“And,” the herald said in a deep, booming voice. Everyone was quiet. “Her Royal Highness Princess Aurora, heir to the Firedrake Dynasty of Illiador, daughter of the royal house of Gwenfar-Ith-Aran of the Fae, and Princess Royal of the kingdom of Elfi.”
I heard gasps in the crowd. Everyone was looking at me and whispering. Garbled chattering broke out, and everyone was moving forward to try and get a better look at me. I felt like a gallery exhibit.
I glanced around the room once and walked carefully down the great marble stairs, holding onto Erien’s arm for dear life. I tried to gather my thoughts and concentrated on not falling down the stairs in an embarrassing heap of satin and taffeta.
I had a whole load of titles, which was pretty cool. But now people had started swarming towards me like a pack of flies towards an uncovered pizza. The ballroom was already packed to bursting point. All the nobility of Eldoren were there, and they all wanted to meet me. Aunt Serena had briefed me on the etiquette of attending a ball. We had also gone through a whole list of people whom I was supposed to meet to get their support. I had met a few of them already at the Blackwaters’ dinner party.
I knew that the Blackwaters were also attending, as were other lords and ladies of the nobility that I hadn’t met yet: the Hartfields, the Rothguards, and the Greystones. I had studied all these families with Professor Dekela, and I knew who hated whom, which noble house was trying to gain power, and which ones were loyal to the king. After the Blackwaters, the Silverthornes, and the Glenbarrys, these were the prominent houses and titles of the aristocracy of Eldoren.
Aunt Serena came up to Erien and me and led us around the room, introducing me to everyone. A big, burly man with salt-and-pepper hair and twinkling blue eyes, whose doublet was near to bursting its emerald buttons, came up to me, took my hand, and gave a sweeping bow. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he raised himself up from his tottering bow.
“May I be the first to introduce myself, Your Highness?” he said, in a deep but kind voice. “I am Derek Sutton, Earl of Rothguard. It is an honor to meet you, and may I be the first to say we are delighted to find that you are indeed alive.”
“Thank you,” I said genuinely. He was a nice man, and I liked him instantly. He was one of the families Uncle Gabriel said would definitely support me.
“Your father was a very dear friend of mine. Anything you need from me, you only have to ask, and it will be done,” he said gallantly.
I smiled, and thanked him again. It felt good to meet a friend of my family; maybe later I could speak with Lord Rothguard about him. There were so many things I had been meaning to find out but didn’t know who to ask.
Another man, about the same age as Lord Rothguard, came up to meet me. “Julian Fenton,” he said, bowing and kissing my hand. “The Marquis of Greystone at your service, Your Highness.”
He was tall and impeccably dressed, with chiseled features and an aristocratic nose.
“Rothguard,” he said, looking at the Earl. “Good to see you again.”
Lord Rothguard smiled and gave a short perfunctory bow. “Julian, I thought you were in Andrysia.”
The Marquis just ignored Rothguard and ran a hand through his wavy blond hair.
Aunt Serena came up to me and caught me by the elbow. “There you are, dear. I have been looking all over for you. There are so many people who want to meet you. You must come with me or we will never finish.”
I followed Aunt Serena into the throng of chattering Eldorean nobility. I met old lords whose names I tried desperately to remember, I met their wives, the marchionesses and the countesses, and I had to rack my brain for the correct way to address them. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself from the very start.
I spotted Vivienne and raised my hand to wave at her. Vivienne smiled and turned to walk towards me, when an older lady—whom I presumed was her mother—glared at me and pulled Vivienne away, disappearing into the crowd. I turned away, tears pooling in my eyes. It seemed I had lost my best friend.
Suddenly the trumpets sounded. Uncle Gabriel was being announced.
“His Grace, Gabriel, Duke of Silverthorne, commander of the king’s army, and protector of the realm,” boomed the herald.
Slowly a hush grew over the room, washing gently like a wave across the great hall, when they saw who had just walked in after the duke. The women had suddenly started giggling and whispering to each other like a bunch of crazed lunatics.
I also turned to see what everyone was staring at, and, if I could have fainted, I would have. But I decided that fainting at this moment would really not be a good idea.
