“You can join without me,” I said. “I don’t mind being left.”
“Really?” He looked at me swiftly, his brow creased, and his eyes flicking to Rek. “I don’t—”
“Zaria!” Adara’s shriek was mostly obscured by the music, so only those closest to us turned to look. She ignored them, breaking free of the dance and hurrying toward us.
“But you’re gorgeous!” she cried, indicating for me to spin, which I dutifully did.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” I said on a laugh.
“I’m not! Of course not!” She gave me a sparkling look. “You know I’m not.” She threaded her arm through mine. “Do you remember how many times we dreamed of attending one of these together? I hated turning sixteen so much before you, and you not being able to come.” Her words flowed on without pause. “But have you seen the twins yet? I told them you were coming, and they didn’t believe me. They’ve been saying all along you must have been killed by bandits on the road south.” Her voice turned disapproving. “I’m sure I never did anything to deservetwosuch brothers. Oh!” She spun us left, waving at someone I couldn’t see. “There they are!”
“I’d almost forgotten how exhausting it is just to listen to you,” I said with a laugh.
She threw me a smile. “Yes, I missed you, too.”
I laughed again. I had almost forgotten that as well: how much I laughed when I was with Adara.
“Xavier, Xander,” she said triumphantly, “here she is! Now you can take back everything you said on the topic.”
Two young men, dressed identically, turned toward us. My stomach clenched, remembering the foolish, youthful dreams I had woven around them in those final years before I left the palace. They were grown now, too, and everyone said they were distractingly handsome…
Everyone was right. They were. Yet my heart beat on at its usual pace, the only emotions rushing through me the pleasure of being reunited with old friends and the happy warmth of remembered childhood misdeeds.
“Xavier!” I held out a hand to the one on the right and he promptly raised it to his mouth and kissed it.
“Even more ravishingly beautiful than I remember. That dress!”
Still I was unaffected, merely laughing at his usual excessive manner.
“Xander.” I turned and offered my hand to the second young man.
“It really must be you,” Xavier’s marginally more considered twin said with a look of surprise. “You can still tell us apart.”
“Of course. You’re both taller, but you haven’t changed that much.”
Adara sighed happily. “Just like old times.” She turned abruptly and gave a dazzling smile to Navid, who had been trailing behind us. “But with new friends, of course.”
Both twins raised their eyebrows in perfect unison.
“This must be Navid, I presume,” Xavier said, in far too smooth a voice.
“Quick, Adara,” I said. “Take Navid dancing before the twins can get their claws into him.”
“Excellent advice.” She dropped my arm and grabbed his, pulling him into the dance without waiting for his response.
Xavier sighed heavily. “The Zaria I remember used to be fun.”
“No, no,” his twin said. “You’re misremembering. Zaria was always allied with Rekspoilingour fun.”
“Rescuing you from your ‘fun’, I think you mean,” I said dryly, and they both laughed. “So have you both been enjoying being eighteen? All that freedom you always longed for!”
“Actually.” Xavier frowned. “It’s all turned out to be a big scam. We’ve been meaning to talk to someone about it, but no one seems willing to take responsibility.”
“A scam?” I looked between them. “Don’t tell me the sultan is still keeping you chained to the palace? I can’t say I’d blame him, but…”
“Personally, I blame Rek,” Xander said gloomily. “He was always so eager to take on all those tiresome responsibilities, so it gave a false impression.”
“Well, maybe notalways.” Xavier gave me a significant look I couldn’t read before nudging Xander, who laughed.