow, he smirked, and answered the question she hadn’t been able to finish asking. “Who do I think I am? Oh, my star, that would negate the purpose of wearing a mask, now wouldn’t it?”
My star? What the…why does he keep calling me that?Heat flooded her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” though unsure of whyshewas apologizing, she continued anyway. “You must have me mistaken for someone else.” She turned to leave, but before she could make it one step away, he caught her wrist and started tracing small circles on her pulse point with his thumb. His touch was like a brand on her skin, searing straight into her soul.
When she met his gaze, he smiled, and her knees went weak.
“Not a chance, my star. Now, would you care to dance? You’re much too beautiful to be a wallflower.”
Deciding to let this mysterious man guide her to the dance floor was the easiest decision she had made all night. His mere touch had her pulse racing, and she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. And because he had no idea who she was, she could be absolutely, irrevocably, herself. It didn’t matter that she was actually a princess. Tonight, she could be just a girl at a ball, but at that moment, she chose to behis.
He was taller than her–even with her heels, and as they took a turn around the dance floor, Auraelia took a good look at her mysterious partner. He wore a simple black mask that covered the top half of his face and coordinated beautifully with the rest of his ensemble.
Dressed from head to toe in black, it looked like the devil himself had whisked her onto the dance floor.
His vest had small, gold braided embellishments along the front edge, where matching buckles fastened across his waist. The lush velvet of his coat was soft beneath her fingertips and covered in an intricate brocade pattern while its edges were accented in the same braided gold as his vest.
His hair was as dark as his coat and there was a bluish hue to the strands under the lamplight. He wore it short on the sides and kept the top long and unkempt, like he constantly ran his fingers through it—something that Auraelia’s fingers now itched to do—and he had a short well-trimmed beard that suited his square jaw line. His lips were full and pink, like he had been entangled in a night of kissing, and he smelled like sandalwood and the ocean breeze.
He smirked, and it was then that Auraelia realized she had been blatantly staring at his mouth. Quite positive that her entire face was the color of her berry lip paint, she quickly looked away to try and compose herself. Without missing a single step, he gently grabbed her chin and pulled her face back toward his. Eyes the color of moss agate, with swirling pools of gold that seemed to shine with a light all their own, looked back at her. Breathless and blushing, Auraelia opened her mouth to say something, anything, but no words came out.
“My name is Daemon,” was all that he said as he returned his hand to hers and continued to lead her through the dance.
A million thoughts circled through her mind when he revealed his name. There was only one Daemon that she knew of that would have been invited to Lyndaria for her birthdayandthe impending coronation and that was Prince Daemon Alexander, Crown Prince of the Court of Sapphire Isles.
Thankfully, he still seemed to be clueless as to whom he was spinning around the dance floor, and she was determined to do whatever it took to keep it that way for as long as possible.
After a few more turns the dance came to an end and Daemon led Auraelia from the crowd. Grabbing two glasses of sparkling wine from a passing tray, he handed one to her before making his way toward the doors nestled in the wall of glass where this whole encounter started and headed into the garden.
Downing the contents of her glass, she followed him into the fresh night air. Curiosity, paired with not wanting the night to end, overruled any logical reasoning as to why she should have stayed in the ballroom.
This area of the garden grounds was separate from the Queen’s garden. With its fountain centered hedge maze and its rose bushes, snapdragons, and wildflowers, it was an unkempt oasis nestled in the middle of a world of structure.
