“Ah, I don’t think we’re going to have a problem,” Ciar said, running the brush through his hair a few more times for good measure. I guess being in the presence of the ladies finally kicked his ass into gear.
“Welcome to The Roaring Keep!” Ero shouted as he strode through the room. “It is my great pleasure to have all of you here for this momentous occasion! Ladies, may I be the first to thank you for making the long journey to be here with us tonight. Please, be seated. The gentlemen will stand here while I explain a few things, and then dinner will be served.”
Ero paused, allowing the women time to retake their seats around the tables while my eyes caught on a deep forest green gown. Whoever was in the dress wasn’t facing the king. Her head was bowed slightly, like there was something either fascinating or minuscule on her dinner plate. Not used to being in the presence of royalty, then. One should always face their king when being addressed.
“A couple of rules for the evening to review before we begin! You will notice that each table is dressed with one of the four kingdoms’ colors. This is so we have one royal at each table during dinner. Use this time wisely. Get to know everyone since connections are the most important thing when running a kingdom. At this moment, you could be sitting beside a future queen and some of you willbethose queens. Relationships are vital.”
Smiles broke out from nearly every person in the room as Ero’s words painted a picture in our minds… everyone except for the woman in the green dress that had still not turned around.Is she sleeping?
“At the conclusion of dinner, the ball portion of the evening will commence. Please use the rest of your evening to meet all of the royal bachelors. This is the time to make your impression. You want to be remembered. Tonight, The Hunt will begin. Tomorrow, once the forest has been scouted and deemed safe, you will all be escorted into the forest to be reunited with the men.”
Several women gasped at that, and Ero raised his hand, calling for silence.
“I understand that some of you have never hunted in your lives. That is going to change tomorrow. To be a queen, you must be able to do what needs to be done, regardless of your personal beliefs. If your king requests you to do something, you are to do so. Consider this your first lesson in obedience. As royals, things can get messy, bloody, ugly. Our lives are not all gold and feasts. You must be prepared for anything.”
I spotted a strikingly beautiful woman with golden hair that stood open mouthed, and her cheeks were red. I couldn’t tell if she was angry, shocked, or scandalized. As I looked around, that seemed to be the reaction from the majority of the women.
Ero clapped his hands together. “Wonderful! Let us eat and celebrate!”
I took a deep breath as cheers and clapping became deafening. We all began seeking tables with our colors, some men clearly had been scouting while Ero gave his speech because they beelined to open seats. I spotted an unclaimed green and gold table near the back and headed for it. Six women were seated around it, all of whom rose to their feet as I approached. The urge to growl was riding me hard. I wasn’t sure if it was due to annoyance at being forced into this situation or because I wanted to give these frail ladies a little peek at who I was underneath this skin.
“Please, be seated. Thank you,” I said instead.
I guess time would tell because, with every tick of the clock, I was losing control.
Chapter five
“Atleasttheyletus pick who we wanted to sit with,” Isla whispered as she watched the men filtering through the room like farmers at a livestock sale. She wiped her palms on the beautiful burnt orange skirt she had been dressed in for the evening and turned her wide brown eyes to me. “I’m so nervous right now, my hands are sweating. How are you so calm, Evie?”
I pulled against the tight collar of small crystals that adorned my neck. I’d nearly fainted when I found them laid out for me after I bathed earlier. “I’m anything but calm, but after being a teacher for as long as I have, you learn not to outwardly display anything except confidence.”
Rivka chuckled under her breath. “I hear that. Never in my life met a nemesis as terrifying as my three-year-old twin nieces.”
“Would you three be quiet? I’m not going to be associated with women of such poor form,” Belinda whispered harshly.
Once we entered the keep earlier, we were ushered to our wing of the castle. All of the women were staying in the upper east corner, with most of us four to a room. Belinda had made the mistake of approaching our door while Isla and I were getting settled. Rivka, clearly having a strong dislike of the girl, blocked the doorway and flashed a hint of steel. Belinda scampered down the hallway so fast she nearly ran into an open door.
“Melinda, did you not understand the assignment of choosing your own table? You even tried rooming with us earlier. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you quite like our poor form,” Riv stated, looking bored.
“It’s BUH-linda.”
“It’s about to be BUH bye.” Rivka reached for the steak knife, and the other woman paled at the threat.
Isla’s mouth was hanging open in awe as I discreetly gave a round of applause for Riv’s intimidation tactics—though I really believed that to her, they weren’t tactics at all. That was just who she was, and this realm desperately needed more women like her.
“Oh Goddess, they’re even more handsome up close,” Becca, a girl who was in the room next to ours, gasped. The volume in the room rose, and excited chatter filled the air as the men walked through the tables now.
I hated myself for it, but I turned in my chair to look at whoever had Becca swooning. I made it through the entire introduction without so much as glancing at a royal, but for some reason, I picked that moment to spin my seat to my left. It just so happened that my skirt was so much fuller than anything I’d worn in my life, and I underestimated its reach. Fabric pulled as shoes tangled within the tulle and I stared wide-eyed into pale blue eyes as he attempted to keep his balance. It was pointless. The damage had been done. I immediately noted his blond hair and the dragon kingdom crest on his lapel. Oh, Goddess. Was this Prince Torin?
The entire room seemed to collectively quit breathing as Torin fell like a giant oak tree and I sat frozen in my seat, too embarrassed to move. I felt Riv’s hand land on my arm, letting me know she was there. My heart thundered as Torin pushed himself up from the floor and turned to face me. Speechless, my cheeks were burning with embarrassment as every pair of eyes shifted from the prince to the girl who had just tripped him. No encounter would overshadow this introduction, and it was the exact opposite of how I was planning to navigate my time as a captive on this island.
Being undesirable and obnoxious? Yes. Being the woman who tripped a prince before dinner? Probably not the best choice.
Do they still behead people for stuff like this?
I could feel his gaze burning holes through the top of my head so I took a deep breath and raised my eyes, terrified of what I’d find looking back. Bright, pale blue eyes trapped me like a moth in a web and I’d honestly never seen someone so handsome. And yet, there was also this familiarity to him that I couldn’t quite place. A few light blond curls were escaping their hold around his face which displayed high cheekbones and a jaw that could cut glass.
Rivka’s hold on my arm tightened and my mouth popped open, ready to apologize for the entire mishap, but before a single syllable could escape, Torin tipped his head back and laughed. Loudly, and with his entire being. The room didn’t take long to follow suit and soon everyone had devolved into giggles and chuckles. Except for me. I wasn’t going to take my eyes off of him, not because he was beautiful, but because I didn’t trust him. Or anyone else on this damn island.
