“Sorry.” I smiled ruefully. “I happen to already be promised to another.”
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“What—”
“Who—”
“Cal—”
All three went off at the same time.
I stopped a servant who was walking past me with a tray of wine, putting a hand on his arm. “We’re getting pledged, aren’t we, darling?”
He blinked. “Yes. Yes, we are.”
His words lacked a little less passion than I would have liked from my future husband, but I guessed I could give him some time to process the idea. At least this man came with wine. I grabbed a glass, taking a swallow while ignoring the hot, incensed stares on my back.
“What’s your name?” I asked him.
“Samuel.”
I sighed with relief. “Much better than Alis,” I muttered, walking away.
I was having a staring contest, and quite frankly, I was losing. I blamed the issue on the fact that I’d never been taught intimidation from infanthood. Every once in a while, my gaze would collide with Weston’s, and we’d play this silly game. I’d only won once because some royal or another stopped to say a word to Weston. I’d thought he would ignore them to win the game, but then at the last moment, he conceded.
This time, though, there were already enough stares on my skin.
Averting my gaze from the Titan across the room and surrendering, I stared into the crowd absently, ignoring the two king’s guards who seemed to be fixated on me like glue.
“What if someone was up to no good?” I said as I leaned against a column just outside of the revelry. “You’d miss it and shame your city because you’ve been staring at me this whole time.”
“We know exactly who would be up to no good, and that’s who we’re keeping an eye on,” Tuko replied.
“Me?” I feigned surprise. “Why would you ever think that?”
Tuko grunted.
I tossed back my glass before grabbing another off a servant’s passing tray. I was on my third and thought that if I could just drink enough, I might be able to have a dreamless sleep.
Steady glanced around as if to see if anyone important was near, before lighting a cheroot from a wall sconce.
“So, this is what being a king’s guard consists of,” I mused. “Watching everyone else have fun.”
“We swore to protect, and that’s a sacrifice we are proud to make,” Tuko boasted.
“That sounds like a response you’re all supposed to memorize.”
Tuko frowned, his lips in a straight line—his admission on his face.
Amusement rose inside me. I was glad I came tonight. Being alone only allowed the black inside me to chafe, my thoughts drowning in the dark. But now, I was floating.
“What are you doing with the prince?” Steady asked, his gaze suspicious as smoke rose from his lips.
“What prince?” I asked, pushing from the column and walking towards them.
They both stared at me with eyes narrowed in exasperation. How could they know I’d come to know one too many princes? I ticked them off on my finger. “There’s the Untouchable Prince. The oldest Titan Prince—”
Tuko shook his head in amused disbelief. “You don’t know the Titan Prince.”