by Alexa Donne
“Did I miss anything important while I was away?” Daniel asked.
“Not really,” I said. “Just my father slowly unraveling. And then my sister did actually speak to me today, so there’s that.”
“I take it from your expression and her disappearing again that you did not hash things out and become best friends once more?”
“Nope.” I sighed. “She did curl my hair, though.”
“It’s gorgeous,” he said, lightly fingering a loose curl, which Carina had artfully left free of the pins holding the rest of my hair to the nape of my neck. “The tiara’s not half bad, either,” he quipped.
“Get ready to see a lot of them. All the faded and useless royals will be sporting the family jewels.”
“And here I am with just my sparkling wit.”
We reached the main ballroom entrance, the doors thrown open and two security personnel standing watch, like they had for the opening party. Daniel and I pulled off to the side, watching as a dozen other couples formed a cluster by the door, creating a bottleneck. Definitely not late, then. I smoothed nervous hands down the bodice of the dress, ensuring my cleavage was taped expertly in place, that the lines were smooth. My hands caught on something where my torso turned to hip. This dress had pockets! They were cleverly hidden underneath twin juts of fabric. I slid my hands inside. They were shallow but enough to fit up to my palms. I found it oddly soothing, hiding a part of me in plain sight, pulling myself inward and holding it all in. The fingers of my right hand caught on something solid and flat. Drawing it out and examining it, I was perplexed to find a folded piece of paper. Paper was wildly impractical. What note had my mother stored in this pocket and then forgotten, all those years ago? I unfolded it and read.
Celine,
I’ve given you unlimited, all-hours bio-scan access to the pool on board.
Happy swimming.
Freja
A shiver skittered down my spine to read the message that inadvertently had led to her death. It hadn’t occurred to me that she would have required special nighttime access to the pool, but of course she had. And my aunt Freja, as their father’s apprentice at the time, would have had the ability to grant it to her.
“What’s that?” Daniel asked.
“Nothing.” I shoved the note back into my pocket. I switched my focus to spot-checking him. I fussed with the alignment of his waistcoat and dusted nonexistent fluff off his shoulders. We felt like a real couple. Something inside me twisted.
“Let’s go in, then, shall we?” I suggested as soon as the crowd thinned. I grabbed two glasses from the first tray I saw. “Champagne?” Daniel took one, chuckling at me.
“Nervous? I don’t see why. You look gorgeous, and my parents are more than primed to adore you.”
“What did you tell them about me?” I initiated a stroll around the room. I wanted to assess the landscape and everyone in it.
“I told them you were smart, funny, beautiful, kind . . .”
“Really? Not that I was titled and had my own ship?”
“I might have led with that, but the rest was my big finish!” He pulled me to a stop in a shallow archway, where we were half obscured by an elaborate column. “Now, they’re over there.”
Daniel pointed to a couple about twenty feet away. Oh, wow, no wonder Daniel was so attractive. Exquisite bone structure was a gift passed down from both parents, as were the large, expressive eyes, though from there, they differed greatly. His mother was tall and spindly, with elegant, sloping shoulders and a long neck, like a swan. A black swan, though—her hair was long and wavy and deep lustrous brown. Her floor-length black gown was adorned with feathers, which helped the comparison. Daniel’s father was a tick shorter than his wife, though hardly short, with a broad chest and what looked like muscular arms hidden underneath his tux. He sported a bit of scruff, which served only to complement his thick, dark eyebrows and, again, that bone structure. I’d have to recommend that Daniel grow some facial hair.
“Now that you’ve seen they are human, and how you’ve got at least two inches on them—three on my father—maybe you’re a little less scared?” Daniel said.
“If anything, I’m more intimidated. They’re even more attractive than you are, and if they’re even half as charming, they’ll run circles around me,” I joked.
“Just flash your tiara at them; you’ll be fine.” And with that, Daniel swept me over to meet them.
“Mum, Dad, this is Leo,” he said by way of introduction. I gave my best curtsy.
“Shouldn’t we be curtsying to you?” His mother laughed, and did so. Her husband bowed.
