From the Ashes by Jameth Kayla

Author:Jameth Kayla [Ashes, From the]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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The next day, the prince’s men came with the slipper. Cinder could see the delicate glass shoe ensconced on a red velvet pillow from where he mopped the main hall. Its mate lay hidden in his bed, wrapped in a rag and placed between the lumpy straw mattress and the frame. No one, much less the prince, would ever think to look for it there. His own untold, untellable, secret.

Prince Henri would never think to search for him here, either. He sought Cinderella, a pretty fantasy he could never possess. A mirage Cinder wished he could replace.

What would it be like to stand before the prince as himself? To throw away all subterfuge and just be himself? To say “This is me.” But of course, he could never do that.

Cinder couldn’t even hope for a repeat of the magical evening, dancing in Henri’s arms. Listening to the prince’s aspirations and allowing himself to be coaxed into sharing some of his own. He had found someone to be open with, or at least as open as he could be while in a ball gown. It had felt like coming home. He hadn’t had a home in so long, that the respite had been irresistible.

And then the kiss. Cinder had nothing to measure it by, but maybe that wasn’t necessary. Henri’s lips had been sheer bliss upon his own. Even now, Cinder had to swallow a groan as his knees weakened in memory. He didn’t think anything could ever compare to that kiss.

What would have happened if his godmother hadn’t warned him to return before midnight? Not for the first time, Cinder won- dered what liberties he would have allowed the prince to take. Had she feared for his virtue?

Why had he allowed Henri to kiss him? Here he was, pining for the touch of a man who didn’t know he existed.

But as much as he wished to be in the prince’s arms, he would much rather have that feeling of belonging and camaraderie they had shared. How he longed for that, but he could only dream of what might have been.

Hopefully the memories of that one perfect night would be enough to carry him through the rest of his life.

His stepmother swept down the grand staircase and into the foyer with both her daughters in tow, like a black swan with her chicks. The sibilant whisper of their gowns over the polished floors reminded him of the wind blowing through the reeds on the riverbank. They arrived so quickly they must have anticipated the arrival of the prince’s men.

Anne-Laure preened, smoothing her raven locks with nervous hands. “The prince must have heard of my beauty. Why would he want some other woman once he saw me?” “How do you know he won’t choose me instead?” MarieÉlise demanded. “When I’m queen, maybe I shall invite you to live in the castle too.”

The man would have to be blind to prefer Ursa over anyone else, even Mistress Crow. Cinder couldn’t imagine anyone wanting either of his stepsisters.

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