Page 57 of Cinder's Trial
He grimaced. “I’m a warrior, not a prince.”
“Suck it up, buttercup,” I quipped, using an expression I’d heard Blanche say more than once.
His jaw dropped.
My lips curved. “In a few hours, this ball will be over, and I can’t wait to strip you out of it.”
“Here’s to hoping nothing goes sideways.” At least he’d not lost his sense of doom and gloom.
“Shall we?” I asked, placing my hand on his bicep.
“After you, princess.”
He didn’t say much as we headed down to the ballroom. Even this deep in the hotel, we could hear the potential Cinderellas getting rowdy outside as the time for the ball neared.
Killian awaited on the dais erected at the far end of the room, looking every inch the prince with his white uniform trimmed in gold braid. It shouldn’t have surprised to see some of the bureau agents in attendance. Hood and her wolf, Aidan, dressed in red and black. Hilda in a gown of sequined green. But I gasped at the sight of Belle decked in a gown of shimmering gold, her hair crowned in roses.
When I greeted Belle and stated, “You’re looking prettier than a princess,” she grimaced.
“Some old woman showed up and changed my outfit, and I don’t have time to run home to change.” It had to be Godmother. How odd.
Hannah and Gerome wore matching black uniforms of the non-magical variety, same as the other Knights roaming the outskirts of the room. More than I’d actually met.
At my glance, Levi murmured, “We called in reinforcements.”
Good idea.
Levi walked me to the dais, where Killian fidgeted.
“Is it too late to cancel?” he murmured.
“I’m surprised you agreed to this ball in the first place if you hate the idea so much.”
“Did I not mention this was my mother’s idea?” Killian sighed. “Sometimes I think it would be easier to just get married. At least it would get her off my back.”
“Maybe you’ll meet the right person tonight!” I chirped.
“Maybe…” Killian muttered, looking to his left where Belle had her face buried in a book. Only she would think to bring a novel to a party.
Levi sidled close to murmur, “It’s almost time. I won’t be far if you need me.” He squeezed my hand before striding off and didn’t notice his ring falling from his hand. I scooped it, but before I could return it to him, Hannah bellowed, “Heads up! The Cinderellas broke through the security line and are coming.”
I could hear them. Like a stampede of wild beasts in heels and taffeta, they came charging for the ballroom, sweeping in and heading for the dais, pausing before it to stare dreamily at Killian. A few hundred hopeful faces of all ages and backgrounds.
To Killian’s credit, he didn’t run away.
I, on the other hand, really wished I’d chosen to follow Levi, as my spot on the stage made me a focus of attention. AKA glares. I could handle being stared at, but the mutters worried me.
“Look at that slut, thinking she’s better than us.”
“I’m way hotter than her.”
“She wouldn’t be so pretty with a broken nose.”
But the comment that chilled me most? “If she’s dead, the prince can’t choose her.”
I wanted to run for Levi, my shield in the coming storm. A storm we should have avoided. The moment the first Ash potential appeared, we should have cancelled the ball regardless of Killian’s mother’s wishes. Who ever thought going through with this was a good idea?
The Grimm Effect of course. It must have manipulated us to get us here. It wanted something to happen. How else to explain the chaos spreading in the room? It didn’t help that the Cinderellas fed on each other’s urgency.