“Your Royal Highness, it is an honor,” he addressed me, and luckily Daniel was quick to jump in.
“Oh, she hates that. Just call her Leo. And this is my mum, Jenny, and dad, Jaspar.”
“Yes, we know the matching Js are a bit ridiculous,” Jenny said. “Pure coincidence, I assure you. And ‘Leo and Daniel’ has a lovely ring to it, doesn’t it?” She beamed at the two of us. “And you’re quite handsome together. The children will be just adorable!”
“Ugh, Mum,” Daniel groaned, shooting me an apologetic look.
“Oh, come on, I’m allowed to be excited that you’re finally settling down. We were worried for a bit there.” Jenny exchanged a look with her husband.
“Now, Leo, do you have any talents, hobbies?” Jaspar asked, moving the subject along. Though I had no clue how to respond.
“Not particularly,” I said.
“Dad is trying to suss out whether you can join the family business,” Daniel mock-whispered to me. “If I hadn’t found a talent for cello, I would have had to learn to sing or act. Something to make myself useful!”
“He makes it sound like torture,” Jaspar quipped. “Like he doesn’t love playing. You begged me to learn an instrument! Four years old, pulling on my pant leg while I played the piano, asking for your turn. And you took to the strings like a duck to water!”
I could just picture a young Daniel, concentrating fiercely with a child-size bow in his hands, cello screeching out a tune. And suddenly I could picture a child of our own, begging their grandfather for music lessons, performing on stage. My stomach twisted again.
“Anyway, Leo’s a pretty good singer,” Daniel threw in, much to my embarrassment.
“Karaoke, at best,” I deflected.
“We’ve had no fewer than two karaoke nights over the course of this thing,” Daniel told his parents, who were rapt. They clearly adored him. “Leo’s good. Don’t let her say otherwise.”
Okay, I adored him a lot, too.
“And she can dance, at least recreationally. Which we should go do.” Daniel hugged both his parents, who in turn hugged me. I tried not to tense up too much but knew that I did, anyway. Then a warmth prickled at my neck, and my body went tight at the feeling that I was being observed. I swung around, and there was Elliot watching me. No, watching me and Daniel and his parents, with the most perplexing expression on his face. Censure? I couldn’t exactly tell; a glare bounced off Elliot’s glasses as he shifted away, so I could no longer see his eyes. And then Daniel took me by the hand and pulled me toward the dance floor.
Tonight, the music was fully traditional, which meant classical and instrumental versions of old pop songs. I was less adept at waltzing than bopping up and down to a pulsing beat, but Daniel’s steps were sure, his arms high and tight. I let him lead, and with him guiding me, I was sure I almost looked elegant. After twenty minutes, I was short of breath and giddy. We rushed over to the sidelines to catch our breath, and I took in the party anew. The fashionably late had finally arrived, the room now packed. Surely the engagement announcements would start soon. Again, my stomach flipped.
“I’m starving!” I exclaimed, determined to settle my nerves. We swept over to the food table, where heaps of delicacies lay mostly untouched.
“I think you may be the only young woman eating,” Daniel husked into my ear. His hand found the small of my bac
k as he hovered close. I reminded myself that Daniel and I were friends and he wasn’t interested in more. He was right. The food table seemed to be the domain of mostly the adults present, which I was fine with, as it left more for me. I quickly wolfed down an avocado toast, then helped myself to cheese and crackers.
“They are drinking, though.” I nodded over at a cluster of girls and boys across the way, champagne in every hand and a sour expression on more than a few faces. Perhaps the ones who hadn’t found a partner.
“Speaking of—” Daniel grabbed two flutes from a passing tray, handing me one. I took a gulp, a poor choice, as bubbles overwhelmed me and I started coughing.
“You okay?” he asked, cracking me on the back a few times until I caught my breath.
“I’m a little too eager to get drunk,” I joked.
“It’ll be fine. The announcement, I mean. I’ll be there with you.”
