Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
I followed her back to Sebastian’s door, my heart drumming harder with every step. There, Freyja faced me with the same obligatory briskness. “Your suite is connected to the king’s by a door. Protocol says you may not open it. He must.”
I’d already known about the door, just not the protocol. Which I didn’t need to consider because he wouldn’t be opening it. I certainly wouldn’t be.
After my nod, she continued. “Your lady-in-waiting is Soley.”
I wasn’t even shocked by the lady-in-waiting.
One of Adelaide’s many warnings echoed. Servants are good at being invisible. Remain aware. Be kind to all, but never fully trust.
I exhaled and entered the new suite. A space shockingly expansive, awash in the same ice-blue tones and pearl-whites as the rest of the royal wing. A painted sky arched across the ceiling, reaching draperies that reminded me of clouds. Crystalline light fixtures glowed like frozen stars.
My attention snagged on the area between the bedroom and the sitting room. Mirrored walls reflected a perfectly polished floor smooth enough for turns. Someone had installed a barre. The kind used only for serious training.
Awe wrapped itself around me. This wasn’t decoration. The height of the barre—perfection. The spacing from the mirror was exactly where it needed to be. The flooring carried just the right amount of spring.
This was done for me, specifically. My music box waited on a dresser.
My knees knocked. Ambassadors preferred to remain in the shadows, observing. I wasn’t supposed to dance until I returned home. Though I had planned to craft a makeshift studio myself, so I could stay in dancing form. But this… this exceeded every expectation.
Sebastian meant business, and I didn’t know what to think about that.
“You’re here!” A grinning woman with sun-gold curls and freckles scattered across her cheeks sprang from a settee and clapped. “Halló, halló. I’m Soley, and I am so honored to finally meet you.” Words spewed from her at warp speed. “I got to watch one of your shows, virtually of course, and I’ve been eager to meet you.” A wider, toothier grin accompanied more clapping. “How may I help you? Whatever you want, whatever you need, I’m your girl.”
Her natural warmth hit like a balm, and I smiled despite my nerves. “Thank you, Soley. Truly. I appreciate your help.”
“Oh! Your new wardrobe is exquisite. The finest I’ve ever seen. I’ve hung the gowns in the closet. Want to see?”
Well, Sebastian did say he expected me to wear the clothes he selected. “Please.”
She led me past the sleeping area, through a stunning crystal-faceted bathroom, with cool lights glinting off walls made of sea-glass.
“This is the king’s door,” she said along the way, waving to a closed entrance across from the bed.
I maybe, perhaps, stared at it until we entered a massive walk-in closet that felt less like storage and more like a private gallery.
Rows upon rows of gowns filled the space. Not dragon hues, but kraken colors. Midnight blues. Storm-gray silks. Pale aquamarines that shimmered like moonlight on water. Honestly? My best colors. No flats or boots, but an endless selection of stilettos in every imaginable shade of blue.
“Any clothing that I brought with me?” I asked, hoping Sebastian had kept some of it. “Perhaps my casual wear? Or nightgowns?” There was playing a role, sure, but new sleepwear?
“None, my lady.” Soley beamed at me. “I personally heard the king say you are to have only our best!”
So he’d given me a perfect barre, with the exact right spring in the floor. But had also purged every vestige of my old life. Taken my armor and replaced it with his own. I didn’t know whether to be moved or afraid, and that not-knowing was becoming the most familiar thing about him.
I forced a smile. “How… kind of Sebastian.”
“He’s such a good king,” she said, so proud, and some of my irritation deflated. She disappeared in the thick of the garments, and soon, the soft slide of hangers and rustle of fabric sounded. “You are in for a treat today, and I will make sure you are properly dressed.”
“Oh?” I pulled myself upright. She must know something I didn’t. “Do tell.”
“You’ll be playing Tideweave, my favorite, most romantic game.” A wishful smile softened her utter determination as she threw open the wardrobe’s doors. Kraken colors shimmered inside it too.
She found what she was looking for and withdrew the gown with great reverence. “This one,” she declared. “If my princess agrees?”
The fabric was deep blue, nearly black, shot through with threads that gleamed like submerged stars. The cut was deceptively simple. Bare shoulders, fitted bodice, flowing skirt. But the material shimmered as if alive, responding to the smallest shift of movement.
I didn’t know what Tideweave was, but I did know a little about what Sebastian planned. He would use the game as an excuse to touch one another, acclimating me to contact. Bare anything might not be the best idea.