Forgotten Days (Fate's Intent Book 6) (2 page)

“I’ll see you down there, I guess.” He said, heading for the door for the last time. “Ruby is probably giving them grief about having to wear a dress.”

It made me laugh to think about and helped relax me. “I bet.”

“Shh! Lose the smile so you don’t charm her. Bianca is coming back.”

He left the door open and she came back in with a few maids and another list of demands. I looked down at Rift next to me with a sigh and he whined at me. “Yeah. I hear you but just for a little while longer.” I was just ready to get this night over with.

I sat at one of the main tables in the ballroom for a while without a word with Bianca by my side and Rift hiding under the table at my feet just so he could be near me but I kept my eyes in almost a constant stare towards the door as often as I could, waiting for Adele.

“You don’t honestly believe she’d show up for this, do you?” Bianca asked.

I averted my eyes. “I can hope.”

We shared in the first dance and others started to join in until the ballroom floor was filled with dancing couples.

“May I?”

I wasn’t even focused on the dance until someone tapped my shoulder.

“Trever, of course.”

I thankfully handed Bianca off to him and started walking back to the table.

“I hope you allowed that.” Jaylyn said.

“Why wouldn’t I? He can have her if he wants.”

Ruby laughed. “Trever’s not the settling type.”

“I don’t know.” Troy said. “He looks pretty comfortable right now. How is it they know each other?”

“Well, he is—”

“We’re not talking about that!” Jaylyn snatched at Ruby before she could finish in saying who Trever really was.

I didn’t care much about this conversation and even Rift knew it. He poked his head up and laid it on my leg with another whine like he could feel what I was feeling. I pet his head for the nice gesture and found myself looking up at the door again. “She’s not coming is she?”

“I don’t know. Why should she?” Ruby replied rather brutally truthful.

I let out a light breath and just couldn’t get her off my mind. I didn’t want to be here without her. I needed her. This should be our night but it wasn’t and I was only constantly reminded.

Chapter 4

Adele

I hoped everyone was having a nice time. I sat in my room, sprawled across the bed, loathing that I ever came back here.

“Adele?”

I sat right up in a hurry when I heard a voice. “Kathryn. I mean, your majesty.”

Kathryn smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Not from you.”

“I can’t believe it. All this time. I don’t know why I haven’t seen it before.”

“Probably because Zayden looks just like Izin but that’s not why I came to see you. You’re not going to attend the banquet?”

I sighed and turned away. “I don’t belong there.”

“But to everyone in there, the banquet should be yours.”

“But not Izin and he’s the one who makes the decisions. It’s not about who is more popular.”

“Then you must get him to see what Zayden does.”

I closed my eyes and turned away. I already knew how Izin saw me, just like all of Zayden’s other whores as he once said but I didn’t want to mention it around her. I felt bad enough. “He sees Bianca.”

Kathryn turned my head towards her. “I know exactly how you feel and I know what being with Zayden would mean to you. I knew your mother, Adele. You have to remember that I was there too.”

“Has he talked to Izin at all?”

“No. He’s too down that he hasn’t seen you but I think if you make an appearance, things will change quickly.”

I looked down at myself. “An appearance? Yeah. Because I look so great right now.”

“You will and I’ve got just the dress.” She uncovered a beautiful blue satin dress with the front of the bodice covered in an icy mosaic of glass like it were a fancy breastplate. It had a strapless plunge neckline and a beautiful ruffle design with blue roses going down the back and onto the train.

I took one look at it and my mouth dropped. “Oh, Kathryn. It’s beautiful but I can’t. It’s too much.”

“Yes, you can and it’s perfect. Everyone will look at you in this.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s what I want actually.”

“This is your life now. It’s time you get used to it.”

I was still staring at the beautiful dress in front of me and lightly nodded like I had no control. “Okay.”

“Good. Let’s hurry.”

I got up and just like she had before, Kathryn helped me dress for the occasion and like before, the dress fit perfectly. Kathryn did my hair as well by simply pulling the top half of it back, pinning it with beautiful blue crystals and let the rest flow wherever it landed.

“You’re ready.”

I looked at myself in the mirror and shook my head. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Come on.” Kathryn took my arm and started leading me to the door. “You’ll be fine.”

We walked down the hall and stopped just at the curtain that separated the upstairs and the stairs leading down into the ballroom. I could hear all the people inside and was getting more nervous. “Now I know I can’t do this.”

“I said you’ll be fine. You look beautiful.”

“Come with me?”

“This is supposed to be your grand entrance. I’m just going to slip back down through the servant’s entrance. When you go in, don’t go to Zayden. Go to your father and you’ll have him coming to you. Let me deal with Izin.”

I nodded, taking a breath. “Okay.”

Kathryn slipped away and I stood looking at the curtain. I took a step closer and peeked inside at all the people and looked around more until I spotted the two main tables. My father was sitting at one with Izin and Trever and Zayden was sitting at the other with my friends but it was all the way across the ballroom. I would have to walk through everyone to get there.

I closed it back up and the thought of having to do that made me take a deep breath. “Be a Princess. Be a Princess—and don’t fall.” I slowly reached forward with both hands and opened the curtains, stepping through. It only took a second before people started to turn their heads.

