Page 86 of Of Storm and Emerald
Aiden took up a spot next to Daemon and took a large sip of his drink. “I uh–your mother sent me on a last-minute errand for solstice.” At the conclusion of his sentence, his eyes widened to the size of a full moon, a thin sheen of sweat coating his brow.
Was he nervous?
He was poised to ask him just that, when a strong breeze coasted through the garden.
He would know that magic tinted breeze anywhere. It carried with it the subtle scent of lavender, something that wasn’t grown anywhere near Kalmeera.
Only in Lyndaria.
Daemon immediately turned on his heel toward the grand staircase at the front of the garden, where a vision in blue stood at the top.
Holy shit.
Aiden patted his friend on the shoulder and mumbled an apology before slipping away into the crowd.
Sariah sidled up beside him and leaned in. “Who is that?”
Daemon choked on the words as he tried to force them out. “It’s umm–it’s–” But before he could get them out, the footman at the bottom of the stairs announced the newcomers to the crowd.
The words became background noise as he forced his way to the front of the garden. A million thoughts running rampant through his mind. Thewhat,thehow,and thewhyof it all disappeared as soon as he was merely a breath away from her.
She was dressed in a traditional Kalmeeran gown. The top was midnight blue and faded into lighter and brighter shades toward the bottom. She looked like the night sky fading into the bright blue of the day.
The fabric wrapped around her chest before crossing at her neck and forming straps along her upper back. There was a cut out between her breasts, where the sapphire pendant he’d given her swayed gently in the gap, and two cut outs at her waist that wrapped around to leave her lower back exposed.
Two slits went up either side of her skirt, exposing her long, lean legs to her upper thigh. And wrapped around one of her thighs was a thin strip of midnight blue lace to mimic the look of a garter, only it held a series of chains and pearls that draped a few inches down her leg instead of a stocking.
There weren’t enough words in his vocabulary to accurately describe how beautiful she looked.
When he stepped up to extend his hand toward her, Xander–who had escorted her down the steps–shot him a look that could have killed him where he stood. And Auraelia didn’t even spare him a glance as she crossed his path.
What the hell was that about?
He watched as Xander escorted her through the crowd to where his mother was standing with some of the noblemen from their court…and their very eligible, very single, sons.
Fuck!
His anger began to build, sending his shadows to pool at his fingertips.
As he watched her walk away, realization dawned.
Her hair had been left down. Only a singular wide braid hung down the middle and there were a few smaller braids throughout the remainder of her honey blonde waves. All of which had strings of saltwater pearls woven into them, and there were three individual strands strung across the crown of her head. It was a very common hair style amongst women in his court. However, the only women who wore pearls in their hair were members of the royal family.Hisfamily.
Goddess, damn it, mother.
If he hadn’t figured it out by then, then the way Auraelia and her party were just embraced by his mother and sister would have been a clear indication.
He knew in an instant that this was all his mother’s doing.
Thiswas the last-minute errand that Aiden had been sent on.
Hedidn’t invite her, soshedid.
Shit.
Daemon made his way over to the group surrounding Auraelia and his mother. When his sister saw him coming, she winked and then scurried away.
I’ll deal with her later, I guess.
