Heart of Fire

Chapter Nine

Being woken up with a body jumping on top of me was not the way I intended to start my morning. Brooks however, must have thought it was an extraordinary plan.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds to explain why you are in my room disrupting my sleep before I cut your fingers off and feed them to a horse" I groan.

"You are such a lovely person in the morning, sweet Adira." He laughs, finally getting off of me.

I look around my room, still groggy with sleep, to see Amelia, Fyn and Hudson also in my room.

Fools. All of them.

"Don't give me that look. It's the morning of the ball! We wanted to hang out with you before getting ready." Amelia exclaims. I quirk an eyebrow, still laying down.

"Come on sleepyhead, we're going out to the gardens to have breakfast." Hudson says, walking over to me.

He grabs my hands before I can protest, pulling me out of bed. I groan, leaving the comfort of my bed makes me instantly crave its warmth. The frigid air barely has time to reach me before Hudson wraps himself around me, keeping me warm. I lean into his touch, wrapping my arms around the bulky male.

"Is this your dress?" Fyn asks me, pointing to the covered gown hanging on my wardrobe door.

I nod my head, not trusting myself to not say something rude in my tired state. Fyn is too endearing for me to be harsh towards him.

"I knew Paisley would find you something," Hudson says. I don't bother to explain that Kenton was actually the one behind getting me the dress, I leave that information to myself.

"Yes, we all know Adira is going to be drop dead gorgeous tonight. Now can we go eat? I'm starving!" Amelia exclaims.

***

It's now midday, considering breakfast in the gardens took up the entire morning. It was a peaceful, calm meal before the hectic evening we were about to endure. I truly have no idea what to expect from tonight. I'm nervous, even if all eyes will be on Kenton and the princess, since it is their night. I am still indifferent about the princess with how I met her and all, something was definitely off about the girl. Trust me to be the one to be overly cautious over such matters.

Back in my room now, Amelia barges in, her hands completely full. One would assume with all her baggage, she would be moving in. But of course, this is all for one night. I need her help getting ready, since she did such an admirable job last time. Dare I say that I enjoy her company quite so much.

"Amelia, this is a ball for one night, not for the rest of my life." I deadpan.

She empties her hands, setting things down in various places around my room. It looks like a damned tornado came through here and she's only been in my room for a total of ten seconds.

"Exactly. You are going to look amazing for this ball tonight. I can't have you going out there looking like a commoner!" She declares.

We still have a few hours before the ball starts, but it was my idea for her to come so early, I didn't want to rush the process.

"Yes of course, my apologies. It would be so terrible for me to look normal." I say sarcastically.

She rolls her eyes at my remark, walking over to my dress. When she reveals it, she gasps, even though she's already seen it.

"I don't think I'll ever get over how gorgeous this dress is." She sighs. "Wait who the hell paid for this?" She exclaims. I shake my head at her obnoxious behavior.

"Kenton got it for me" I say looking away from her.

"I'm sorry what? Kenton got this for you? As in Kenton Steele? The prince who has never shown an ounce of remorse or kindness towards anyone and is engaged?!" She rambles. She stomps over to me to look me in the face, her eyes looking as though they're going to pop out of her head.