[MAGGIE'S PoV]

I entered the ball feeling like someone out of a fairytale, except the music didn't screech to a dramatic halt and no one stared in awe as I descended the staircase. My skin tingled with a mixture of nerves and the fact that I'd only hours ago been scrubbed within an inch of my life.

It had been awkward, but it was probably best I got used to it since it would no doubt happen every night of the ball. At least now I was clean, and soft, and faintly lavender-scented.

I'd hardly recognized myself when Simone ushered me in front of the mirror. My hair was curled and braided and piled atop my head in an up-do that looked like a work of magic. The flower crown-which really had been a work of magic-wrapped perfectly around it and held everything in place. This gown was the first Faye had made me, specifically because it would bring out the color of my eyes, both of which were Casimir's favorite color.

I looked beautiful, and a felt confident, which was a surprise given that I had a vial of murder-dust shoved down in my cleavage, and therefore should have been a nervous wreck. I hadn't known where else to put it, and I definitely wasn't leaving it unattended in my room for a maid to happen upon. I'd seen enough movies.

So, skirt train in hand and poison in boobs, I searched the crowded ballroom for Prince Casimir. He was tall, red haired, and probably wearing a crown. That combination should have made him impossible to miss. But I soon found myself on my third lap around the ballroom, Prince-less.

With a sigh, I maneuvered my way out of the well-dressed crowd and stood along the wall. I'd try waiting for a bit. Maybe this whole time Casimir had been looking for me as well, and we'd simply missed each other?

"...There you are..." Carlyle sang, materializing out of the floor and floating up in front of me.

"You're not the redhead I was hoping to see," I mumbled, keeping my voice low.

"...I'm going to ignore that..." Carlyle huffed lightly, before continuing at full speed. "...So far I've found a few areas worth exploring, and a whole lot of rats. You'd think the wealthiest family in the realm could afford pest control, but I digress..."

"Tell me about it once we get back to the room," I said, glancing around to make sure no one was watching me talk to myself, and for any signs of the human giraffe. "I can't really talk to you in public."

"...Oh that's fine, I prefer to do most of the talking anyway..."

The music stopped and the dancing couples separated, bowed to each other, and applauded the orchestra. There were a few moments of friendly chatter, some partner swapping, and then a new song began.

When a pretty brunette approached and asked if I'd do her the honor of a dance, I politely informed her that I was waiting for the prince. Maybe she could give me a clue about where he was.

Her answer wasn't very encouraging. "Ha! Good luck with that, dear. His Highness hardly ever attends these things for more than a few minutes-I heard he can't dance."

She walked away and I groaned, fighting the urge to sink ungracefully to the floor in defeat. He told me he'd wait for me the whole night, so where the hell was he? I cast my gaze upward to the impressive glass dome that served as the ballroom's ceiling.

I just had to stay positive. This was supposed to be a week long event. If I didn't run into him tonight, there were still six days. This was fine. I would find Casimir, get the information I needed, and still have plenty of time to commit regicide.

My legs shook and I once again became aware of the little glass vial tucked away in my bodice. The already warm, crowded ballroom became at once sweltering and several times smaller. I felt nauseous. Yeah, reminding myself of that last bit was a mistake.

"...Did you see that woman's gown? A travesty. She clearly has money, can't she afford a stylist who isn't blind..?" Carlyle said, obviously unaware that I was having a meltdown right next to him.

"...But honestly, so many of these people look like they dressed in the dark..." He continued, "...look at that man over there, white pants with that shade of green jacket? Disgusting..."

"I need to get out of here," I gasped. I would chalk this night up to a failure and try again tomorrow.

"...Ah, now that girl knows how to dress. Elegant without being over the top. That fan is the perfect accessory. Hm, the tiara might be a little much..."

"That's great, I don't care right now." I grit my teeth, trying to locate the fastest and easiest way through the crowd. But luckily enough, the crowd was splitting for me.

