Worlds of Waves and Shadows

Forty Five

Kaenisa stood in the room, scrutinising the girl who stared back at her through the full-length mirror. Zaic had walked her to her room before whispering that he had matters to attend to, kissing her forehead.

And then she was alone again, with nothing but her inner voice to keep her company. Something she was not happy about.

Kaenisa had shaken her head free of the twisted thoughts plaguing her mind, prepared a bath and tried desperately to wash off his scent and touch.

It branded her skin, clinging to her body just like the dress she had donned which had been neatly kept on the bed, when she had entered the room.

Kaenisa had worn such gowns before, fancy, classy and woven out of a fabric so soft that it felt like heaven against your skin. But it had only made her feel like a thing to be flaunted.

And that was precisely how she felt right now, standing in the dress she had been given.

It was practically backless, Kaenisa had learned after sensing the startling lack of any material covering her back. But she admired it nonetheless. Her eyes traced the plunging neckline, which came to rest a little below her bosom, upwards.

The open bodice was created entirely out of intricate golden leaves, ivy vines and gorgeous belladonna flowers seemingly constructed out of amethysts encrusted into the fabric.

They continued asymmetrically down the skirt which, fell to the floor in neat folds of sheer tulle fabric. A breathtaking cascade of shimmering midnight blue, evenly deepening into shades of dark indigo and finally flaring out into a mystifying shade of obsidian at the hem.

Zaic. She smiled. He had remembered.

A pair of aureate threader earrings, shaped like a vine with a single belladonna flower at its end, had been left with the dress.

That and the slender cuff bent to resemble the leaves on her bodice, encircling her wrist.

The girl in the mirror looked exquisite. Every inch the Pureblood they wanted her to be.

Glancing at the time with a deep sigh, Kaenisa stepped into the hallway, unable to suppress the emerging spite taking root in her heart and began heading to the dining hall.

But the night had just begun.

—————

Zaic stood to his father's left, flanked by Zaira at his right, as he took his seat at the head of the grand table. It seemed to stretch on forever, almost a dozen firefly lamps placed at equal distances till the end.

Zaic had practically torn himself from Kaenisa's side as they had parted in front of her room.

Because for some reason, ever since his brother had returned, every inch of his body had been screaming for Zaic to stay glued to her. Something he didn't quite understand.

It wasn't like Deimos posed any threat to their relationship. He was her half-brother, for crying out loud. But he couldn't deny the fact that his cousin's reaction upon meeting Kaenisa was......unexpected, to say the least.

Because in the hundred and twenty years that Zaic had known him, Deimos had never even come close to being expressive. Hell, most of the time, no one could even tell what was going on in his head. Something he had surely inherited from The General.

And something he had passed down to his daughter as well. God knew how much it unnerved him, how fast Kaenisa could school her face into frightening indifference.

He had wished to accompany her to the banquet hall. But heaps of paperwork regarding the cavalry, inventory and administration kept him chained to his desk. And then there was the matter regarding the two newcomers.....