Chapter Twenty-Five

The ballroom was several times larger than the banquet hall on the second floor. I had only entered it twice when Clarice failed to teach me how to dance. But this… This…

It was spectacular and terrifying all at once.

Hundreds of people of all shapes and sizes milled about the lavish room. Women in vibrant gowns and dark, demure colors passed by me. And I could only gawk like an idiot at their beauty. Many of them were foreign, but others were from Aria. I spotted women from the northern countries dressed in black and purple. The men were dressed in various styles of suits, though the women far outshined them.

My shock dimmed when I saw Frilly; she was wearing her usual magenta shade of dress. Was it even legal to have a dress that ? I cringed as she spun in the arms of a nobleman. I did not want to deal with that woman after what we had been through.

The chandeliers above lit the marble flooring with a decadent glow, while the torches on the wall provided light for the musicians in the back of the room. A snack table was provided near the front as usual. This time, however, there were no meal tables. I reminded myself that this wasn’t a banquet. This was a ball.

Clarice grabbed my arm and waltzed me into the ballroom like the world didn’t matter. “Ooo.” Her eyes traveled to a young man staring placidly back at her. “Hey, Lannie,” she whispered over my shoulder. “Since they haven’t announced the marriage yet, it wouldn’t hurt to dance with these men, right?”

“I wouldn’t push your mother, Clarice. She’s capable of dangerous things.” I didn’t say. I wanted greatly to tell her about Odelia and Cicero, but the words wouldn’t come. She wouldn’t believe me, anyway. The only thing I could do was wait for a chance to talk with Philippa or Titus.

“But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” Clarice begged, her emerald eyes wide with anticipation.

Who was I? Her mother? She was actually asking if she could dance with men when she was unofficially engaged to Titus. I had a mind to tell her “yes” just to tick Odelia off, but then I realized that—if we did survive tonight—approving Clarice’s dance would be suicide. I steered her to a relatively quiet alcove of the ballroom. “How about we make a rule?” I waited until I had her full attention. “You are only to dance with men who look above twenty-seven.”

Her mouth dropped. “What? Twenty-seven? That’s something only you would do!”

“No I wouldn't!” I gripped the skirt of my dress to keep from slapping her. “As I’ve been told, it’s common courtesy for the duchess’ daughter to dance with the guests. But with younger men, you dance inappropriately. As your tutor, I say that you are only to dance with older men.”

Clarice’s cheeks reddened. “I do dance inappropriately!”

“From the way I see it, yes you do.”

“Well, then you’re blind,” she seethed.

“Not blind enough to see through your obvious indecencies!”

Clarice clenched her fists together. “Say that again and I’ll—”

“Good evening, ladies.” A dashing young man stopped in front of us and bowed, interrupting the possibility of a murderous battle.

Broken from her trance of anger, Clarice curtsied. I hurried to follow suit; with the considerable amount of layers in my dress, curtsying was difficult. I had a mind to take a knife from one of the tables and shear the layers off, but that would probably be highly unladylike.

The man grinned at us, his kind brown eyes sparkling. I studied him skeptically. The Orandine was a shapeshifter, so could it be this man? Or was the Orandine disguised as a woman? It was impossible to tell—it could be anyone!

At that moment, the musicians in the back began to play a slow piece. “Would one of you ravishing young ladies take my offer to start the first dance?”

Clarice turned to me with a smile so devilishly bright that I knew she was plotting something only a hellish fiend would. “I’m taken, unfortunately, but Lady Lannie would to dance with you.”

She even added “Lady” to my name to indicate that I was a noble. The young man turned to me with a smile, clearly happy to find a dance partner. I didn’t have time for this. I needed to be looking out for Odelia and her cursed emissary. “Sorry, but I actually have something to attend to, so I can’t—”

“Nonsense!” Clarice gripped my arm with the force of an ape. She turned on me, plastering that too-bright smile on her face. “You are free to dance, Lady Lannie,” she said through her smile.

I smiled back at her. “No, , I am not. I have things to do, you know,” I reminded her sweetly. “You, however, seem perfectly capable of dancing.”

“He’s obviously not over twenty-seven,” she sang in a whisper, while the man waited patiently with a smile.

“He very well could be,” I cooed, my voice quiet enough to where the man wouldn’t hear. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“Now that would just be rude, Lady Lannie. I don’t know him well enough for that. But if you dance with him, I’m sure you can ask him!”

“Ask me what?” The man’s smile was so innocent that I felt guilty for a moment. Then I remembered the conflict at hand.

I decided to do what I did best. “My lord, you will have to excuse me. I am truly feeling unwell, so I have no intention of dancing tonight. But Lady Clarice would be delighted to accompany you!”

And with that, I ripped my arm from Clarice’s grasp and made a straight escape for the snack table. The man must have thought I was some rude Nor girl because I forgot to curtsy. Out of curiosity, I glanced over my shoulder to see Clarice giving me a glare that heated the entire room as the man led her to the dancing floor.

Well, at least that was out of the way.

I let out a sigh of relief and proceeded to hide myself within the throng of guests. The variety of people present in the room was amazing. Dark-skinned women from Balua wore mute colors like pale pinks, pastel blues, and pearly whites. On the other hand, women from Nor dressed in bright reds and greens and purples and talked animatedly with one another.

I avoided a particularly rambunctious group of Norian women. Upon my approach, they snickered to themselves about something that was beyond me. Probably how my blue pendant didn’t match my dress. I didn’t care, though. I needed to be looking for Cicero, not paying attention to giggling Norians.

The massive number of people made me grow faint for a moment. I retired to an empty lounge on the side, obscured from the public eye by a pillar. I took a deep breath. I needed to focus. Cicero was here somewhere, lurking like the snake he was. Odelia was present, but her talkative demeanor made me doubt whether or not she was part of this…plot. Besides, I didn’t have proof that she was part of it. Maybe I was making an irrational conclusion?

“Psst, Lannie!”

At first, I thought it was my own mind creating the illusion of someone whispering my name, but I quickly realized that the sound had come from behind the couch. I stood, examined my surroundings, and discreetly made my way around the lounge. Before I had a chance to react, a hand shot out and tugged me behind it.