primping, and he’ll bring them to join us.” He smiled, every inch the golden prince. “It will be good to have all seven of us together again.”
“Won’t it, though?” Rhy said, scanning the crowd again with increasing dread. All seven of us. So Salena was coming. In fact, it sounded like she was already here. And they were going to be crammed into a tiny room together.
This night would be endless.
~ 2 ~
And there he was. Rhyian. Like night made into flesh, Moranu’s loving hand all over him, crowning him her Prince of Shadows. Salena couldn’t look away.
Amid the glittering crowd, laughing with Astar and Stella, Rhyian stood tall and languid, black hair in glossy disarray as if he’d just crawled out of some girl’s bed. Probably had. He wore silver-trimmed black velvet, perfectly tailored. And, even slouching with indolent grace, hands stuck carelessly in his pockets, he dominated the room with dark radiance. Astar, ever the golden prince, dimmed in comparison as he gestured widely, saying something with a wide and happy smile. Rhyian nodded, clearly not paying much attention as he scanned the crowd. Looking for his next conquest, no doubt.
Don’t be bitter, she reminded herself. After all this time, she couldn’t possibly care what he did.
“You look amazing, Lena,” Zeph said in her ear. “Quit fidgeting. You’ll soil the white silk, and you can’t shapeshift it clean again.”
“Don’t be smug.” Lena yanked once more on the strapless bodice in a futile attempt to cover more of her cleavage. “It’s so low cut. I don’t know what Mom was thinking.”
“Your mother may be a librarian, but she’s also a woman—and she was thinking you could stand to flaunt your impressive assets.” Zeph hooked her arm through Lena’s and hugged them together in solidarity. “Rhy won’t know what hit him.”
Lena gave her a rueful look. “If he even notices I’m here.” If she even wanted him to notice her.
Gendra slipped her arm through Lena’s on the other side. “Oh, he knows,” she said. “He’s been in a rotten mood ever since Andi made it a royal order that he had to attend tonight.”
“She did?” Lena studied Rhyian from her vantage on the balcony overlooking the great hall. Gendra had already been dressed when she arrived at Ordnung—having flown there in hummingbird form and showing off her shapeshifting skills by returning to human form wearing the gorgeous indigo ballgown—but she’d joined Lena and Zeph for wine and gossip while they changed clothes after the journey. Stella hadn’t been able to pop in as she’d hoped, sadly too busy playing hostess with Astar. “You didn’t mention that tidbit before.”
Zeph nodded. “It’s true. Even if a few birdies hadn’t overheard—and it was apparently a loud argument—Rhy got drunk afterward and bitched to all his buddies about his mother running his life.”
“Oh, please. When is he going to grow up?” Lena conveniently set aside the fact that she’d had a similar argument with her own mother, and welcomed the exasperation that helped defuse the heart-tripping dizziness of seeing Rhyian again. He’d only gotten better looking over the years. How was that fair?
“Speaking of growing up, Astar is looking fine tonight,” Zeph murmured, licking her crimson lips. “That boy has seriously filled out.”
Gendra and Lena exchanged glances. “Astar always looks fine,” Lena said, though he did seem to have added bulk. “I hear Harlan has him working with a broadsword now. That will build some muscle.”
“And I’m sure it helps to be the son of the most beautiful woman in the Thirteen Kingdoms,” Gendra added. “Though, really, he looks just like his father, the late Prince Hugh. I saw a portrait of him at Castle Windroven.”
Astar was handsome, it was true, fair with golden hair, and eyes the color of the summer sky. He was also the high queen’s heir, and the responsibility, along with his innate honor, lent him an air of nobility. Over the years, Astar had taken on the role of leader of their group of friends, and he was the sun they orbited around. To Lena, though, Astar’s sweet sunniness couldn’t compare to the dark, languid, and wicked appeal of Rhyian. Not that she was going to let him break her heart again. “Fool me once,” she murmured.
“What was that?” Gendra asked with concern.
“I’m going to seduce Astar tonight,” Zeph, completely oblivious to Lena’s angst, announced in the same breath, sparing Lena from answering. Zeph tossed back her long hair, which fell nearly to the hem of her scarlet gown