Standing at the top of the stairs, looking his usual dashing self, was Rafe, and he was gazing straight at me. He was dressed formally in a midnight-blue doublet and hose with silver embroidery on the cuffs and collar. His boots were high and polished to perfection. And, as usual, he looked devastatingly handsome.
I felt my heartbeat quicken. I wished I could do something about this infuriatingly erratic part of myself that I couldn’t control. Secretly I was pleased that he had picked me out of a crowded ballroom almost immediately. But what was he doing here, at a ball in the Summer Palace, underneath the nose of the king?
The Herald hesitated for a second before announcing, “His Royal Highness, Prince Rafael of the Ravenswood Dynasty, heir to the throne of Eldoren, Duke of Calos, Marquis of Shadowvale, and Earl of Killanon.”
I could have sworn I saw Rafe wink at me as he walked confidently down the grand stairs towards us.
“I thought he was an outlaw,” I whispered to Kalen, who was standing beside me, still not taking my eyes off Rafe. I couldn’t believe he was actually there.
Kalen was grinning stupidly. “Oh yes! I must have forgotten to mention that, in Eldoren, he has many other titles.”
I looked at Kalen incredulously. “And you just forgot to mention that one little part, did you?” I said, scathingly. “You made me keep believing that he was a wanted man.”
Kalen shrugged. He was still grinning, and he seemed to find my reaction entertaining. “Rafe didn’t want you to know,” he said truthfully.
“Why?” I asked. “Did he think it would have made a difference?”
“I don’t know,” said Kalen. “Ask him yourself. He’s coming over here.”
I looked up as Rafe and Uncle Gabriel came over to meet us.
“Glad to have you back, Grandfather,” said Erien, coming over and hugging Uncle Gabriel; he looked over at Rafe. “You too, Your Highness.”
Rafe nodded, smiling, “Erien, Kalen.”
Uncle Gabriel gave me a short hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Is everything all right?” he asked, looking concerned.
I nodded. I guess I must have looked so shocked that even Uncle Gabriel had noticed something was wrong. I felt like such a fool. How would I ever talk to Rafe again? How could Kalen not have told me that Rafe was actually the prince of Eldoren? I caught Rafe looking at me with that amused look on his face once again. And, for about the hundredth time, my heart took a quick somersault.
Rafe bowed formally and planted a chaste kiss on my hand. “Princess Aurora, always a pleasure,” he said, smiling the most dazzling smile I had ever seen. I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes off him, even though I was terribly embarrassed.
“Rafe . . . I mean, Your Highness,” I said, suddenly remembering where I was.
“I must say, you look exceptionally beautiful tonight,” he said softly, straightening, but still looking into my eyes and holding my hand. I blushed.
He finally let go of my hand when Erien butted in. “Let’s go and find Mother,” he said quickly to me.
Rafe scowled but didn’t say anything.
“What’s the rush?” I asked, irritated that I had been pulled away from Rafe.
Erien didn’t answer as he took me by the arm and led me through the crowd.
“What was all that about?” I said, when he finally stopped with me behind a potted plant at the far end of the ballroom.
“Rafael,” Erien said abruptly.
“What about him?” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“He’s no good for you,” said Erien sharply. “He may be a great warrior-mage, and he is the crown prince, but he is not the type to be tied down. It will only end in heartache, mainly yours.”
I tried to look astonished, but failed miserably. Erien was right—Rafe may not be an outlaw, but he was definitely dangerous. And Kalen and his mother had warned me about that side of Rafe. Even his own father seemed to be exasperated with him.
Then I thought back to everything Celia and Vivienne had said about the crown prince. It was a different picture from how Rafe really acted. But which one was his real self? Was he the hardened warrior who traveled the kingdom helping the poor and helpless, the outlaw who was the bane of Morgana’s guards? Or the spoiled princeling who was only interested in wine and women?
“I know that,” I said, sighing. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to mess up my future because of some guy, even if he is a prince.” Although I wanted to mean what I said, I wasn’t sure how much truth there was in that statement.
Erien looked relieved. “That’s good to know,” he said, becoming his usual jovial self again. “In any case, there is so much none of us knows about him. There are things about the crown prince that are a mystery to even those who know him best.”