I didn’t move and neither did anyone else in the ballroom. I tried not focusing on any one person but I did see Zayden watching me. He was still by my presence.

Trever came up the stairs to me with a smile and spoke softly so his voice wouldn’t travel. “You in a dress? Something I didn’t see you putting up with.”

“It wasn’t my idea.” I took his arm and we slowly started down the stairs. “Kathryn made me.”

“Because of Zayden? Want to make him jealous?”

“That wasn’t my intent.”

“Oh, you know it was. How are you at acting? I haven’t really seen your work.”

“What kind of acting?”

“We are about to share a dance and you are going to look at me like we’re in love.”

I tried to hold back a laugh as we reached the bottom on the stairs and started to walk through the crowd. “In love? With you?”

“Thanks. You make it sound like no one ever could.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just never thought of us that way.”

“This is for pretend.” Trever said as we stopped in the middle of the floor. “You came here for a reason now prove it.” He pulled me into him as the music started to play and we were the only ones moving.

I made my acting very good and never took my eyes off Trever like I couldn’t as we moved. Other people started to join in the dance but left the entire middle of the floor for us.

“Our finale.” Trever whispered. “I want you to kiss me.”

“What?” I was a little in shock by his request, trying to keep my normal exterior. He was much more like a brother to me than a lover. We’ve never intimately been together before.

“End it in a kiss. He’ll go crazy to want you back. Trust me.”

Everyone posed for the final note and Trever and I leaned into each other. My head was tilted back and I put my lips up into his while everyone else clapped their hands for the dance. It was―surprisingly pleasant.

“You act better than I expected.”

“Well, it helped that you kiss better than I expected.”

Trever just kept his smile. “Let’s sit. You should eat.”

“I can’t!” I snatched my words, stopping him from going anywhere. “Let’s dance again.”

We started again with the new music.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Izin hates me. That’s why he’s pushing this.”

“Oh, don’t let him bother you. Zayden will come to you and he’ll fix it but on the off chance something happens, you might need to use this.”

He carefully slipped me two vials and I only glanced at them while tucking them away. “What is it?”

“Zayden’s blood and a little something extra.”

“Show him? Will it work?”

“Couldn’t hurt to try. Things will work out, Adele. You’ll see.”

I just sighed and quickly looked in Zayden’s direction. He was just staring right at me as I danced with Trever and so was everyone else at the table. It was only a moment later that they all started to get up and join us on the floor. Even Zayden did but he had Bianca on his arm.

Chapter 5

Zayden

My eyes beamed in Adele’s direction every time she came into view. I wanted to be with her but I wasn’t the only one who thought that.

“Here.” Bianca stopped us with a smile and tapped Adele’s shoulder. Adele turned around and was almost surprised to see us. “May we cut in?”

Trever smiled as he took Bianca’s hand and pulled her away from me. “Of course!”

They started dancing and left Adele and I here, looking at each other. It was a little awkward but I smiled and held out my hand. “Shall we then?”

Adele smiled and I pulled her close, putting my hand around her waist and she put her arm up on my shoulder. We slowly started to dance and I still couldn’t take my eyes off her even when she was in front of me.

“What? Just say it.” Adele said. “You should know that meant nothing. It was his idea. I just—”

“No. I don’t care. You look beautiful, if you don’t mind me saying to change the subject?”

Adele tried to hold back from smiling but failed. “Oh, no. This time I don’t. Your mother picked the dress. It’s beyond me.”

“No.” I disagreed entirely and looked down at her breasts almost exposed from the front of the dress. “It’s perfect.”

“Zayden, I’m up here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just felt like days since I’ve seen them.”

“I fear it will be longer than days.”

“I will fix this. I promise. If it’s the last thing I do, I will have you.”

“That would be heroically pointless to fight for me so hard that it kills you, Zayden.”

“It was an expression, Love. I don’t want this. I want you.”

Adele’s smile faded. “I’m not the one you have to convince.”

I looked up towards the main table and saw my father’s glare in my direction. I had to look away and it was easy when Bianca and Trever moved between us. I knew I had to confront him at some point but I wasn’t ready yet. With Adele here now, I didn’t want to let her go.

Chapter 6

Bianca

“Why’d you do it, Bee?”

I looked at Adele and Zayden dancing then let out a light sigh when I looked up at Trever. “Why’d you kiss her?”

“That is not what this is about.”

“I can’t do this. Did you see the way he looked at her? They belong together. I don’t want to get in between them.”

“I thought we talked about it last time I was here. It’s the only way you’ll be free of your brother.”

“I know but maybe I don’t care about that anymore.”

“Of course you do! Bee, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Oh, so you’ll let Adele get so angry at me that she kills me instead?”

Trever sighed and his tone calmed. “You know that’s the plan. You’ll come back.”

“But I don’t think I can do it.”

“But you know you will. She already holds resentment towards you. All you have to do is add more wood to the fire and that should be easy.”

“He’s not going to notice me with Adele here in that dress.”

“Then you get him to. You have ways of doing that.”