A Princess Torn (Alys Book #2)

Chapter 31

Clement, August, and Aquila all agreed to the terms of their release without hesitation. They would carry on as if they were still spying for Balear, feeding useless info to Royce while keeping in touch with Krea. For there own safety, only Endolynn, Dastrehan, Rohan, and the few guards they had used to capture August and Hugh knew of their identities and the arrangement.

Hugh was executed the following day. Though Endolynn agonized over the decision the night before, she knew there was no alternative. When it came time, she told Dastrehan she would not be involved. To her surprise, he did not argue. She knew that making such decisions as to execute traitors and seeing to it that orders were followed through were part of the duties of being a leader of a kingdom. |But thankfully, Dastrehan seemed to be cutting her some slack; a luxury she knew would not last forever.

While Endolynn went about making the last-minute preparations for the ball, her heart weighed heavy with the knowledge of Hugh's death. She tried to focus on the final details of the ball to keep herself distracted, but every time she saw Clement running about helping set up, she felt a twinge of guilt. To make matters worse, as the day of the ball arrived, she found she was nervous. This would be her first appearance back at a public event since she had returned to Tarkam. She had never been "Princess Endolynn" at one of the Tarkam events; only in Balear. Some how, she felt even more pressure than she had felt in the past as Alys. She was grateful that at the very least, she had gotten in some practice during the months she had been at High Cloud Palace. At least she was not completely in the dark.

"Is this okay?" Endolynn entered Dastrehan's bedchambers, exasperation edging her voice, "or should I change?"

Dastrehan was buttoning himself into a navy-blue tunic. He watched her spin in front of him, the burgundy silk skirt of her dress spinning out around her.

She had told Esme to leave her hair down, and gold beads were strung into her curls.

As she twirled, the late evening sun coming in from the open balcony caught the gem of the ring he had given her that she was wearing.

"You look gorgeous," he said, stepping forward and catching her so she would stop spinning. He pulled her close to him as she looked up into his eyes and smiled.

Before she could say anything in response, he was kissing her.

Her body melted into him. But as much as she never wanted him to stop, she knew they needed to be heading to the gardens for the ball.

Reluctantly, she pulled away from him.

"We need to go," she gave him a playful smile as she turned to leave, "Your guests are waiting!"

Dastrehan grasped her hand and pulled her back, tucking an arm behind her back.

"One more," he whispered before kissing her again.

Endolynn groaned as he kissed her, wanting to soak up every minute. He was making this difficult.

"Stop," she chuckled when he finally released her, "I will wait for you out in the hall. Otherwise, we might never make it out."

With a wink, she was gone.

Her stomach fluttered with excitement mixed with nervousness as they exited the palace, arm in arm.

"Do not forget to smile, my Love," Dastrehan teased, earning a playful elbow jab from the princess.

The sun was still up, and it bathed the crowd that had gathered on either sides of the marked out path in yellow light.