Chapter 12: Attractive People Are a Public Hazard
1094 Words
I nearly jumped out of my skin. The voice had appeared so suddenly that for one horrifying moment, I thought the dress had learned to speak.
I turned.
The first thing I noticed was that he was beautiful.
The second thing I noticed was that this was probably going to become a problem.
Golden hair. Not yellow. Not blond. Golden.
The sort of hair painters wasted entire careers trying to recreate. His clothes were expensive in the effortless way nobles' clothing always seemed to be. Dark fabric. Fine embroidery. Not enough decorations to look ridiculous, but just enough to remind everyone that he probably owned several houses.
Most annoyingly, he was smiling. Not a friendly smile. Not a polite smile. A knowing smile. The kind of smile people wear when they are entirely too pleased with themselves.Which immediately made me suspicious.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked.
His gaze shifted toward the dress behind the glass. "The dress."
"I know what you were talking about."
"I was questioning why you were talking to me."
The smile widened.
Behind me, Mira suddenly appeared. "Hello."
The noble blinked,
Mira looked him up and down. Then up again. Then up a little more. "...Wow."
"Mira."
"I'm being polite."
"You're staring."
"I'm appreciating."
The noble laughed.
Traitor.
Mira immediately brightened.
But before we could continue, Lilith emerged from the store carrying several boxes while two exhausted-looking attendants followed her behind.
"Adrian!" she called.
The blond noble turned. "Lilith."
"You are coming tonight?"
"Of course," Adrian said. "Your invitation sounded less like an invitation and more like a royal decree."
Lilith looked pleased. "Good."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I know. Anyway, let me present you my friends Mira and Lys."
"Lysandra, "I corrected.
Adrian's gaze shifted toward me. For a moment, I had the uncomfortable feeling that he wasn't simply looking at me. He was studying me. Then he took my hand and kissed it. "My pleasure, Lys."
"Lysandra." I immediately corrected him.
Adrian's smile widened. "Ah. My mistake."
"It wasn't."
"No?"
"We're not friends enough, so you can call me Lys."
For a second, he simply looked at me.
Then, to my annoyance, he seemed pleased. "Interesting."
Before I could ask what exactly was interesting, Mira drifted toward Lilith like a shark that had smelled blood.
She lowered her voice. Not low enough. "Don't they look like they are flirting?"
"He does," Lilith agreed immediately. "But unfortunately, he flirts with anyone who has a pair of breasts. Adrian, that's enough. We will see you later."
Adrian looked offended. "I don't flirt. It's not my fault, ladies like me. But I..." He looked directly into my eyes. "I will only have eyes for one."
Silence.
Mira's jaw dropped.
Lilith closed her eyes.
I stared at him. "If you still wanna have eyes, avoid me from now on."
Adrian's smile widened. "That sounded almost possessive."
"It was a threat."
"Even better."
"I don't think you understand how threats work."
"Enough flirting, you two. It's time to go to the Gilded Boast."Lilith pointed toward the waiting carriage.
Adrian's smile brightened immediately."Can you give me a ride, Lilith?"
"Don't you have your own ride?"
"I do, but I prefer yours."
"Fine!"
Adran's victory was immediate. He smiled like a man who had just won a war. "I knew you cared."
"I don't."
"You gave me a ride."
"I gave up arguing."
"Same thing."
"It isn't"
Lilith climbed into the carriage before she could be dragged into another debate.
Mira followed.
I followed because standing alone with Adrian sounded significantly worse.
Unfortunately, Adrian followed too.
The ride was terrible. Not because of the carriage. The carriage was magnificent. The seats were soft enough to make me question every chair I had ever sat on. The problem was Adrian.
Specifically, Adrian sitting directly across from me.
"Lilith, I can't wait to see Kael's and Alaric's faces when we come together," Adrian said with a smirk.
"Why?" Mira asked.
"Well, Kael and Adrian don't get along and..."
"And?"
"Alaric is my fiancé."
"And the crown prince," Adrian added.
"Crown Prince?"
Lilith nodded.
"You are engaged to the Crown Prince?"
"Yes."
Mira opened her mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again."Wow."
"That is usually the reaction," Adrian said.
"I thought nobles were exaggerating when they talked about arranged marriage."
Lilith blinked. " What do you mean?"
"I thought it was one of those rich people stories. "
Adrian laughed.
"Alaric and I have known each other since childhood."
"Oh."Mira tilted her head. "Do you like him?"
Lilith froze.
I immediately knew Mira had asked a dangerous question.
The problem with Mira was that she possessed exactly zero survival instincts.
"That's a very personal question," I said.
"Which is why I asked it."
Of course.
Lilith looked out the window. Then back at us. Then sighed. "I do. A lot."
The answer was quiet. Simple. Honest.
Adrian smiled. "Aww."
"Don't"
"A little aww."
"Adrian."
"A microscopic aww."
Lilith threw a cushion at him. He caught it.
Mira leaned forward. "So when did you know?"
"Mira."
"What?"
"Are you asking so you know how you feel about Kael?"
"Yes."
Lilith laughed. Then shook her head. "I don't know exactly."
Adrian immediately pointed at her."Lie."
"It isn't"
"It is."
"It isn't."
"You've been looking at him like a lovesick i***t since we were twelve."
Lilith's face turned red.
Mira gasped. "TWELVE?" Mira shouted.
"Mira."
"TWELVE?"
"Mira."
"That's adorable."
Lilith buried her face in her hands. "I regret telling you anything."
"You should."
"I know."
Adrian looked entirely too pleased with himself.
His gaze drifted toward me. "How about you, Lysandra?"
"How about me?"
"Anyone you like?"
"No."
"That was fast."
"Because the answer is no."
"What if they're handsome?"
"No."
"Charming?"
"No."
"Heroic?"
"No."
"Blond?"
"Absolutely not."
Mira started laughing so hard she nearly fell off her seat.
Adrian looked wounded. "I feel targeted."
"You should."
The carriage rolled onward. For a moment, everyone settled.
Lilith smiled faintly.
Mira still giggling.
Adrian pretending to be heartbroken.
Then his eyes briefly flicked toward the blue strand in my hair. Just for a second. The smile didn't leave his face. But something calculating appeared behind it. Gone so quickly I almost missed it. ALmost.
And for the first time since meeting him, I had the unsettling feeling that Adrian wasn't merely flirting because he was interested.
He was looking for something.
"You know," Adrian said, lightly catching the blue strand between his fingers, "the royal tulips in Caladryth bloom in this exact blue. It's a color people tend to remember."
- Writer
