Page 130 of Of Storm and Emerald
There were musicians set up in the main hallway, and as they played, their music filtered in through the doors and filled the room with lively melodies.
Auraelia descended the steps, and after curtsying to King Evander and Queen Avyanna, she excused herself to mingle with the crowd. Her gaze drifted back to Daemon, still by his parents as they introduced Yvaine to her mother and decided that she would find him later. Piper met her a few steps from the dais, her face screwed up with anger.
“Are you alright?” she asked, looping her arm through her friend’s as they both grabbed a glass of wine from a passing tray.
“Fine. I just–why did he have to come?” Piper’s aggravation dripped from every word.
“Who? Aiden?” As a friend, Auraelia understood Piper’s frustration to a degree. But since they hadn’t really discussed Aiden since Kalmeera–though it wasn’t from her lack of trying–she wasn’t quite sure what Piper’s residual hostility toward him was for. But as a royal, she understood that Aiden didn’t have much say in the matter. He was the emissary for their court, and if anyone in the royal family said he needed to be somewhere, that’s where he would be.
“Yes, Aiden. Who else would I be talking about? Goddess, he’s just so…so…Aiden.” Her hand was balled into a fist at her side as her frustration bled into anger.
“Piper, I have no idea what that means. Especially since you haven't told me what happened between the two of you in Kalmeera. I’ve been asking you for months and you keep pushing it off, saying you’re fine, when it’s clear you’re not.”
Piper closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and stay her anger. “I’ll tell you; I promise. Just not here and not now. Okay?”
“Fine. Oh, and Piper? I know you’re upset with him, but being hereis not his doing. He’s just doing his job. So, try and cut him a little slack, okay?”
Piper rolled her eyes, but nodded and tapped her glass against Auraelia’s before taking a large sip and downing half of its contents. When she lowered her glass, Xander stood in front of her, and she almost choked on her drink. One corner of his lips pulled upward and there was a gleam in his eyes that Auraelia had begun to notice only showed itself around Piper.
“Thirsty?” The teasing tone that laced Xander’s words made her snicker and earned her an elbow to her ribs.
“Ouch!”she exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at Piper as she rubbed her side.
Piper gave her a snide look in return, then drained the rest of her glass and turned her attention to Xander.
“As a matter of fact, yes, I am. Care to grab me another?” Piper dangled the empty glass in his face, drawing her lips up at the corners in a challenge.
Xander’s eyes never left Piper’s as he grabbed the glass and placed it on a passing tray. “How about a dance instead?” His brows lifted in a challenge of his own, and a flush painted Piper’s cheeks as she accepted.
Auraelia watched as Piper linked her arm with Xander’s, and they strolled away toward the makeshift dance floor in the throne room.
Seeing her brother with her best friend was odd, but there was no denying the chemistry between them. Even if they were both adamant that they were merely friends, it was quite clear to those who knew Xander that he wished it was more.
What was stranger still, was that she couldn’t picture them with anyone else. Piper brought out a softer side to her brother that not many people got to see. Though Xander would have protected Piper without question before, there was a new kind of tenderness and affection that filled his gaze every time that he looked her way.
She wasn’t sure when the shift happened, but she was glad that it had. They both deserved happiness, and she wasn’t going to be the one standing in their way–they were doing a fine job of that all on their own.
Now that she was alone, she took a lap around the room, stopping on occasion to make small talk with the guests or to grab a canapé from one of the servers. All the while, keeping her eyes peeled for Daemon.
She was about to look for Piper when Lord Syrus approached and asked her to dance.
She remembered him from their dance in Kalmeera. Remembered his greasy, blond locks that fell in front of his muddy brown eyes, and the sinister smile that was firmly planted across his face. He radiated false confidence and superiority, and his mere presence made her uncomfortable. But as one of the hosts, it would be impolite to decline. So, she summoned a false smile, and let him lead her out to the dance floor.
His hand, that was supposed to be on her upper back for this particular dance, continuously slid down her spine. Despite the numerous times she politely put it back into position, it still drifted lower.
Auraelia sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Goddess Rhayne when the song mercifully ended. With a terse smile, she nodded her thanks and scurried away from the floor–leaving Lord Syrus with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Crossing the room, she found Lady Aesira and Yvaine discussing various fighting stances and techniques and decided to join in on the conversation.
She felt him before she saw him.
Felt the caress of his magic across the back of her neck, and it sent shivers down her spine. Phantom touches twined around her fingers like they were holding her hand, while some snaked beneath her dress and up her legs.
They were touches that let her know that he was watching.
Touches of longing and of possession.
It was intoxicating.
