Ship of Shadows: A Steamy Fantasy Romance by Tee Harlowe

Author:Tee Harlowe [Harlowe, Tee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: M&F Publishing
Published: 2024-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-One

Everyone filled the ball room later that night, the women wearing lavish dresses that sparkled, shimmered, and swished, the men wearing their finest trousers and button-down tunics, covered by tailored jackets.

Vines with purple flowers hung down the walls and stretched overhead, making it feel like we were in an enchanted forest and not Liliath’s ballroom. A tree sprouted up in the middle of the room, stretching all the way to the vaulted ceiling, its branches spreading out wide, leaves dangling over the crowd of people. Glimmers of light sparkled from the tree and its massive branches, emitting a soft glow in the room.

A band sat on a raised stage, playing a lively tune that people danced to, everyone twirling and spinning around the thick base of the tree. I stood by a table filled with stuffed pears, flaky pastries, spiced meats, and savory tarts that made my mouth water. I nabbed a tart, munching on it and watching everyone enjoy this lovely evening.

The wedding had been beautiful, Liliath and Penn swearing their loyalty to each other, vines wrapping around their wrists and binding them in a sacred earth ceremony as an earth priestess presided over them.

I’d had to work hard not to look over at Bastian. Not to think about how once upon a time, I’d dreamed of my own wedding ceremony. With him.

I snorted at my foolishness and finished swallowing my tart, then took a gulp out of my goblet of wine. I hadn’t seen Bastian since the ceremony ended. He wore a brimmed hat to cover his face so that no one would recognize him, but the hat made him a bit conspicuous since it wasn’t exactly in fashion for males. I stopped myself from searching for him.

Leoni approached, her light blue dress flaring out at her thick waist, bodice tight and pushing her breasts up. She frowned, tugging up at the dress as it continued to slide down.

Going shopping had put her in a better mood. We hadn’t addressed the tension between us, but she’d at least been acting more like her normal self since we arrived to Elwen.

“I look damn good,” she said as she came to a stand by me. “Even if this dress is very impractical for fighting.”

I laughed. “It’s a dress, Oni. You’re not supposed to fight in it. It’s for much more enjoyable occasions.”

“Says who?” She grabbed an olive and popped it in her mouth. “Fighting is enjoyable.”

“So is dancing. You’ve caught the eye of many a suitor tonight.” I raised my glass toward a few men ogling her, well, mainly her breasts.

“They can ogle all they want.” She wiggled her fingers at them. “But I have a job to do.”

I peered at her. As long as I’d known Leoni, she’d been single minded in her focus on becoming part of the royal guard. Despite everyone saying she wouldn’t be right for the position, that she was too short, too plump, too slow, she worked hard to prove them wrong.

But sometimes I worried this job took over her entire life.

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