The Flames That Bind Us (Daughter of Fire #1)

✔Chapter Eighteen: Imarnia's Grand Ball.

There were no words to describe how much I wanted the ground beneath me to crack open and devour my body and soul entirely.

It was like my limbs suddenly turned into ice. I was frozen in the spot as the curious sets of eyes roamed over Lysa and me -mainly, they settled their gazes on me. I fought the urge to turn around and crawl back to my room, feeling my heart rate growing higher by the second. Even my palms were sweating, and that only made me more annoyed at myself.

Why the hell was I so nervous about this? I knew for a fact I didn't give a damn about what others thought about me or my appearance, so why did I feel like I was about to melt into a puddle?

"Okay, this was more than I expected," Lysa whispered, a look of anxiousness crossing over her face as she looked at the murmuring crowd before us. She turned to me, patting my hand. "But you'll be fine. Here, follow my steps."

It literally looked as if she was dragging a statue behind her. My legs cooperated clumsily, feeling like they were ten times heavier. But I had to give it to her. Despite her small form, and even though she was a head shorter than me-and that was with her wearing higher heels than mine-she pretty much managed to pull me alongside her.

For my part, I mainly focused on the shiny marble floor that reflected my otherwise troubled face. I could feel something shuffling at the hems of my dress, and I glanced over my shoulders to see a black tail sticking out of the bottom, my ankles brushing something soft and fluffy.

Great, even Luxus took to hiding. Oh, how I wish I could transform into a cat and hide underneath someone's dress right now.

So many voices came into my hearing, and I tried to block them all. But I couldn't help but catch the usual 'look at her hair!' and 'is she real? Could it really be?'

I even tried to distract myself by looking at the ballroom and considering I'd never seen one before; it was beautiful and radiant. I even caught the sight of a long table filled with various cuisines and made a mental note to spend the rest of the party there.

It felt like an eternity, but the hushed voices finally seemed to turn down. Lysa led me forward, and soon we were standing not a few feet away from the princess -and who I recognized as her fiancé.

They were engaged in a conversation with some people who looked as if they were dipped in diamonds.

"Lis!" Lysa called out, and she tugged on my arm and headed to where the princess was standing.

Lis turned towards us, the fabric of her golden dress catching light thanks to the bright amber pixie stones scattered here and there. Her dress was form-fitting, gliding down to the floor, and it looked like small, golden gems were sewn into the textile.

She looked absolutely stunning that for a moment, I felt my mouth drop-then again, she was a princess, so I don't know why I expected her to look anything less than perfect. But the brightness of her gown was nowhere compared to how her face lit when she spotted us.

"Oh, my!" she clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes shining as she raked over me. "Lydia, you look... gorgeous!"

She beamed, and I felt my face heating. "Thank you. You look beautiful too."

"I must say I'm very pleased I asked Lysa to make you a dress. She has really outdone herself."

Lysa snorted from beside me. "Oh, please! This is nothing compared to what I have stored in there." She tapped her head, sending me a wink.

Lis laughed, shaking her head. "I haven't seen you this excited since you convinced Gabriel to make a suit for him. I'm telling you, Lydia, this girl spent two days trailing after my brother and trying to get him into a dress shirt just to prove a point."