Blinding Beauty (7 page)

The sweet dance was over soon, and
Isa’s stomach fluttered with excitement as she looked up at her own
dance partner. The night before, as Ever had explained the order of
events to Isa, he’d made it clear that this was to be an important
dance.

“
As we are the guests of honor,
the second dance will be for the king and queen and us,” he’d
said.

“
Everyone else will be
watching?”

“
It doesn’t matter.” Ever had
smiled and tapped her on the nose. “Surely you’ve had enough
practice.” At that, she’d blushed a bit, and he’d gone on to
explain. “This is the first chance most of our peers and their
nobles will have to see us together. It’s important for them to see
a united front, and that you are truly the queen the Fortress has
chosen.”

When she looked up at him now,
Ever seemed completely unaware that the people around him were
staring. Even the musicians hesitated, waiting for the guests of
honor to join the king and queen on the dance floor.

“
Ever,” she whispered, tugging
discreetly on his arm. After a moment, his eyes finally rested upon
her, and he gave her a polite smile as he seemed to realize what
they were supposed to be doing. Even when they were out on the
dance floor, however, as soon as the music began, his eyes resumed
their search of the crowd.

The dance was slow, one Isa knew
well, but it failed to bring the feelings of peace she’d look so
forward to. His calloused hand held hers loosely, and his movements
were just slightly behind the music, not enough for the spectators
to notice, but Isa could tell. As they turned, she watched his face
miserably, wishing with all her might that he might look down at
her just once. His fiery eyes were occupied, however, and his jaw
was set tightly in a line Isa knew well.

For all Ever’s talk of showing
everyone the Fortress’s chosen queen, it suddenly appeared to be of
little importance. Isa didn’t even bother to glance at her feet,
for she could feel that no blue fire whirled around them now,
though from her husband’s lack of attention or her lack of ability,
she couldn’t tell.

As soon as the dance was finished,
Ever didn’t hesitate, but immediately led them off the floor. The
crowd began to rearrange itself, some people going to dance while
others forming clumps. Somehow, Ever found the very group of women
that had stared at her during supper.

“
Isabelle,” Isa nearly cringed as
he used her full name. She hated that royals didn’t use nicknames
in public. “This is Lady Beata, Lady Jadzia, and Princess Damira.”
He slightly bowed to the three colorfully adorned women. Each woman
curtsied in turn. The one who had glowered at Isa earlier responded
to the name of Jadzia, and her eyes never left Ever’s face as he
spoke, not even when he introduced his wife.

“
I would like for you ladies to
become acquainted with my wife. Isabelle, I have some business to
attend to. Please enjoy yourself.” Isa watched him incredulously as
he stalked away. Was he really leaving her alone with
them?

“
Queen Isabelle,” the one named
Princes Damira began. Her hair was the color of acorns, and it was
worn long and straight with jeweled pins scattered throughout it.
Isa envied the princess as her own head throbbed worse than ever
with the weight of her hair. “It is wonderful to finally meet the
lucky queen.”

“
Luck had nothing to do with it,”
Lady Jadzia reminded her companion. “She was chosen.” Lady Jadzia’s
pale eyes glittered as she spoke, and her ruby lips pulled up at
one corner.

“
How is your family doing?” Isa
did her best to ignore the jab by looking at Lady Beata, suddenly
very grateful that her tutor had forced her not only to memorize
all of the royal and noble names of their neighboring lands, but
their current affairs as well. “Has your family repaired the
damaged wing of your home yet?” The young woman looked as though
Isa’s personal question had surprised her.

“
They’ve started...” she began,
her composure melting away a bit. “The fire did more damage than we
had originally thought though.”

“
So how have you and Everard been
spending your time since the wedding?” Jadzia asked. Isa noticed
the woman eyeing her shoulders, and was immediately very aware of
her own sun-tanned arms which, thanks to Gigi, were on display for
the entire ball to see through her thin sleeves.

