I’m in very big trouble.
Chapter
Twenty-One
For the next several hours, I convinced myself of all the reasons I shouldn’t attend the dinner.
I would be intruding on a private family event. I would surely become the focus of the dinner, and I’d had enough of being in the spotlight today. I would almost certainly say or do something that would get me in trouble. Again.
And Luther would be there. I hadn’t decided whether that was a mark in favor or against.
I had done such an effective job that by the time the hour struck to depart, I was curled up in my bed, three fingers of whiskey deep and surrounded by silver platters of half-eaten chocolates.
I heard the clock chime and glanced at Sorae, who was laying outside on her perch, head raised skyward with eyes closed as she relished the evening breeze along her feathers.
“Do you think I’m a fool for not going?” I called out to her.
She gave no sign that she’d heard me beyond a lazy swish of her tail.
“You do. You think I’m a coward.”
More silence. More half-hearted tail flips.
“You think I should go.”
She cracked one golden yellow eye and turned it my direction.
“Sorae, you know I’ll find some way to embarrass myself, and then I’ll come back up here and wallow in self-pity all night.”
Her gaze shifted to the crystal decanter hanging from my chocolate-splotched hand.
I frowned. “Fine, maybe I’m already wallowing.”
I slipped out of bed and cleaned myself off, then opened my wardrobe, eying the medley of ethereal fabrics. “Even if I did go, what would I wear? After this morning, it would have to be perfect.”
I pulled three long dresses from the wardrobe, all in muted colors of dark grey and navy. “What about these?”
Sorae looked at the dresses, then at me, then turned her head back to the evening sky, her eyes snapping shut.
I groaned and tossed them aside. Two more caught my eye, both in brighter colors but modest silhouettes. “Better?”
She huffed disapprovingly without even bothering to look.
“Let me guess, you want me to pick something like this?” I reached for the most inappropriate item I could find, an emerald satin thing that was little more than a scrap of fabric held together by golden chains.
Sorae’s head swung all the way around. A flicker of pale blue flames danced out from between rows of dagger-sharp teeth.
“This? Really? For a family dinner?”
She blinked slowly.
I changed into the dress, blushing even in my solitude at how it put practically every inch of me on exhibition. The draped neckline barely covered my breasts, and ruching at the waist pulled one side of the short hem all the way to my hip. Even the covered parts of me felt exposed under the cling of the silken fabric. The gilded chains that secured it to my body were frighteningly delicate, looking ready to snap at the slightest tug—and if they did, the entire dress might go down with it.
“You’re certain this is wise? I might as well be naked.”
Sorae cocked her head, as if to say That wouldn’t be a bad choice, either.
I gulped and slipped on a pair of heeled sandals with straps that wound up my calves and over my knee. I strapped a dagger to my thigh, its sharp point peeking from beneath the hem—just enough to remind anyone who dared to look too closely that I was a threat, and I could defend myself if I had to.
I studied myself in the mirror. The fearsome woman who stared back felt like a stranger. She was sexy, she was confident in her own skin. She cared nothing of the judgments of others, and she wore the Crown as if it had always been hers to wield.
Maybe I wasn’t her, not yet—but I was good at pretending. A little too good, sometimes. I could play her for one night.
I pulled the side of my hair up with a glittering diamond clip and glanced over my shoulder for a last once-over. A swath of emerald fabric barely covered the curve of my ass, and over my back, a web of glimmering golden chains crisscrossed my tawny skin.
My eyes lingered on my lower back where Luther’s hand had caressed me. Goosebumps prickled my skin at the memory.
I painted my lips with a balm the color of dark wine, then gave Sorae a glance. “Should I bring a shawl, just in case, or an overcoat, or maybe a quilt and a heavy cloak—”
She let loose a low snarl.
“Fine.” I took a steadying breath. “Just this. Just… me.”
Climbing into a pit of starving gryverns would have been less intimidating than walking into a dining room of young, beautiful Corbois cousins.
Sorae’s choice for my attire had been unsurprisingly perfect. Most of the women, and a few of the men, were clad in outrageously sexy dresses that left little to the imagination. Many were studded with gemstones worth a small fortune or enhanced with magical flares of light or shadow. Several men were shirtless, their upper halves ornamented with chains, leather straps, or armored plates. One person wasn’t wearing clothes at all, their naked body covered in swirls of shadow magic strategically placed over their intimate areas. I should have known House Corbois would see family gatherings primarily as a chance to compete for the spotlight.
For a moment, I worried I might not have gone far enough. In this room, my dress seemed almost plain. But instead of letting it feed my insecurity, I made it into my own quiet strength.
I didn’t need baubles or tricks to steal attention. I was the Queen, and I wore the Crown of Lumnos on my head. There was no spotlight I couldn’t steal, no room in the realm I didn’t command.
The hall was loud with conversation when I entered. All the cousins looked near to me in age, though looks were misleading—Descended could appear to be in their youth for decades, even centuries. There were around fifty present in total, all seated at a long, narrow dining table, with a few laughing boisterously near a well-stocked bar. Servants scurried around with plates and drinks, and music flowed from a quartet in a far corner.
My lungs seized up. As I strongly debated sprinting back to my chambers, a few eyes turned to me and went wide, and I was stuck. I had already fled one event today. I needed to change perceptions, not confirm them.
Luther saw me and shot to his feet. He was dressed in his usual attire, finely made but understated. Like me, he never had to try to command attention. He simply did.
His lips parted as he looked me over. Even from across the room, the heat of him pressed against me, drawing sweat to the back of my neck. His gaze traveled the expanse of my body, nostrils flaring as it caught on my bare thigh. When his eyes cut back to mine, the hunger raging behind them had my blood humming.
The conversation fell to a hush as the room took notice of my presence.
“Diem,” a voice called out, smooth as cream.
Aemonn strutted toward me with a glass of sparkling wine in hand. The tailored jacket of his slim-fitting white suit hung open over his bare chest, which was painted with gold whorls that swirled up his throat to his sky-high cheekbones.
“You look ravishing.”
I gave him a restrained smile. “I hope I’m not intruding.”
“Of course not. It’s hardly a family affair without our most important member.” Aemonn turned to the room and cleared his throat. “Cousins, may I present Her Majesty, Queen Diem Corbois.”