Page 8 of The Ruby Dragon Prince
He and Leo rushed ahead, crossing the bridge boldly. I followed, gesturing for the others to come as well. I could feel in my soul that we were most definitely invited to the ball.
Everything felt light and wonderful once we made it to the island and the pavilion. The dancers were alphas, omegas, and betas, both men and women. They were all dressed in the finest clothing I’d ever seen made from the richest silks and satins. I was wearing palace finery from our father’s ball, but I felt underdressed.
Among the dancers were servants with trays of refreshments, just like in our father’s palace, but the quality of the sweet and savory treats far surpassed anything he had ever served. The servants all looked happy and glad to be there, unlike ours. Everyone seemed to be genuinely delighted with the ball, dancing away with joyful exuberance.
“Masks?”
I turned to see a small table near where we’d entered the island that held a variety of gilded, bejeweled masks. Indeed, all of the guests seemed to be wearing them, so I and my brothers stepped over to the table and picked masks for ourselves. I ended up with one adored with rubies and pearls and edged with gold.
“This is amazing,” Selle said once we were all masked and stepped closer to the dancers. He’d had to fit his mask over his glasses, but it was as if the mask he’d chosen had been specifically constructed for him. “I’ve never seen a ball like this.”
“Me either,” I said, my heart beating fast.
“I want to dance,” Leo said, already bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I feel like for the first time ever, I might actually get to dance with someone handsome and good.”
“I just want to dance with someone who is actually good at it and won’t tread on my feet,” Obi said with a laugh.
It was so good to see my brothers at ease and excited to be around other people for a change. I could feel the goodness of our company, and more than a few of the dancers smiled at us and gestured for us to join them.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I loved dancing and Obi was right. It would be a treat to dance with someone who was graceful and kind for a change.
We blended in with the rest of the dancers quickly and joyfully. I saw a handsome gentleman with a beard bow to Misha, inviting him to dance on one side, and a young, spritely man extending his hand to Leo to bring him into the swirling, laughing, happy throng of dancers as well.
I didn’t have to wait long for my first invitation. A beta close to my own age gallantly asked if I needed to be taught the steps. I took him up on his offer and blended into the dancers with him.
It was glorious. It was everything I’d ever dreamed of a ball being. I danced and laughed and talked with the other guests for hours, though no one seemed willing to answer my deeper questions about where we are and how it was possible for that place to exist.
The whole time, as much as I enjoyed myself, I felt a pull that I couldn’t explain. I glanced into the crowd as if looking for someone, checked over my shoulder every time I took a break to meet up with my brothers again for refreshment and to discuss how the night was going. I could feel a presence somewhere, and I knew that it was meant for me somehow.
“Is time passing at all?” Selle asked at one point when we paused for a drink.
“It must be,” I said, looking up through the latticed ceiling of the pavilion. “The moon and the stars have moved.”
“Time most definitely passes here,” a deep, warm voice said, drawing my gaze down from the stars. “I know, because it has felt like a thousand lifetimes of waiting for this moment.”
My heart caught and my stomach flipped as I gazed at the heartstoppingly beautiful alpha who had come to stand in front of me. He was head and shoulders taller than me with a broad chest and powerful thighs. His face was strong and chiseled, and he had vibrant, red hair and a red beard. His green eyes shone with an intensity that felt like fire, and for a moment, just a moment, his pupils seemed to be vertical slits instead of round.
I blinked and they looked normal again, but the alpha was still astoundingly gorgeous. I was so bowled over by the sense that I, too, had been waiting my entire life to meet him that I couldn’t speak, even though I opened my mouth and tried to form words.
He laughed, the rich, almost predatory sound enveloping me. “Would you care to dance?” he asked, extending his large hand to me.
I wasn’t bold and brave, like Rumi or Leo, and I certainly wasn’t shy and timid, like Misha or Obi, but as the redheaded alpha took my hand and led me out to join the dance, I didn’t know what to do. I considered myself strong enough to stand on my own two feet, maybe not with Father, but certainly with people like Lord Groswick. I didn’t know what to do with myself around the redheaded alpha, though.
“It’s always enlightening when new people find their way into our kingdom,” the redheaded alpha said as he swept me partially into his arms for the first steps of the dance.
It was one of those dances, like the one I’d danced with Lord Groswick, where we barely touched as we executed the intricate steps around each other. Unlike my dance with Lord Groswick, I very much longed for the redheaded alpha to take me into his arms.
He laughed again, making me feel foolish for being unable to speak. “Don’t worry,” he said, his eyes shining as he watched me intently through the dance. “Newcomers often feel overwhelmed.”
“I’m not even certain where we are,” I said, finding my voice at last. I didn’t like how weak it sounded, so I cleared my throat and tried again. “One moment, my brothers and I were locked in our bedroom in the palace, and the next, a magic door appeared under my brother Rumi’s bed.”
The redheaded alpha hummed and nodded, as if that explained everything. “You were brought here by true love,” he said.
“Really?” I answered, smiling. “I’ve begun to lose hope that true love exists.”
“Oh, it definitely exists,” the alpha said.
I felt his words down to my core. They seemed to lodge in my womb and make my hole flutter, though I was months yet from my next heat.