“
We have both been kept busy,” she
began, wondering at the woman’s audacity. Even her commoner parents
had taught her such questions were beyond rude. But before she
could finish her answer, however, a movement caught Isa’s eye, and
she realized she’d been unconsciously searching the crowd for her
husband. Launce was off in a corner hiding behind a platter of
dried fruits, but it took her a moment to find Ever, and when she
did, she felt her heart beat unevenly.

He was talking animatedly to a
woman in the clothing of one of the southern kingdoms. If her dress
hadn’t given it away, her appearance would have. The woman held a
proud posture, the fine curve to her neck and straightness of her
back exactly what Isa’s tutors had been trying to teach her for the
last five months. The woman’s skin was the color of almonds, and
her eyes were alight as she listened carefully to whatever Isa’s
husband was saying. As Isa was studying them, however, the woman’s
gaze shifted directly to Isa.

Immediately, Isa wanted nothing
more than to hide, suddenly unable to add anything to the pointless
conversation she was now a part of. She might have had the energy
to handle the catty women that morning. But seeing the excitement
on Ever’s face as he spoke to the woman, whoever she was, was too
much. He hadn’t spent that much time talking with her in over a
month. Besides, her head felt as though someone were beating it
from the inside with a mallet.

“
I am going to get a drink,” she
excused herself in a weak voice, not waiting long enough to
remember that royals did not get their own drinks, but raised their
hands for them instead. And at the moment, her faux pas didn’t
matter. She just needed to get away.

After grabbing a drink off the
first servant’s tray that she could find, Isa took a long sip and
sighed. The wine was exceptionally good, and a rebellious part of
her wanted to grab another goblet and just run back to her chambers
with it. But she ignored that desire with the shred of self-control
which she still possessed, and began trudging back to the group of
women. As she moved through the crowd of wide skirts and swishing
capes, she could hear the women before she rejoined them, and what
she heard made her stop in her tracks.

“
Did you see how little attention
he paid her even during the dance?” Princess Damira’s voice had an
amused edge to it.

“
He made his choice. Now he has to
abide by it,” Lady Jadzia said. She took a sip of her own wine, no
doubt acquired through appropriate means.

“
You don’t think she broke the
curse?” Lady Beata asked. Lady Jadzia gave a delicate
snort.

“
I’ve heard rumor that she doesn’t
possess any of that special power, if that’s what you mean. It’s
really a pity.”

“
Why did he marry her then? I
thought Everard wanted his queen to be something
special.”

Lady Jadzia’s reply was icy. “I
heard that the man was imprisoned in a building alone for months,
according to my sister. It’s amazing what lonely men will promise
to anything with a pretty face.” Then Lady Jadzia stopped and
placed her hand over her upper chest. “Good gracious,” she said in
a faint voice. “I... I feel quite awful just now.”

“
Perhaps it was the beets,” Lady
Beata said, her brows knitting together in concern. “Take some more
wine for your stomach.”

“
No. No, it’s not that. I feel—”
But before she could finish answering, Lady Jadzia broke down in
tears. “I just feel terrible, as though a great weight has been
placed upon my soul!” she sobbed. “Please make it stop!”

A strange sensation had come over
Isa, but she didn’t know what it was until someone cried out and
pointed to her hand that clutched the goblet. Looking down, she
realized bright blue flame was coming from her hand. People
scrambled to back away, yet all Isa could do was stare stupidly at
the fire in her own hand as her head pounded harder than ever, and
treacherous tears threatened to spill down her face. All the while,
Jadzia continued to blubber about how wretched she felt.

The blue fire began to climb, and
was almost higher than the rim of the cup when two cool hands took
hold of hers. It wasn’t until Isa looked up that she realized Ever
was standing before her, gripping her hands and saying her name out
loud. The woman he’d been speaking with stood behind him, her eyes
troubled as she watched.

