Betrayals of Spring (Forever Fae #2)(27)
“Good evening to you as well, Kalen,” I say while bowing my head ever so slightly.
He’s still holding my hand in the gentlest of touches when he asks in a low voice, “Will you do me the honor of dancing with me, Princess?”
I can’t stop the smile from forming on my lips.
“I would love to,” I reply breathlessly.
He walks me to the dance floor and keeps a respectable distance between our bodies when he pulls me in for the dance. I regret my decision for wearing gloves because it would feel amazing to touch his skin. His skin has the perfect complexion, as do all fae, but there’s something about his creamy smooth skin that makes me want to touch every square inch of it. I groan in silence. I wish I could smack myself in the head to keep the thoughts from plaguing my mind. It feels like every single lustful thought that I had of Kalen years ago is resurfacing. I’d kept the thoughts locked away in my brain, but now I can’t stop imagining all the things we could do together. I never thought I could go from hating someone with a vengeful passion to having feelings for them in a matter of a day. The feelings were always there from the very beginning. My heart is screaming at me to take my walls down, but my mind keeps telling me to stay guarded. How am I supposed to know what to do when my heart tells me one thing and my mind tells me another?
I look around the dance floor and I see my parents talking to King Madoc. My mother likes King Madoc and enjoys talking to him. It’s the Queen she cannot stand. Ariella is off making the rounds through the ballroom and speaking to everyone she can. She is a very charismatic woman, and I know one day she will make a great leader. It appears I wasn’t the only one who has changed over the years.
My eyes land on my brother, Drake, next. He seems to be mesmerized by something across the room. I follow his gaze to a dark-haired Winter beauty who happens to be on the dance floor with another man. I recognize the lovely fae and I know her as being Sorcha, Winter Court Princess, and also Kalen’s sister. Interesting. I wonder if there will be another love in the making.
I notice Calista and Ryder dancing closely together and the love that shows in their eyes could make even the saintly souls jealous. They look magical as they stare at each other longingly in the eyes, and even though I envy her, I have never been happier for them.
I turn my attention back to Kalen and I am instantly hypnotized by the swirling pools of endless blue in his eyes.
I feel lost in their depths when his deep voice whispers in my ear, “We need to talk, Meliantha. There are so many things we need to catch up on.” He intently searches my face, like he’s trying to memorize every square inch. He almost looks scared, like he’s afraid to let me go.
I smile warmly at him and reply, “We do have a lot to talk about, and I want to start with saying how sorry…”
“There you are, lover.”
Gritting my teeth, I politely look over to see who the interrupter is. What I find is a beautiful brown-haired Winter Fae looking up at Kalen with adoring eyes. I somehow find her expression at him forced, but then she turns to look at me with absolute contempt and I know for a fact this one is genuine. I narrow my eyes at her and return the look. Kalen notices the hostile exchange and gives the other faerie a lethal stare.
“Breena, what are you doing?” he hisses.
She bats her eyes and her voice takes on a faux innocent tone when she pleads, “When you left in such a hurry earlier I couldn’t give you your engagement gift. I think right now would be the perfect time to announce it.” She says the last part while looking straight at me. My heart stops beating and I know my face has gone pale. Did she just say the word ‘engagement’?
I quickly let go of Kalen’s hand and step back. He gives the Winter bitch a scowl and turns his gentle blue eyes to me. Could my night get any worse? The moment I think things are looking up is the moment it all falls apart. I refuse to cry, and I refuse to show how angry I am. If the Winter wretch wants to see me upset, then that is the last thing she’s going to get. I can tell by the smug look on her face that she’s doing it on purpose; however, it still doesn’t change the fact that Kalen is engaged.
I look at them both, mainly at Kalen, and I ignore his pleading look.
In a flat tone I say, “Congratulations.” I turn my gaze to Breena and I politely point out, “If you will excuse me, I need some fresh air. For some reason the air in here just turned rancid.”
Breena’s smug expression turned into one of shock, then outright hate. I would love to call her every foul name I can think of and use her as a practice partner for my brutal training, but that wouldn’t look good for my court. I really do need some fresh air so I turn around slowly and start to walk out of the stuffy ballroom. If I could, I would be running as fast as my body would allow me toward the nearest exit, but that would give away my true feelings on how upset I really am.
Kalen quickly calls out, “Meliantha, wait! You have to let me explain!”
At this point we have drawn everyone’s attention, so I keep a steady pace as I head out of the ballroom and cleverly sneak past the Winter Court warriors stationed on the back veranda. I don’t need them following me everywhere I go even if Kalen did order them to.
Ashur never returned to the ballroom, so I assume he is still out searching for Elissa. I hope everything is all right. He still has my bow and arrows and I can’t help but feel lost without them. Next time, no matter what the occasion is or what I am wearing, I will keep my bow and arrows with me at all times. The snow is rapidly beginning to fall and the flakes melt the instant they hit my warm skin. I refuse to walk back inside the palace, so I head down the path to the cottage. I can see the fountain up ahead, sitting frozen and lonely in the midst of the cabins and the cottage. The fountain would look absolutely breathtaking with running water spraying out of the spouts and flowers decorating the outer edge.