I nodded tightly, eyes catching on Elliot again, because of course they did. I had a habit of finding him, like a compass aligning itself. He was my true north.
This time he didn’t see me, though. He was fully immersed in talking to Klara, who was breathtaking in sea-foam chiffon and a full complement of diamonds. Her smile was sly as she whispered something into his ear; Elliot chuckled, though to my eye, the reaction seemed forced. He must have been talking to her out of necessity, having not exactly mingled much with the Valg participants, leaving him with few conversation partners.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned. It was Miranda Fairfax.
“That dress is exquisite, Leo,” she said, and I returned the compliment—her little black dress was effortlessly elegant.
“Is Phillip here?” I inquired politely. Small talk before business. She shook her head.
“Oh, no, there’s no way I could keep track of a four-year-old, and there’s business to attend to and all.”
“Right, yes, so the thing I wanted to talk to you about—”
“And who is your dashing companion?” Miranda asked at the same time as I tried to start my pitch.
“Oh, sorry, Miranda Fairfax from the Lady Liberty—” I pointed to her, then to Daniel. “And this is Daniel Turan, from the Empire.”
He offered his hand for a shake. “I’m Leo’s . . . um.” We exchanged an awkward look.
“It’s a strange feeling, right?” Miranda said. “Going from maybe to definitely. Are you excited to announce?”
We both nodded. Sure, excited. That was the word for it. I gulped down more champagne. A flash of red caught my eye from across the room. Finally, Carina was here! Where had she disappeared to? My gaze shifted to the left, to the man on her arm. Wait, was that—
Suddenly the music stopped, and my aunt’s voice came over the speakers. I turned back to Miranda, but she was gone. Drat. I’d have to catch her after the engagements were announced.
“Couples, are you ready for the main event? I have your engagement announcements right here.” She lofted a tab unit high for all to see. “So come forward, and we’ll get started!”
Excitement crescendoed through the crowd, the couples who had been dancing coming to a stop, everyone pushing closer to the stage, eager to see. The clear delineation between dance floor and sidelines disappeared, and I lost my sister and her companion in the shift. Had I imagined seeing her with who I thought I did?
“Leo?” Daniel touched my arm gently. “Are you ready?”
Was I? I went to gulp down more champagne but found the glass empty. There was nothing left to hide behind. This was it.
“Yes.” I let him take my hand.
Twenty-Eight
“I’m going to do these in no particular order,” Captain Lind said. “When I call your names, come up to the stage so everyone can see you.”
Daniel and I left the food table behind, moving closer to the stage, though still sticking to the sidelines. We found an alcove by the bar, and I switched to vodka and juice. Once we’d settled, Daniel’s hand at the small of my back again, steady and sure, I shifted up onto my tiptoes, craning my neck to find my sister again, with no luck. I did locate my father, leaning drunkenly against a column and smartly making no moves to join the crowd. If he did, he’d surely topple over without the architectural support. He beamed back at me and offered two thumbs up, then pointed to Daniel. Instead of the warm wash of fatherly approval, I felt queasy.
The captain launched into the announcements, and after a half-hour and a dozen couples, I began to shift restlessly, the soles of my feet beginning to throb.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have left the food,” Daniel said into my ear as another couple was called that wasn’t us or anyone we knew. How many people were getting engaged?
“There can’t be that many more engagements. We have to be coming up.” At this point, I just wanted to get it over with.
“Next is my very own beloved niece,” the captain said finally. I put down my glass and started for the stage.
“Carina Kolburg, come up here!”
Oh, no. I froze, Daniel running into my back with a grunt. I turned my face up to the stage with horror.
There was my baby sister, resplendent in red in the middle of the stage, a tight, nervous smile on her face. My aunt squinted down at the tab in her hand, head quirking to the right. She was confused. Of course she was—she didn’t recognize the name. I knew exactly what it was, too. I had to do something, stop this, surely. But what could I do? Storm the stage? That would beg an explanation that I wasn’t willing to trigger with an outrageous public display.
