D.C. smiled wistfully. “It’s my parents everyone loves. No one has seen me up close for years. This is the first birthday in a long time that I’ve celebrated with an actual party.”
Alex had heard the warm reaction to D.C.’s arrival and she wholeheartedly disagreed that the crowd’s adoration was solely for the king and queen. But she let it go and instead asked, “How are you able to be here so publically now?” She gestured at the room full of guests. “Won’t people realise who you are after this? What if there are other students from the academy here?”
D.C. waved away her concerns. “Don’t worry, Alex. The guest list is highly exclusive. There might be some people from Akarnae here if they’re relatives of the royal council or on-duty Wardens, but they’re all people I’ve grown up around. They know how important it is for me to remain anonymous.”
Accepting her explanation, Alex took a moment to scan the room. Her gaze snagged on a familiar face and she had to do a double-take to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.
“Is that…?” Alex’s eyes narrowed and she hissed, “I can’t believe it, that’s Marcus Sparker! What is he doing here?”
D.C. followed Alex’s line of sight. “The Sparkers are an important family,” she said in a hushed voice. “There was no way for us to get out of inviting them without causing more problems than it was worth.”
“You’re not worried that Jordan might have decided to come along with his parents?” Alex asked, sounding a little more aggressive than she’d intended. She really didn’t like the idea that the man who had once held her semi-captive for information was in the same room as her again.
“Jordan’s never come to a palace event before, so I doubt he’d suddenly decide to now. Plus, he’s staying with Bear, remember?” D.C. answered. “Relax, Alex. Marcus and Natasha won’t dare try anything here.”
“If you say so,” Alex murmured, choosing to trust her friend. But despite her acceptance, she still felt antsy. Seeking a distraction, her eyes fell on the bar and she said, “I think I’ll go grab a drink. Do you want anything?”
“Some of that fruit punch would be great, thanks.”
Alex left D.C. and headed towards the beverage table. She would have made it there much faster if she’d crossed the centre of the ballroom, but she didn’t want to risk running into Marcus, so she took the longer route and hugged the walls. The closer she moved to the beverages, the louder the music became, since the refreshments were located directly beneath the orchestra. When she finally reached the table, she felt overwhelmed by the vast array of coloured liquids to choose from.
“What are you after?” asked a male voice in her ear. It was only his proximity that allowed her to hear his question over the music.
“The fruit punch,” Alex said loudly as she continued to search the kaleidoscopic contents of the table. A hand reached out from behind her and pointed towards the bubbly pink liquid served in dainty crystal glasses. Alex retrieved two of them and turned to thank the person she presumed was a waiter.
“Thank—Kaiden?” Alex stared up at his familiar face in surprise.
“Alex,” Kaiden responded, with a hint of a smile.
“What are you doing here?” Alex gasped, glancing nervously to where D.C. was waiting. Was Kaiden one of the people who had grown up around D.C., or was he a threat to her friend’s secret identity?
“It’s the refreshments table,” Kaiden said pointedly, reaching around her and grabbing a glass filled with a glowing green liquid.
“Not what are you doing here, what are you doing here?” Alex asked, flustered.
He raised one dark eyebrow and she struggled to fight off a blush. If it was possible, he was even more attractive than the last time she’d seen him in her Combat class. And considering he was wearing a tuxedo and not covered in sweat and grime, it was definitely possible.
“By ‘here’, I presume you mean the palace ballroom?” Kaiden clarified.
She shook off her dazzled feeling and pursed her lips. “Obviously.”
“It’s the princess’s birthday,” he stated. “There’s a party going on, in case you haven’t noticed. And I never turn down an invite to a good party.”
Alex couldn’t quite interpret the depth behind his humour-filled expression, but before she could ask anything else, they were joined by another familiar face.
“Alex! Fancy seeing you here!”
“Hey, Declan,” she greeted the massive hulk of a boy. His tux was practically bursting at the seams and he didn’t appear at all comfortable—unlike Kaiden, who looked as if he was born to wear formal attire. “How was your summer?”
“You didn’t ask how my summer was,” Kaiden said, looking even more amused for some reason.
Alex felt her left eye twitch and was glad when Declan started speaking so she didn’t have to respond to Kaiden’s remark.
“Yeah, all right. Not too exciting, but good. You?”
“Same here,” she said, not wanting to go into detail. While they were definitely the nicest of her Combat classmates, the first time she’d met Declan he’d ended up sending her to the Medical Ward, unconscious. As for Kaiden, well, she wasn’t sure what to make of him. Needless to say, neither of them were what she would call close friends.
But speaking of close friends…
“Oh, no,” she said, looking across the room. “I’m so sorry, but I have to go.”
Alex set both drinks back on the table and lifted her floor-length dress high enough to move quickly without tripping. She didn’t care about avoiding Marcus Sparker this time as she hurried across the middle of the ballroom, weaving between dancing couples and political dignitaries. Her focus was solely on the two people who had arrived at the entrance to the room and were now heading towards the corner where D.C. was speaking to a small group of people. Alex knew she had to warn the princess, but she was too far away to capture her attention.
The king and queen came into Alex’s peripheral vision as they waltzed along to the music and she groaned inwardly when she recognised the opportunity they presented. With a mortified breath and a silent apology, Alex picked up her pace…
… And launched herself at the dancing couple.
The three of them tumbled to the floor in a pile of limbs and formal attire. Alex could hear people shrieking around them, and before she could so much as blink, she was forcibly hauled off the royal couple with her arms wrenched behind her back.
With no chance for her to explain, two guards promptly dragged her from the room. She felt like her face was on fire as the entire ballroom of people watched the guards manhandle her, but she managed to lift her head and meet D.C.’s stricken gaze. When her friend stepped forward to intervene, Alex shook her head and subtly gestured in the direction of the two boys who were now gaping in shock along with everyone else.
Alex offered Jordan and Bear a weak smile as she was escorted past them. She turned back to D.C., relieved when her noticeably pale roommate nodded to say she understood why Alex had acted as she had.