Father exits the carriage first and holds out his arm to me. I grasp it with one gloved hand, hold up my heavy overskirt in the other, and descend the steps.
The palace is a grand structure painted entirely in black. It’s positively gothic in appearance, with winged creatures resting atop the columns. Round towers sweep up the sides, roofed with shingles, a recent architectural style.
The entire length of the palace is built near the top of a mountain, with most of the city winding its way downward. The Shadow King is a grand conqueror, spreading his influence slowly across all the world, just like his father before him. Since the surrounding kingdoms try to retaliate from time to time, a well-protected city is vital, and the grand palace is said to be impregnable. Guards patrol the grounds with rifles slung over their shoulders, a further deterrent to our enemies.
“I’m not sure black was the best color choice for your attire,” Father says as he leads me up the steps to the main entrance. “Everyone knows the king’s favorite color is green.”
“Every single girl in attendance will be wearing green. The point is to stand out, Father. Not blend in.”
“I think you might have erred in excess.”
I think not. With the king’s conquering of Pegai, some of the ladies at court tried the Pegain style of loose pants with jeweled hems below a fitted top. After a while, the style faded away. It was too different for most ladies to adapt to.
I’ve designed a combination of the Pegain style and our heavy- skirted Naxosian style. I wear close-fitted pants beneath a floor-length overskirt, which parts in the middle to show off the pants. Heeled boots raise me an extra inch off the floor. The overskirt is short-sleeved, but I wear gloves so long they overlap the sleeves. My top is tied in the back beneath the overskirt, the neckline just short of my collarbone. Modest and yet not matronly.
A black rose pendant rests on a choker around my neck. Matching earrings dangle from my lobes, and my hair is half up in a loose twist.
“I assume you have a plan for once you’re introduced to the king?” Father asks. “He will receive each lady one by one up to the dais. He barely even looked at Chrysantha when it was her turn. The Shadow King never descends the steps to interact with the partygoers. He doesn’t even ask anyone to dance.”
“Of course I have a plan,” I respond. One doesn’t go into battle unprepared.
“Are you going to tell me this plan?”
“It doesn’t involve you. You don’t need to know.”
The muscles in his arm bunch slightly. “But I could weigh in. Help you. You’re not the only one who wants you to succeed.”
I pause at the top of the steps. “Have you ever seduced a man before?”
Father’s cheeks redden. “Of course not!”
“Then I don’t see why I should need you to weigh in on anything. Rest assured, Father, if there’s any way in which you could prove useful, I will tell you. For now, I can handle things.”
We continue on at a leisurely pace. The doorman nods a greeting at us as we pass him by, and Father leads me toward the ballroom.
But we can’t come within a hundred feet of it, because a line of green extends nearly all the way back to the far wall. Nigh a hundred girls chitter with their families and one another, all waiting for an introduction with the king. I’m certain they can’t all be eligible for marriage. Many look like younger sisters of the older ladies in line. Still, should the king show any interest in the younger ladies, I’m certain their fathers will make them available.
Father tries to take me to the end of that line, and though it appears to be moving at a somewhat quick pace, that simply won’t do.
“No, we’re not waiting in line,” I say.
“That’s the only way to get an introduction with the king.” “Let’s go into the ballroom first.”
“You’ll be lost in a sea of people in there. That’s not going to catch his attention.”
I blow out a breath through my nose before turning to face Father. “If you cannot do as you’re told, then you can leave. Remember, Father, all your tutelage with Chrysantha did nothing. Your way doesn’t work. I am in charge of this plan, and I will execute it as I see fit. It simply won’t do to have us quarreling once we enter the party, so make a decision now.”
Father’s lips press into a thin line. He doesn’t like being told what to do, least of all by me, his youngest child. Perhaps if Mother were still alive, he’d be more gentle and kind, but illness took her when I was eleven.
Finally, Father nods and holds out his free hand in front of us, inviting me to lead the way.
I do.
The upbeat music of an orchestra wafts out a set of open doors farther down the way. They appear to be used primarily for exiting the party, however. I watch girls with handkerchiefs pressed to their noses to muffle their sniveling and angry mothers chastising them for it scamper into the hallway, making hasty retreats.
Has the king been openly rejecting the women who come to get an introduction? I smile at the thought of his forwardness. That’s exactly the sort of thing I would do in his position.
Father and I push past a few more nobles leaving before we’re finally caught in the thick of the party.
Couples glide together on the dance floor. Gentlemen drink wine from goblets, and mothers gossip to one another from the sidelines. Groups of girls giggle behind fans or shawls as they stare up at the dais.
At the Shadow King.
I’ve never laid eyes on the man before, and now I’m free to observe him as long as I like while momentarily hidden among the other guests.