“Carina is pleased to announce her engagement to Benjamin Carmichael of the Lady Liberty!” the captain said to a smattering of applause. No one else knew who he was either. From the back of the room came a slurred curse in German. That would be my father, thoroughly soused and very confused. Ben joined her on stage, undeniably handsome in a surely borrowed suit, and clearly so happy to take my sister’s hand.
The few weeks of my sister’s avoidance came into clear focus. All that time, she’d continued a secret relationship with Ben, first a covert correspondence and then a plan for him to come here for the Valg Ball to announce an engagement. My heart sank at Carina’s lack of trust in me, even though I’d done nothing to earn it. I would have tried to talk her out of this, forbade it, even, which was exactly why she hadn’t told me. Hadn’t been able to see me for all these weeks. Carina had always been terrible at keeping secrets. She wore her heart on her sleeve.
“Who is that?” Daniel said low into my ear.
“The reason my sister stopped talking to me,” I answered, watching them bow to the audience, Ben turning to Carina and kissing her gloved hand. They looked so happy. I was happy for them, abstractly. But I was also terrified. Carina was now inextricably a part of Elliot’s scheme. I had failed her.
“Now for another Kolburg,” my aunt transitioned seamlessly. “Leonie?”
There was my cue. Daniel squeezed my hand one last time before letting go. “See you in a minute,” he said.
The crowd before me stood tightly packed, shoulder to shoulder, and my shaky requests for access went unheard.
“Excuse me,” I said loudly and forcefully as my vision blurred on the edges. The crowd allowed me a small window through which I dodged, and I wobbled up the stairs, counting out each step carefully so I wouldn’t face-plant. Wouldn’t that just make this all the more perfect, falling on my face? My focus narrowed to my aunt’s plastered-on smile and the ridiculous purple plumage blooming up from her shoulder. She looked like a peacock. Wait, now she was staring at me. Why was she doing that? Oh, I was supposed to face the audience.
A sea of faces blinked up at me. I gulped, throat suddenly dry, palms frustratingly wet. I gripped the sides of my skirt to dry them and steady myself. I was shaking. And my traitorous inner compass found my true north. Elliot stood off to my right, expression locked into neutral. Our eyes met, but Elliot quickly looked away, as if he couldn’t bear to look at me. Grief washed over and through
me, my knees threatening to buckle. I locked them, forcing myself to stand tall. No more of that. Tonight, I was moving forward and on with my life.
“Leonie is pleased to announce her engagement to—” My aunt paused, her eyebrow lifting just a tick. She was impressed. A first. “Daniel Turan of the Empire,” she finished. As the crowd applauded, she pulled close to my ear. “Wealthy and exceedingly attractive. Better than I’d expected of you, my dear.” I ground my teeth together so hard, my temples throbbed.
But then there was Daniel at my side. He bowed for the crowd, then grabbed my hand and twirled me into his embrace. He knew how to put on a show, and I was happy to be in his arms. I felt safer, less unmoored by the sea of sorrow that threatened to swallow me up.
And then quickly we were done, the applause having died out, with only my father’s drunken whoops left to embarrass me.
“That’s a very happy father out there somewhere,” my aunt quipped. “Thank you, Leonie and Daniel.”
“Okay, now let’s go drink some more,” Daniel said low in my ear. We tried to go back the way we’d come, but my aunt shooed us off in the other direction. As we descended the stairs, I looked for Elliot again but instead ran smack-dab into Klara.
“Sorry!” I said. She smiled tightly.
“Congratulations, Leo. I’m impressed.” She looked Daniel up and down and turned back toward the stage.
“Now before I announce the final and, in my completely biased opinion, most important engagement . . .” the captain continued from the stage, beaming down at Klara, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. It seemed that my aunt had finally managed the impossible and pinned my poor cousin down. But to whom? I caught Lukas standing off to the side behind her, looking smug. And his eyes were directed squarely on my chest. He would never change. Poor Klara. She’d wanted Elliot and ended up with that. I couldn’t bear to watch her suffer her big moment on stage. Mine had been bad enough, and I went through it willingly.
