Page 47 of Enchanted Heir
But I had to admit, both princes looked great tonight. Krew’s jacket hadn’t simply been black like I originally thought; it too had a sparkle to it. And Keir had wings coming out of his back. On his tall height, he looked like he would just take flight off the dancefloor at any given moment.
It felt like on this night anything was possible. Magic only optional for the creepy or dramatic.
I stepped up to Krew and gave him a bow, looking at him from under my mask. “My Prince.”
“Love,” he greeted. “I expected a wolf, honestly. This is... well, this suits you. This is entirely better.”
I winced. “Well, I was supposed to ask you about being a wolf, with this as the backup plan, but then you weren’t talking to me, so I didn’t. And here we are.”
“And here we are,” he smiled while he spun me around.
He was leading us in the dance so gracefully, I had to stop talking for a few minutes in order to keep up and not trip over myself.
As he spun me out toward the people along the edge watching, I heard a little lady say none too quietly, “He is the wolf, and she is the forest which protects him.”
I couldn’t help the smile that crept across my face. Krew was one of the most powerful Enchanted in the entire kingdom, if not the most powerful, so I couldn’t truly protect him, but the thought was at least amusing.
“Having fun?” he asked as he brought me back in.
“For now, anyway,” I admitted.
Stealing a look at his eyes, I thought he looked moderately tired. And I knew he had a nightmare the previous night, but something was still bothering him. And maybe had been for days? Or was I just so used to being in close quarters to him that I was starting to imagine things?
“What?” he asked.
“Are you all right?”
His head went back like I was being ridiculous. “Yes. Are you?”
I took a look around the room. I randomly saw two people head behind one of the large black curtains. “I’m fine. You just look a little tired or angry or something. At least not at me though.”
He squinted. “I am tired and angry.”
“Oh.”
And then a smirk graced his lips so fast it was there and gone faster than a blink. “Plus, someone couldn’t keep her hands off me last night.”
My mouth fell open. “You noticed?”
He laughed. “I noticed.”
Dammit.So much for avoiding the embarrassment. “Well,” I said defensively, “your magic was keeping me awake. I was only trying to help.”
“Well thank you. It was not needed. But thank you.”
It wasn’t until the dance was over and we separated that I thought to ask why he’d kept holding onto my hand then.
* * *
More uncaged dancersjoined the caged ones, the room crawling with sensual movement as the intake of drinks increased. The evening had been fun for a while, an air of mystery and whimsy creeping along the walls, but I was ready to head upstairs soon. Particularly when I saw the king beckon a dancer over to dance right in front of him and three of his most trusted advisers.
I wanted to vomit. If the dancer was okay with it, that was one thing, but it wasn’t like anyone in the kingdom was allowed to tell him no either.
“Thanks, Rinaldi,” I said as he handed me a fresh water. “Doing okay?”
He gave me a nod. “Yes, Ms. Demir.” He leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry. Most of the attendees of this ball in particular get so snockered, the Hallows’ Eve ball never runs too late.”
I covered my mouth to laugh. “Noted.”
