The Bound (Ascension #2)(51)

“Shall we?” He offered his arm, and she placed her hand on his expensive black coat.

“Are you certain you won’t be noticed?” Avoca asked him once more.

“Kael is the only one who would know me. Unless there are Byern Royal Guard posted inside that room, which we know there aren’t, then we should be fine so long as Ceis’f keeps tabs on Kael.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. She was just worried. So much of this was out of her control.

“Plus, I have this handy thing to use as soon as the King and Queen make their entrance.” He held up the black mask in his hand.

“I still don’t understand how Cyrene got Jesalyn to agree to make the ball a masque,” she said as they entered the ballroom.

“She has a way of getting what she wants,” Ahlvie said.

“You mean, she’s stubborn?”

Ahlvie kept them to the edge of the room. They passed dozens of people dressed in the Queen’s extravagant style and the King’s style of long black coats and white lace cravats over top starched shirts. The room was decorated in the deep reds and blues of the Aurum.

“Is stubborn the best word for her?” Ahlvie asked.

“Headstrong, single-minded, relentless.”

“I wasn’t going to say it.”

Avoca laughed lightly. “She’s a challenge.”

“A bit scary actually but loyal,” Ahlvie said. “She uses the same tenacity to get what she wants in her friendships as well.”

Avoca nodded. “In those moments, you’d never guess she was so young.”

“She’s only a few years younger than me,” he said defensively. “She can’t be much younger than you. You don’t look a day over seventeen.”

“Oh,” Avoca said, glancing away. She sometimes forgot how young all the humans were. She was young for a Leif but hardly young when compared to Cyrene or Ahlvie, who had human lifelines. “Of course.” She retrieved her hand from him and stopped. “I think this will do.”

She turned away from him before she could see the hurt and confusion that was sure to bloom on his face. She wasn’t prepared to tell anyone else about Leifs and her age.

From her position, she could see the entire ballroom laid out before her. If there were any mischief, then she would root it out.

“Should I stake out the room from another angle?” Ahlvie asked, taking a step away from her.

Avoca touched his arm. “No. Stay.” Their eyes met, and she tried to remain still, as if she didn’t know what her words meant. “The King and Queen will be here any second.”

That same flippant attitude that he wore like a shield fell back into place as he stepped into her side. “If you wanted me close, you just had to ask,” he said. Then, he winked.

Avoca pursed her lips to keep from smiling and let her eyes wander around the room. She saw Maelia in position with a group of ladies-in-waiting. And she found Ceis’f staring directly at her—specifically where her hand rested on Ahlvie’s arm. She flinched away from the penetrating gaze. Only Ceis’f could make her do that. The weight of that gaze bore down on her like a brick. She was the Crown Princess of Eldora, destined to rule. Then, how come I can’t stomach the thought of returning and taking up my destiny?

She shook the thoughts away and focused on what was ahead.

Avoca saw Cyrene slip into the room through the back door and tried not to smile. She stuck out like a sore thumb, even when she was trying to blend in. There was just something utterly compelling about her. But at least everyone was where they were supposed to be. Orden would enter with the King and Queen and then they could finally leave.

Ahlvie drew her a little closer and her heart accelerated.

“Can I speak with you for a moment?”

She met his gaze. “Now?”

“Just for a moment. We won’t be missed.”

She opened her mouth to object but then nodded. She was too curious to know what he wanted to say. Just as the King and Queen were announced, he escorted her through the crowd and out the back steps into the gardens.

She suspected she knew what this was all about, but she was going along with it anyway. It was so unlike her. She wasn’t afraid of confrontation. With one look, she could stop a man in his tracks and kill him even faster with any number of weapons. Yet here she was.

Perhaps taking her out of Eldora had made her more…human.

Ceis’f would think that was a terrible thing. Emotions clouded judgment. With so many years behind her and many more ahead of her, it wasn’t smart to get attached to humanity. Time would pass, seasons would change, and she would still remain. But, without emotions and feelings, is there much left to live for?

Maybe she had even chosen to work in the military with a six team because it was one of the few occupations that made her feel alive.

“Avoca?” Ahlvie whispered.

“Yes? I apologize. My thoughts were elsewhere.”

“Did I offend you in some way?”

“Offend me? No. No, of course not.”

“Of course not?” Ahlvie asked skeptically. He shot her a lazy smile. “Have you met me? I’m entirely offensive.”

She let loose a laugh and then quickly smothered it. Few people could make her laugh so easily. “You try.”