Chapter 206: Shine bright
Serathine adjusted the fall of her crimson sleeve with the kind of elegance that belonged to someone perfectly aware of the cameras still roaming the edges of the great hall.
She sat composed in the second row, close enough to feel the reverberation of every step Lucas took, close enough to see the faint ripple of tension when the Emperor himself raised his head to begin speaking.
Beside her, Cressida tilted her chin just enough to get a better angle past the gilded column. Her emerald gown caught the light with a faint shimmer, every pearl at her throat gleaming like a warning to anyone foolish enough to approach.
Her eyes, however, weren’t on Lucas or Trevor.
They were on Dax.
The King of Saha lounged in his seat with all the calculated ease of someone accustomed to watching ceremonies rather than enduring them. His violet eyes drifted from Lucas to the Emperor, then down the line to Trevor, but Serathine didn’t miss the faint, amused twist of his lips, as though he alone could see the threads of tension weaving through the hall.
Cressida’s fan snapped shut softly in her hand. "He’ll need someone," she murmured, her voice pitched low enough to blend with the hum of distant music.
Serathine’s lips curved. "Dax?"
Cressida’s eyes slid to her, the barest spark of mischief lighting her composure. "Who else?"
Serathine didn’t even try to hide her laugh; it was a soft, rich thing that earned her a glance from Lucius, seated on her other side. The Second Prince’s blue eyes narrowed slightly, as though trying to read what amused her so much, but Serathine merely angled her shoulders forward, lowering her voice.