“Looks like you beat me to it, Ellie.”
I sat up, blinking a few times to steady Eleanor’s face in my woozy vision. She was glaring at Aemonn with her nose scrunched.
“I hate that nickname.”
Aemonn smirked at her. “Why do you think I use it?”
She tossed a strawberry at him, which he deftly dodged. “Don’t you have someone else to bother?”
“Actually, Her Majesty and I have plans.” He turned his attention to me, his smirk softening into something more alluring. He offered the crook of his arm. “Shall we?”
I pushed to my feet and gripped the edge of the table as I swayed. Aemonn raised a brow and looked as if he was biting back a laugh.
“Good wine,” I explained sheepishly.
The sound of a door closing drew my attention. On the other end of the terrace, Luther stood by the palace, his focus heavy on me as his eyes drank me in. His body was stone still—he didn’t even seem to be breathing.
My face heated. Though he’d seen me unclothed a mortifying number of times, in this dress, I felt more laid bare before him than ever.
The effort not to storm over and demand the answers he’d promised was palpable, but I was in no condition to have that conversation until I’d sobered up, and I couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t sloppily attempt revenge for how he had so effortlessly subdued me last night.
And I had even less trust in the flutter in my stomach at the way he gazed at me, hands flexing at his sides.
Sorae pulled to her feet and arched her neck toward Luther as her tail whipped angrily. She gave an indignant huff through her scaled snout, curls of smoke billowing from her nostrils.
I grinned. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one still holding a grudge over last night’s spar.
I slipped my arm through Aemonn’s before looking back at my new advisor. “Thank you for this morning, Eleanor. Perhaps we can make it a regular occurrence?”
She beamed. “I’d love that. Although, next time I’ll think I’ll try knocking first.”
Chapter
Seven
Aemonn and I strolled into the garden, Sorae launching to the skies to keep an eye on us from above. He led me onto a gravel path lined with frilly lavender flossflowers and vibrant pink and white petunias, their sweet fragrance permeating the air.
“Luther sewn to your hip, Eleanor as your drinking companion, and now a private tour from yours truly. Dare I take this as a sign you intend to claim our noble House as your own?”
“I’m considering it,” I said. “You and your cousins are certainly going to great lengths to welcome me.”
“Can you blame us? We have everything to lose if you say no.” I blinked at his bluntness, drawing a wry smile from Aemonn. “Do you disagree?”
“No. I’m only surprised to hear one of you admit it so plainly.”
He gave an elaborate sigh. “I admit, being forthright is not always a family virtue.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Luther remained on the terrace, his attention fixed on where Aemonn’s arm and mine were joined. I quickly looked away.
“Is that why you asked me to take this stroll with you—to convince me to accept your uncle’s offer?”
His answering smile was enthralling. “I confess, I had an even more selfish motive in mind.”
He turned me onto a new path that led away from the palace and out of Luther’s line of sight, this one tiled with a mosaic of white flagstone and dotted with fancifully shaped topiaries.
“I was hoping you might allow me to be your escort to the Ascension Ball,” he continued. His eyes twinkled at my look of confusion. “It’s your formal introduction to the Houses of Lumnos.”
My heart stopped. “A ball? To introduce me?”
“Yes, but it’s nothing terribly unusual.” He waved his hand absently. “Music, dancing, uncomfortable clothes, vicious gossip. The standard fare.”
I instantly felt queasy—either from the wine or the prospect of being paraded in front of the Descended of Lumnos and expected to dance.
“When is this ball?”
“The day after the King’s funeral.”
“And when will that be?”
He gave another exaggerated huff. “We tried to keep Uncle’s death secret until your decision was made. Unfortunately, the servants were not as tight-lipped as we’d hoped. Mourning sashes have already begun to appear in the city. We’ll only be able to put off the funeral for two or three days at most.”
I gripped his arm to stay upright as the world wobbled around me. I would be presented as the Queen in two or three days.
At a ball.
With dancing.
“Traditionally, the Crown is escorted by their consort, but as you are unmarried—you are unmarried, aren’t you?—you’re free to choose whomever you wish. I hoped I might convince you to give me the honor.”
My stomach churned. I stumbled a step.
Aemonn moved in front of me, hands sliding to my ribs to hold me steady. The warning bells that urged me to pull away were drowned out by the clamor of alarms I was already reeling from.
“Is everything alright?” he asked.
Words wouldn’t come. My mouth was dry as cotton, my throat full of cinders.
“Luther didn’t tell you any of this?” Aemonn frowned. “He’s not a very dutiful advisor.”
“He’s not my advisor,” I choked out. “He’s just my…” I stopped. I didn’t really know what he was to me.
“Diem, look at me.” Aemonn’s fingers curled under my chin, tilting it upward. My eyes met his, and he rewarded me with a heart-stopping smile that dulled the edge of my panic. “It’s nothing to worry about. I can help you through it.” His thumb traced a slow line on my jaw as his gaze dropped to my mouth.
Drunken adrenaline bloomed through my chest, overwhelming my senses, and for a minute it was all I could do to keep breathing. Then a different, slimier emotion sliced through my thoughts—guilt.
“I’m with someone,” I blurted out, jerking away from Aemonn. “Not married, but… Henri—we—it’s, um, very serious.” It felt like a lie as it left my lips.
Aemonn stilled, his head angling a fraction of an inch. “Is he… mortal?”
I nodded.
“Hmm.” His gaze narrowed. “And precisely how serious are things with this Henri?”
I frantically tried to cobble together a response that didn’t give me away entirely. Aemonn took a step closer, a feral cat slinking toward the cornered mouse, and the words burst out before I could stop them.
“He asked me to marry him. I… I haven’t answered him yet.”
I winced.
I should not have revealed that.
Really, really should not have revealed that.
Aemonn studied me shrewdly. He was still wearing that dazzling smile, but it no longer met his calculating eyes.
“Well then,” he said evenly, “Henri will have to join us at the ball. The Houses of Lumnos will be very eager to meet him.”
“No!” I shook my head, my heart hammering. “He won’t be attending.”
“Diem, whatever lucky man you marry will become King Consort. If you are betrothed, or expect to be, and the other Houses find out you concealed that from them, the consequences for the Challenging would be catastrophic. Every House in Lumnos would rise against you.”