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The sensation was strong, so intense that I had to fight the urge to flatten my palm defensively over my neck. I balled my hands into fists in my lap, then carefully, slowly, glanced up. Trying my absolute hardest to not get anyone’s attention.
At the head of the table, the king was staring at me.
He was still mid-conversation with a council member, clearly, from the way he was nodding his head in acknowledgment and even responding to the short man’s animated gestures. But his gaze was on me. I swallowed. Even as he spoke, that smirk played on his lips, like we were having a private conversation amid the noise. It made my blood rush in my ears, my skin buzzing. My wolf loved the attention—she wanted more. Wanted to be closer.
Under the table, Fina kicked my ankle.
“Milady?” someone was asking from a few seats down. “Lady Reyna?”
“Yes?”
The man speaking tilted his head curiously. “I was asking you about the well-being of your Lord in Daybreak,” he said. “Since I am the ambassador to Daybreak and know him well myself.”
“Oh!” The whiplash made my head spin. “Of course. You’re Lord…”
“Skorupski,” he said. “Niles Skorupski.”
“Of course!” I said again. “Lord Skorupski. It’s wonderful to see you again.”
The Lord looked put-out. It was clear I hadn’t recognized him at all—even though we’d almost certainly done business in the Daybreak court.
“Ice Princess,” Rona hissed under her breath.
A scowl flickered over my features before I was able to steel my face back into neutrality. I felt so frazzled and rough around the edges, so unlike the carefully self-managed lady I was used to being in Daybreak. Something about being in Efra was making me too sensitive, too reactive. I had to get myself under control.
The rest of dinner passed in a pleasant haze. The food was good, the wine delicious, and the conversation boring but still somewhat unnerving. The Nightfall wolves were boisterous, and at the far end of the table, there was laughter and raunchy jokes, even a flash of teeth here and there. Barion was among them, as were the other competitors’ escorts, but he was holding his own just fine. Rona watched that end of the table with envy. The king went back to his conversations with his council members, but throughout the dinner, I kept feeling his eyes on me, returning to me over and over and over.
After the meal, the servants guided us into the small ballroom just off the dining room. A band was already playing high-energy strings and drums in the corner. The servants quickly refilled wine glasses where necessary, and a few of the more inebriated court members began to dance a quick-footed jig to the music. It was so different than Daybreak—going straight from a fine meal to dance like this? I’d expected some waltzing, something elegant, but these rapid movements were like something I’d see at Marco’s Tavern in the late-night hours.
I took a sip of my fresh wine glass and beelined for Fina and Adora, deftly avoiding Lord Skorupski heading towards me with a look like he wanted to dance.
“Hey,” Fina said as I approached. They were standing near the edge of the room, watching the dance with the same curiosity I felt.
“Have you ever seen a dance like this?” Adora asked. “It’s so fast. Do you think they do it as wolves, too?”
The thought made my eyes widen. “Do you?”
“Hey,” Fina repeated, and swatted my shoulder. “What is going on with you? You were being so weird at dinner.”
I cringed. “Was it that obvious?”
“Definitely,” Fina said.
“A little,” Adora said.
I leaned against the wall behind me. Maybe that wasn’t perfectly ladylike behavior, but I was so tired. “Rona called me Ice Princess,” I muttered.
“Isn’t that me?” Adora asked, half-teasing and half-confused.
“It’s a nickname from Daybreak,” I admitted. “I don’t know how she knows it. I don’t have a lot of—or really, any—friends in Daybreak. I just do my duties as a lady. My father—he’s not so…”
“He keeps a tight leash,” Fina provided.
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“What do they mean by that?” Adora asked.
“That I’m cold,” I said. “Off-putting.”
