A Heart Like Glass [Book 1]

Chapter 29

"Your Highness," Isolde gasped and perfectly bowed before the prince.

I did the same, as I had a ruse to keep up. Isolde didn't need to know that I already knew who Khol was. It would only complicate things.

"Oh, please," Khol said with an awkward smile. "I'd prefer if you both address me as, Khol. We have spent a considerable amount of time with each other, we can loosen the formalities a bit."

"I just can't believe it," Isolde sighed. "I can't believe that you lied to me."

The dejection on her face was clear. I couldn't blame her for feeling disappointed, but at least Khol was a good guy in all of this. When Ashe and Jonie had tricked me, it was done to hurt me. Meanwhile, Ezra's hidden identity only aided in serving him.

"I'm truly sorry for that," he assured her. "Actually, I came here tonight in an attempt to reveal myself properly," the prince said calmly before clearing his throat. "Only, I wasn't expecting to aid your sister in a conversational battle."

Isolde turned to me. "I almost forgot, but thank you, Ada." She took my right hand, which was soon surrounded by golden sparkles. "Hopefully, it didn't hurt too much," she said with a wince.

I moved my fingers a bit and shrugged. "It was worth it." Staring at my hand which was no longer red or sore, I said, "Thank you for that."

Looking around, I noticed there were a few people still staring at us and whispering. I wondered if I had managed to dig a deeper hole for myself, or if I gained their respect. On one hand, I assaulted a person, but on the other I defended the Howell name, refusing to let Felicity undermine us further than she already had.

I had played a very dangerous game, and I hoped it helped me more than hurt me.

"You need to be more careful, Adaliah," Khol said, carefully using my full name.

"Please call me, Ada," I requested. "And you're right. I should've controlled my temper a bit better. I was so upset by how she treated Isolde and..." I trailed off but Khol shook his head.

"You handled it just fine," he said, and his gaze went to my hand. "What I am concerned about is your physical well-being. I know you hurt your hand when you slapped her, and it would have bruised terribly without your sister healing it." He turned to her. "Howell is truly blessed to have such a powerful anodyne."

Isolde only beamed at his praise. Her green eyes glowed with pride.

"Oh," I said surprised. I had expected Khol to chastise me for my actions. Instead, he had shown me support.

Support. The word echoed in my head. Support from Khol surely meant that I had handled the situation well. It also meant I had taken a necessary step that would either postpone or halt my death.

Yes, I had done well then.

"He's right. The duchy is blessed to have you," I said after turning to Isolde.

Silence fell amongst the three of us, and I wondered when it would break. It took me a moment to realize why it lingered so long. This is about the time that Khol would ask Isolde to dance... which meant that I needed to take myself out of the equation.

"I'm going to grab another drink," I blurted and took a step away from the two of them.

"Wait, Ada," Khol said quickly. "I wanted to ask if- "

Pivoting back around, I saw it in his eyes. He wanted to ask me to dance.

No, I can't let him dance with me. It would ruin everything.