His name, it would seem, is well deserved and in line with the rumors I’ve heard. Tendrils of shadow halo his entire outline. They swirl as though alive, caressing his skin and dissolving into nothing before reappearing again.
It’s fascinating to watch.
They say the Shadow King has some sort of power, but no one knows what it is. Some say he can command the shadows to do his bidding, that he can use them to kill—choke the life out of his enemies. Others say they’re a shield. That no blade can pierce his skin. And even others say that the shadows speak to him, whispering the thoughts of those all around.
I certainly hope that last one isn’t true.
Knowing what I have in store for him after our wedding night simply won’t do.
Once I adjust to the outline of shadow, I’m able to take in other features. His hair is as black as the shadows around him. The sides are cropped short, but the hair up top has some volume to it, parted to the
side. A strong brow shades his eyes. The lines of his jaw are so sharp they could cut glass, and a healthy dose of stubble covers them. With a straight nose and full lips—
He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, even when his features are set somewhere between boredom and irritation.
Seducing the king will prove to be a most enjoyable task, indeed.
We match, I note, as I take in his clothing. While all the dresses around us vary from mint to teal to olive, we are both decked in head-to- toe black. The king wears sleek dress pants. A black undershirt, tie, waistcoat, and overcoat. Brilliant silver buttons don his jacket. A chain dangles from the shoulder to a pocket above his left breast, holding a watch, no doubt. Black leather gloves cover his hands, which rest on the arms of his chair. A sheathed rapier leans against his throne, one for style, not use, I’m sure.
Though he doesn’t bother with a crown, there is no doubt as to the man’s status.
“He’s so striking,” I say at last. And young. I know he was only crowned about a year ago, but he can’t be much older than I am.
“Remember, if you approach him, you’re not permitted within five feet of him.”
Yes, I know the law. No one is allowed to touch the king. To do so is punishable by death.
Oh, he is a delightful mystery that I can’t wait to solve. “Dance with me, Father.”
Having learned his lesson, Father places a hand at my waist and leads me into a slow-moving Naxosian dance without question. We turn along the outskirts of the dance floor, but I order Father to lead us closer to the center.
To our left, two gentlemen dance together. The taller one twirls the shorter one in perfect form. To our right, a man and woman scoot indecently close to each other, and I silently cheer them on. The rebel in me loves to throw dirt in the face of decorum.
After a minute passes, I spot a few men looking over the heads of their dance partners to catch a glimpse of me. My black attire is doing its job splendidly.
But mostly, I think it’s the fact that my pant-clad legs are a rarity in the room. Most men aren’t used to the style. And I’ve opted for tight- fitted ones that show my curves to their best effect.
“People are staring,” Father says. “That’s the point, isn’t it?”
I imagine what the scene must look like from up on the dais—the black center of a daisy amid sage petals.
More and more girls exit the ballroom after obtaining their introductions. I hope the line ends soon. There can’t be that many girls of noble blood.
A sudden spark of heat lands on my neck and spreads down to my toes. I’m being watched. “Tell me, Father, have we attracted the notice of the king yet?”
Father glimpses the throne out of the corner of his eye. They widen. “I believe we have.”
“Excellent. Keep dancing.” “But—”
“Father,” I warn.
I let myself get lost in the steps. I do so love dancing. I love the way my body becomes light and fluid when I go through the motions, the way the spins send my hair over my shoulders, the way my skirt twirls around my legs.
When the song is nearly over, I ask, “How many women are left in line?”
“Ten.”
The song ends, and the orchestra strikes up another. “Should we—?” Father starts.
“I’m parched. Let’s go to the tables for some refreshment.” “But—”
At my glare, he takes my arm once more and leads me up to a table laden with red-filled glasses and tiny samples of food on trays.
I select a glass, holding it in my fingers by the long stem, and bring it to my lips.
“Lord Masis,” a bright voice says from the other side of the thin table.
I look up. Before us is a golden-haired noble older than I. Perhaps thirty. He still appears young in the face, but he’s much broader in the shoulders than the men I’m used to entertaining.
“Lord Eliades!” Father greets, forgetting me for a moment. “Where have you been? We haven’t seen you in weeks at the club.”
I haven’t the faintest idea what club he’s referencing, but I suppose I should have known Father wasn’t spending his evenings at a mistress’s. He never has gotten over Mother.
Father stretches out a hand to shake Eliades’s, and I note that the younger gentleman has quite the calluses on his right hand. How unusual
for a lord. But as I take note of the distinct muscles visible through his dress pants, I’d deem him an accomplished horseman.