No, not for me. For her.

The girl-the princess-walked with natural grace. Golden tiara nestled amongst ruby curls, lace fan fluttering beneath her chin. She nodded politely to the nobles who stopped dancing to bow out of her way, but her russet-brown gaze remained firmly on me.

Princess Rainette Lousvar, younger sister of Casimir.

"Lady Jacintha, I presume?" She asked once she reached me. Her voice was light, but there was an edge to her red-lipped smile that made me think of Lydia.

I nodded, swallowed, and found my voice. "Y-yes, Your Highness."

"You must call me Raini, please. Goodness, I'm so pleased to meet you!" She giggled, and the sound was so genuine and bright that all comparisons to the purple-murder-queen flew from my mind. "I knew it was you as soon as I saw your eyes. My dear brother hasn't been able to stop talking about you!"

The crowd remained still and watched our interaction, until the tall knight who stood behind the princess cleared his throat and gave them a sharp look. Reluctantly, they returned to dancing and minding their own business.

My face grew warm. "I'm glad to hear that. I was actually growing worried I wouldn't see him tonight. Is he here?"

"Worry not, he should be arriving soon." Raini leaned in conspiratorially. "Don't tell him I told you, but he was so eager to see you again he made a misstep in the stables and wound up with his rear in a horse trough."

"...Wow, you weren't kidding about Casimir being clumsy..." Carlyle chuckled.

Raini giggled again and rocked back on her heels. "Anyway, I'm quite happy I was able to meet you on my own. Perhaps we could spend some time together during the course of the week. Just the two of us." She winked playfully.

The knight at her side cleared his throat again, and my gaze moved to him. He was young, like Raini, but chiseled. His dark hair was cropped short, leaving nothing to hide his strikingly blue eyes.

Inhumanly blue, at least here in the Realm Under Twin Shadows.

Despite my better judgement and the fact that my green-eyed-self had no room to judge, I stared at him.

"...Clearly the knights of Lumina are all drinking beauty potions..." Carlyle sighed. "This one's a little too young for me, though..."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from commenting on the fact that they were all too young for him, seeing as he was dead.

"Oh!" Raini chirped, bouncing on her toes. "Forgive my rudeness. Lady Jacintha, this is my personal knight, Sir Tobias Rointheta." She placed a delicate hand on his chainmail-covered forearm and smiled up at him. "You may call him Tobi."

I nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Sir Tobi."

He nodded back. There was silence.

"Does he talk?" I asked sheepishly, glancing between him and the princess.

"...Ugh, Maggie, don't ask stupid questions..!" Carlyle whined.

Raini fluttered her fan a bit quicker. "Normally, yes. He made a foolish bet with some of the other knights, and now he-"

"Can't speak until sundown, got it," I finished.

Carlyle somehow managed to look even paler than usual. "...Oh good heavens..."

Raini giggled.

I froze, my eyes going wide as I realized I'd just interrupted the princess of Lumina. "Forgive me, Your Highn-Raini..." I corrected myself when the princess pouted. I rushed to explain. "I was brought to the palace by Sir Julian, and the other knight who was with him, um, Ander I think? He'd also lost a bet-the same bet?"

"...You're somehow even worse at all this than I was expecting..." Carlyle sighed, floating in circles around me with his hands in his hair. I interpreted it as exasperated pacing. "...Maybe you should take a page out of their book and try a vow of silence for the evening..?"

My heart hammered and I swallowed. Carlyle wasn't doing anything to help my nerves, but he was right. I should just be quiet for a bit. Raini seemed super nice, but I didn't want to push my luck.

"I'm sorry for talking so much." I mumbled, burying my bright red face in my hands. "I'm really nervous."

"Goodness, you're adorable." Raini giggled again. "We'll have a lot of fun together."

I smiled. "I think I just need a drink."

