Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Maybe then I will be worthy of a queen.
Rose
My dress is a wonder. I don't know how Rogue did it, but I am wearing something out of a Cinderella movie, except it’s not sky blue, blush pink, or even moonflower red-black. It’s all those colors and more, rippling like the sunset on the water, as astonishing as a glimpse of a galaxy. Piercing like the glare of a diamond, gleaming like the heart of a pearl. I might as well be wearing the whole of the night sky.
The last of the five moons is rising when I swish down the long portrait gallery towards the ballroom. My favorite whisp accompanies me, holding up my train. It also did something to secure my hair and the jewels it wove through my curls. Everything about this outfit is magic—or, if not magic, at least defying the laws of physics.
I pause under Bestian’s parents’ portrait, smoothing the front of my dress. Tonight feels like a first date.
“I guess it kind of is a first date,” I tell Rogue. The low light from the glowing orbs catches on the painting, putting a glimmer in the queen’s eye. She looks like she’s gazing down at me.
“I won’t break his heart,” I tell her, and joke, “I’m not sure he has one.” As soon as I say that, I know it’s not true. He’s finally stopped being quite so overbearing, and is trying to ease my path into my new life.
“He can be kind. But he’s shut himself off from the world. I don’t think that’s the life you wanted for him.”
The motionless queen has no answers for me, so I turn, leaving her and her Mona Lisa smile. The stretch of wall beyond the last king and queen’s portrait is bare. There is no picture of Bestian.
My skirts rustle as I move down the long hall. The doors at the end swing open and I glide through them to find myself at the top of the staircase overlooking the ballroom, the one I entered when I first trespassed here.
The broken statues are gone. The room is illuminated by glowing orbs thronging every column. Overhead, the magical ceiling shimmers and froths with changing colors that match my dress.
Movement catches my eye and I look down. Bestian is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. My heart pounding, I smile at him. We’re in the room where we first met, but we’ve swapped places. I wait for him to grin, to recognize the irony, but he just gazes up at me, looking stunned. He’s staring at the top of my head.
I’m wearing a crown.
The weight of the silence between us is too heavy. I can’t speak. Slowly, the huge Alpha ascends the stairs, stopping a few steps below the top when he’s eye level with me.
“Bestian,” I manage.
“Rose.”
He’s still gazing at me, but no longer at the crown. His gorgeous eyes are fixed on me. I had intended for him to acknowledge me as an equal, and he is. But I didn’t anticipate what else I’d convey by wearing the crown.
At length, he climbs the rest of the steps. Now looming over me, he offers his arm and I take it. The spell wrought by his intense gaze is broken.
But as he ushers me onto a balcony where a table is set for two, I feel like I’ve crossed a line. I’ve forded the Rubicon, and there’s no turning back now.
SEVENTEEN
Rose
“You look lovely,” the king says, settling into his seat after pulling out my chair for me.
“So do you.” Wow, I’m winning at conversation tonight. But Bestian does look incredible. He’s in formal-looking robes that make him look kingly while doing nothing to obscure the breadth of his shoulders and back. His glossy black shirt is open at the neck, revealing enough to give me a glimpse of the powerful muscles of his chest.
I’ve been staring at him without speaking for too long. I lick my lips to make sure I’m not drooling.
“You changed your mask,” I say. At first glance, the fabric looks black like his shirt, but every so often, it shimmers like the fabric of my dress.
“I asked my wind servants what you’d be wearing. They refused to tell me.” He frowns, but I know him well enough to tell he’s teasing. “It seems one naughty whisp spoils the whole bunch.”
The wind around us stirs. Covered dishes float to the table. “I made them keep it a secret,” I admit. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did.” His gaze flicks up to my crown. I resist the urge to reach up and make sure it’s in place.
Bestian’s own head is bare but his thick blue hair is tied back in a ponytail, emphasizing his perfect cheekbones and strong, square jaw. I like him rough and shaggy, but it turns out he’s just as hot when he’s dressed up. “Do you have a crown?” I ask without thinking.