“Alas, my estates have needed my full attention this long while. I’ve needed to…”
Already bored with the conversation, I don’t bother listening in. Instead, I turn around to survey those dancing. One gentleman steps on his partner’s foot during a turn because he has his eyes on my legs.
“Ow,” she protests.
I smile down into my glass, taking another sip, careful not to look anywhere near the throne. I swear I can still feel a ray of heat bearing down on me from that direction.
“Forgive my rudeness!” Father suddenly exclaims more loudly. “Orrin, this is my daughter Alessandra. Now that Chrysantha is betrothed, I’m permitting her an outing at the palace.”
I stifle a groan before turning. I suppose it only helps my cause to be seen interacting with other guests and not showing any interest in the king. But I’m also certain I will find any friend of my father’s to be intolerable.
I grasp my overskirt in my free hand and curtsy. “A pleasure.”
Eliades’s eyes sparkle before he dips into a bow. “She’s as beautiful as the elder. Is her temperament just as sweet?”
Before Father has to scramble for an answer to that question, Eliades adds, “I’m still put out that you did not give Chrysantha to me. My money is just as good as a duke’s!”
“As an earl, I’m sure you understand that I had to give her the best title offered. As much as I appreciate our friendship, my dearest Chrysantha…”
I close my eyes tightly. Chrysantha is the last thing I want everyone to be discussing. This night is about me.
“Father, another dance is starting.” I set my empty glass on the table and tug at his arm.
Remembering the purpose for this excursion, Father excuses us and pulls me in line with the other dancers. I try to hide my ire. Even at a party where Chrysantha is absent and Father is bent on helping me catch the eye of the king, he can’t help but speak of his favorite. The daughter who looks like Mother and shares her gentle demeanor.
“The line is gone,” Father says as we perform the first steps, his focus now returning to the king.
“Just keep dancing. Do not look at the king any longer.” “But he’s watching us.”
“Ignore him.”
In my periphery, I see the king shift in his seat, as though he caught himself in one position for too long because he was occupied.
Occupied with me.
My anger drifts away at the thought. This song is faster, requiring more dexterity and concentration. As Father’s face blurs in front of me, I’m able to forget all about the king. There is nothing but the tempo pounding in time to my heartbeat and the feel of my feet sweeping across the floor.
Before the song can come to a close, the music cuts off abruptly. The couples around us scatter, and Father brings our dance to a halt.
The king is approaching, his shadows sweeping behind him as he moves. I try to quiet my breathing from the exerting dance as Father takes my arm in his and turns to greet our sovereign.
“Your Majesty,” Father says, bowing. I curtsy along with him.
“Lord Masis,” the king says with a nod. “I don’t believe I’m acquainted with your dance partner.”
I keep my eyes just to the right of the king. Though I don’t see it, I can feel the king’s eyes taking me in from head to toe. He’s been watching me for the last fifteen minutes at least, but now he takes his time with his close-up view.
“Forgive me, sire,” Father says. “May I introduce my second-born, Lady Alessandra Stathos.”
The king tilts his head at an angle. “You did not get in line with the other ladies, Lady Stathos. Is the dance floor more interesting than I am?” His voice is a deep baritone; not quite soothing, but powerful.
I fight a smile as I allow our eyes to meet for the first time. A delicious jolt shoots through my entire body at the connection.
His eyes are the green of the sea, of crashing waves and violent winds. There’s something dangerous in the depths of them, something exciting, and I realize right then that feigning disinterest will be difficult. When I finally manage to pull my gaze away, I let it travel downward, taking in the king slowly while he watches. Assessing him
properly from the tips of his black hair to the base of his shined boots. “Yes,” I conclude.
The air leaves my father in a painful-sounding squeak. But the Shadow King lets out one low laugh.
“I saw ladies leaving the ball in tears,” I continue. “It seemed speaking with Your Majesty was a sure way to get kicked out. I wasn’t
about to let that happen before I joined in the dancing.”
“Is it the dancing you like? Or are you merely looking to show off your”—he darts a quick look down to my legs—“dress?”
“Are you mocking my outfit? I designed it myself.”
“Quite the opposite. I rather like it.” A pinch of humor lurks at the edges of his lips. I think it might be at my expense, and I don’t like that one bit.
I say, “Give me your measurements, and I can have one made for you.”
Another grin stretches across the king’s lips, and I can’t help but admire how much more handsome he becomes with the movement.
“Dance with me,” he says.
Father goes so still, one would think he’d been turned to stone.
“Is that an order or a request? I’m told you hang girls who get too close to you.”
“Not hang. Those girls are asked to leave the party. So long as you mind your distance, I will not have you dismissed as well.”
Still, I’m not ready to concede just yet. “Is there any fun in a dance when you can’t touch your partner?”
“Accept my invitation and you will find out.”