She touched her fan to her chin and glanced around. "Where are the servers? Drinks and hors d'oeuvres should be readily available." She stomped her foot lightly and let out a delicate huff. "Wait right here, my brother will be arriving shortly. I'll go remedy this predicament."

Raini turned, gown swishing around her, blue-eyed knight at her heel, and made a beeline toward the far door-the dining room, if my memory of the castle's layout was correct.

I watched her leave. Princess Rainette was somehow both a petulant child and a graceful lady a million times more mature than me. It was an odd combination and made her hard to read, but at the very least she didn't seem malicious.

"I thought all humans had brown eyes?" I asked quietly when I was sure no one was in earshot. I should have brought a fan like Raini's, then I could have slyly held it in front of my mouth any time I wanted to talk to Carlyle.

"...All full humans do..." Carlyle corrected. "...Didn't you listen when when that gorgeous knight in the carriage explained what a fish-blood was? They aren't as common since the war, but half-breeds still happen. From the shade of blue, I'd say that knight has some angel in him..."

"So what would that be then-a bird-blood?" I joked.

Carlyle surprised me by looking angry. "...Don't ever say that where he or the princess can hear you. I'm sure that boy's dealt with a lot because of his eyes..."

I chewed my lip, feeling stupid. As obvious as it was, I hadn't really considered the existence of half-humans, and I especially hadn't given any thought to what life must be like for them in this society.

"...Especially don't say anything to Prince Casimir, goodness..." Carlyle muttered. "...Thinking you're someone like him must have been part of what drew him to you in the first place..."

"Cas is a half-breed?" I whirled toward him, my eyes going wide. I'd spoken a bit too loud, and a dancing couple nearby shot me a scornful look.

"...Please, for everyone's sake, just... stop talking..." Carlyle sighed and buried his face in his hands. "...For as much as you seem to know about the royal family of Lumina, I'm shocked you're this ignorant..."

The feeling of stupidity increased. "Clearly my source material is a bit lacking."

"...Clearly. I'll speak slowly so that maybe it will sink in. Queen Amaranth was born a Danthragnir, a princess of Ignus. Meaning both of her children are half dragon..."

Ignus. That was Kindle's home, the place that had been destroyed. That meant-

"Kindle is a dragon," I breathed.

"...Oh stars above, is that really all you got out of this..?"

"Like, a dragon dragon?" I asked, my voice rising in pitch. "As in big lizard with fire breath and wings and scales-that kind of dragon?"

"...You're hopeless. I'm going to search the lower levels of the palace. Enjoy your totally unneeded breakdown..." With that, Carlyle sank through the floor and was gone.

So Kindle was a dragon. That was fine. No big deal. I took a deep breath and pushed a stray curl out of my face. Maybe "dragons" in this world were just people with fire powers? After all, I hadn't seen Kindle turn into a giant lizard, nor had he ever once mentioned that that was a thing he could do. And surely if someone had the ability to turn into a giant lizard they would mention it.

Before I had time to think about it further, the crowd parted again. This time for a familiar, blushing giraffe boy. He had a goofy grin on his face, and waved when our eyes met.

Two knights in full armor trailed him. The first was Julian, the second was much shorter and kept their helmet on. Still yards away, the unidentified knight tapped Cas's shoulder and said something. Upon receiving Cas's nod, the knight vanished into the crowd. Cas and Julian crossed the final distance and stopped in front of me.

"You're late," I said, looking up at the prince from under my eyelashes. "You promised to wait for me all night, but I ended up being the one waiting."

Cas opened his mouth, probably intending to say words, but only a strange, high-pitched whimper came out.

Julian rolled his eyes.

I chewed my lip and giggled, fluttering my lashes just a bit. I felt ridiculous, but this boy was clearly going to fawn all over me regardless of what I did, so I might as well take advantage of it. I could probably get him to spill all the secrets of the kingdom-if I could actually get him to speak a full, coherent sentence.

I held my hand out. "Care to dance?"