I nodded. I knew I had to stay as far away from Rafe as was possible. The more I saw him, the more I wanted to be with him. In hindsight, spending so much time with him training every night was probably not the smartest thing to do. I knew that, prince of Eldoren or not, Rafael Ravenswood was definitely not good for me.
Erien walked off to mingle with the guests. I declined to go with him, as I was still anxious about slipping up and saying the wrong thing. I looked around the room, searching for Kalen. When I saw him, I waved him over. He came over by the plant where I was hiding with a big grin on his face.
“It was kind of your uncle to permit me to stay at the palace with my mother,” Kalen said enthusiastically, looking around at the whirling dancers. It was his first time inside the Summer Palace. “I am having a marvelous time.”
I smiled at him from behind my plant. It was so good to have Kalen to talk to again.
“Why are you hiding behind a plant?” asked Kalen. “Let us go and meet Rafe. Don’t you want to talk to him?”
“No!” I said, catching Kalen’s arm and pulling him back behind the plant before he could escape again. “That’s exactly who I am trying to stay away from.”
“By hiding behind a plant?” asked Kalen, looking at me as if I had lost a few brain cells along the way.
“Sort of,” I said, biting my fingernail.
“But why? I thought you liked Rafe,” said Kalen, again looking confused.
“I do,” I said, now getting exasperated with Kalen. “Too much. That’s why I have to stay away from him. Don’t you see?”
“No, I don’t see,” said Kalen, “but if you say so.”
I rolled my eyes. Kalen could be oblivious sometimes.
“And don’t you think you should have mentioned that the Black Wolf was really the prince of Eldoren?” I whispered.
“Shhh,” Kalen hissed. “Be careful. If anyone overhears us, Rafe’s life will be in danger.”
“But how could you not tell me?” I asked again, trying to keep my voice to the softest of whispers.
“I told you when you asked me the first time—he didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to know,” said Kalen.
I hung my head. Rafe didn’t trust me. That hurt more than it should, and I turned away so Kalen could not see the tears that swam in my eyes and threatened to fall.
“Oh, it will be fun to watch Rafe when he realizes his betrothed is here,” said Kalen blithely, scanning the room.
I thought I was going to faint again.
Betrothed!
Rafe was engaged!
Oh no, Leticia! How could I have forgotten?
My eyes whipped about the room, and I spotted Rafe almost immediately, standing rather stiffly in front of Leticia. She had her back to me, and her beautiful golden hair, woven with glittering diamonds, cascaded down her back. She was dressed in a dazzling confection of baby pink and silver satin. She turned, and I noticed her icy eyes shone with anger and that she was directing that anger at Rafe.
I wanted to find out what they were saying. “Tell me about her,” I whispered to Kalen.
Kalen was busy looking around the room and was obviously getting bored standing with me behind the plant. I could tell by the look on his face that he was glad to spill some gossip.
“That’s Leticia, the daughter of the Earl of Glenbarry,” said Kalen quickly.
I nodded, urging him to go on.
“She is his only child and will inherit everything after her father. The estates of Glenbarry are enormous. I heard some people saying that Rafe’s mother and Leticia’s mother were best friends. And, apparently,” Kalen looked around once and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Apparently, his mother made him promise on her deathbed that he wed Leticia. Rafe agreed, to please his mother, but I guess he now regrets his decision to marry that shrew.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Isn’t she nice?” I already knew she was horrid, but I wanted to know what others thought about her.
Kalen snorted. “Ha! Nice is the opposite of Leticia. Poor Rafe only found that out once she was officially betrothed to him. I heard from the palace servants that he keeps putting off the wedding, but I don’t know how long she is going to let him get away with that.”
I pulled Kalen’s arm as we wove through the crowd, towards Rafe and Leticia. I kept stopping and trying to hide behind statues and people along the way so that Rafe didn’t notice me. When I finally reached eavesdropping distance, I pulled Kalen and sat down on a high-backed chair next to where Rafe and Leticia were standing. Kalen perched himself on the arm next to me. The chair was turned away from the crowd, so Leticia did not see us, but I was sure Rafe had spotted us already; he never missed anything.
“What are we doing exactly?” asked Kalen, confused again.
I rolled my eyes for the millionth time. “Shhh,” I said, trying to listen.