Grounding the Storm ✓

Chapter 38

My feet don't fail me. Every other part of me is ready to crumble and hide behind a large group to act like one of the ordinary citizens but my feet keep me going, all the way to the Great Hall. Golden chandeliers hang overhead and with the twinkling lights, the copper marble floors and white tablecloths are blinding.

Each table is lined with black plates and gold accents. It must be the theme for tonight, as the streamers and ribbons wrapped around banisters and stone columns are the same. Each floral decoration around the Great Hall is glittered with gold, provided by the garden attendants themselves. Celestine worked weeks to achieve this.

My heart pounds in my chest as I walk into the bustling Great Hall. The large room is already packed with people I don't recognize and some look to be from Esaria while others, their wardrobe stems from somewhere else. I'm thankful none of them notice me as the formal introductions have yet to begin and any eyes drawing themselves to me are quickly darted back from where they came. I'm happy to be unnoticeable.

On the royal dais, the king sits with the gold crown atop his dark hair, pulled back into a complicated braid. There is no sign of the princes or Hallie, the rest of the thrones are empty. Just a man and his two sons; the late queen doesn't get a spot on the dais and neither does her crown.

Beyond the tables and near the open space for the dance floor, a banquet table stocked with desserts, appetizers, and chalices of wine wait to be picked through. Black and gold streamers hang from the rim and from the vaulted ceiling, ribbons tied against glass orbs with shimmering glitter meant to look like stars twist slowly from where they hang.

For now, the melodic tune played is a violin and flute. The rest of the musicians sit idle and watch the crowd streaming through. Only two couples dance slowly to the song and before long, they're bored enough to leave the dance floor entirely.

"I'll take it from here." I'm relieved to look over and see my sister standing there instead of a prince. I don't want to talk to them, not when my thoughts are swirling with so much fear I can barely think.

The guard bows to me in dismissal, a dead giveaway to my standing, and Celestine loops her arm with mine. All breath squeezed from my lungs returns in her presence and as she takes a deep breath, I find it easier for me to do the same.

"Who knew a king so cruel could throw such a fabulous party," I say through a shaken breath.

"Look at all these people, I wonder where they came from." She glimpses around the room to decipher the fabulously groomed hair and faces but finds no one worth considering. Each person is dressed in luxurious gowns or suits, sometimes an embroidered doublet finds its way into the mix.

Many chat in groups amongst themselves, holding chalices of wine or small dessert they can pop into their cheek during a conversation. With the more people I look over, the more regal they become.

"They're all people we never should meet. If we were still in Arego, these people would be nothing more than the ones destined to kill us." I try to swallow the dryness in my throat but like the king's stare, it won't go away. His eyes are on me the entire time, stuffed into the corner of the Great Hall and away from the attention of others.

There is nothing kind in that stare, not a good luck or best wishes to your future. Icy rage unites me every time our eyes meet and finally, I force myself to stop looking at the dais and the two thrones on either side. The things he could do to me and to thousands of other innocents with his power is sickening. He could boil this entire room alive and not think twice about it.

Celestine sighs. "Things happen for a reason and I hate to say it's for the best but...Arego would have been our downfall, eventually. The king would have killed us and the entirety of the innocent people living there."