“
What are you doing?” Ever’s voice
finally drew her into focus. It took another long moment for Isa to
find her voice and the words with which to reply. Finally, under
his steady gaze and cool hands, Isa’s head cleared enough to
respond.

“
I... I don’t know...” her voice
trailed off as she looked around to see the entire court watching
her with wary eyes. Princess Damira, Lady Beata, and Lady Jadzia
were all huddled in a group, staring as though she’d turned into a
monster. Seeing them made Isa remember why she’d been upset in the
first place, and once more, briefly, power pulsed through her.
Ever’s eyes widened as he felt it move, and quickly followed her
eyes as they settled on the women he’d left her with.

“
Isabelle,” he said in a low
voice. “What happened?” Isa looked into his eyes, but to her shock,
where she had expected to see comfort and concern, she saw
frustration and impatience. Suddenly, it was all Isa could do not
to burst into tears herself, or shout at the top of her lungs that
her head hurt, and this entire ball was a waste of time, and that
Ever was in no position to judge her after leaving her alone with
such vipers.

“
Everard,” the woman behind him
said chidingly, her low voice melodic. “Your wife obviously is not
feeling well.” As she drew closer, Isa realized with a start that
she sensed power seeping from the woman as well. Much to Isa’s
relief and annoyance, her husband finally looked
concerned.

“
Is it true?” he asked her in an
even softer voice, his gray eyes searching her face. Almost too
angry to speak, Isa could only bring herself to nod. She was fully
aware that the people around them were still watching.

“
I don’t know why my
power—”

“
Not here,” he whispered urgently.
“You never know who might be listening.” He pried the silver goblet
from her hands and held it out to the nearest servant. “Launce,” he
called. There was no need, for her brother was already there. “Take
your sister back to our chambers, then return here to me.” As
Launce took her arm, Ever leaned in once more and whispered, “I
will join you soon. Try to get some sleep.”

As Launce led her away, the music
began to play again, and people chatted once more, but the sister
and brother were given a wide berth as they made their way to the
closest hallway.

“
King Everard and Queen Isabelle’s
chambers?” Launce asked a nearby servant uncertainly. As they
followed the servant back through winding halls and many turns, Isa
felt herself relax against her brother’s steady arm. She could feel
him studying her as they walked.

“
I’ll be fine, I promise,” she
said. “It’s this confounded hair that’s been giving me a headache.
I never knew I had this much hair.” To her relief, they had finally
reached the familiar arched door of the room she and Ever had been
given.

“
Something else is wrong,” he
said, crossing his arms and staring down at her after the servant
had gone. “This isn’t just a headache. What happened back there
with your power?”

Isa sighed. “I don’t know, Launce.
I really just want to go to bed—”

“
You drag me down here to this
blasted ball, then you won’t tell me anything—”

“
I promise!” Isa’s threw her hands
up to her aching head. “I will tell you later! Just let me go to
bed!” She felt a stab of remorse though as his face fell and he
looked at the floor. For a moment, he looked just like the little
boy that had once faithfully followed her about on her horse. “I’m
sorry.” She reached out and grabbed his sleeve. He looked back, his
eyes injured, and she sighed. “I really do have a headache, and
it’s hard to explain. I just don’t have the words right now.” At
that, her brother looked slightly mollified, and he nodded once
before leaving.

As soon as Isa was back into her
room, Cerise was hovering over her, trying to pull the pins out of
her hair. Apparently, news traveled just as fast in King Rafael’s
palace as in her own. Isa counted it a blessing though in this
instance. In less than ten minutes, Cerise had changed her out of
her silver gown, shoved a cup of tea into her hands, and had her in
bed, Isa’s long hair free and spread out wildly around
her.

It would have felt lovely, had Isa
not been so angry with her husband. After treating her like a
soldier waiting for an inspection, then ignoring her their entire
dance, he had left her with the cruelest women alive, all so he
could search out the stranger from the south and speak to her...
without Isa. And it was only because of the woman that he had
noticed she was in distress at all.