"O-oh," Cas squeaked. "I was hoping we could walk a take in the-take a walk in the gardens. I can't um, I can't dance."

"Neither can I. Come on." I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the music. I'd be damned if I was going to waste all those hours of dance lessons.

Julian muttered something under his breath, but stayed near the wall. That worked for me. He was too suspicious of me anyway. I stood a better chance of getting useful information out of the prince if I had him alone.

"Lady Jacintha, I'm very very pleased to see you, but really-" Cas's protests cut short with a tiny yelp when I guided his hand to my waist.

"We'll just be bad dancers together," I shrugged.

"Okay," Cas whispered, his other hand shaking in my grip. His hand was warm, but not much more than my own, and nothing close to Kindle's. I looked into his eyes. His brown wasn't quite as dark a Julian's, and maybe there was a hint of rusty red to it. But it was nothing close to Kindle's firestone.

"Julian um-Julian told me you had a hard time getting into the capital?" Cas said. He kept his eyes on our feet, and I could practically see him counting out the rhythm in his head.

"A bit. I didn't have an invitation."

"I'm terribly sorry."

I shrugged. "And then there's my eyes."

"Your eyes are like emeralds. I love them. I've never seen eyes like yours, even when I met Siaboran diplomats," Cas rushed out. The freckles on his tan cheeks darkened further as he blushed.

"Thank you," I said, then added, "you know, you might actually out-blush me."

"That shouldn't be difficult. I'm um," he cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sure you know of my heritage. My blood runs warmer than a regular hume-son, so my skin flushes more easily."

"Hume-son." I pressed my lips together in an attempt to stifle my laughter.

"I thought human and person at once, and both tried to come out of my mouth." Cas hung his head. "P-perhaps I should close my eyes when I speak to y-you. It might save what lit-little is left of my dignity."

"Oh, but I put so much effort into looking pretty for you," I teased.

Cas made another strangled, unidentifiable noise.

In my mind's eye, I could see Kindle mocking my pathetic attempts at flirtation and my own embarrassment overcame me. I swallowed, looking away from the prince for a moment. "What's blue and smells like red paint?"

"P-pardon?"

"Blue paint."

Cas laughed harder than I expected, pausing our dance to wipe a tear from his eye. "Lion would like you. You both have an odd sense of humor."

"Lion?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"My other knight. Lion isn't-isn't her real name, of course. W-we call her that because she-her hair-in addition to um..." he cleared his throat. "Ne-nevermind, it's funnier if you know her. I'll be sure to introduce you during the week."

"Okay." I shrugged. This Lion person was probably the fully armored knight I'd seen with Cas and Julian earlier, and I vaguely remembered Kindle mentioning a female knight when he retrieved me from Eirwen.

A momentary silence fell, and I was actually able to guide the prince into a semi-decent dancing form. Kindle would lose his mind if I told him I ended up being the one giving dance lessons.

Cas and I danced, and laughed. And he stepped on the hem of my skirt, and we laughed again. All the while, the glass vial against my skin seemed to grow colder.

He was a very nice boy.

I was going to ruin his life to save my own.

"Kitty-Cas! You finally made an appearance!" Raini twirled past us with an exuberant smile, her multi-layered gown a tornado of silk and lace.

Cas pouted. "Rainette, must you call me that?"

"Hush dear brother, it suits you," Raini responded lightly.

The blue-eyed knight pulled her back into his arms and dropped her into a dip, smiling and laughing. When they snapped back upright, he nodded toward me. "Sir Tobias Rointheta of Canthor," he said, his voice a surprising drawl.

"He speaks!" I gasped, then cast my eyes upward. Through the glass ceiling I could see glittering stars and both shining moons. Had time really passed so quickly?

"That I do." He led Raini gracefully in a circle around Cas and I. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the infamous 'Green-eyed Goddess.'"

"Tobi, please!" Cas cried, his eyes wide with horror.

"Dreadfully sorry, Highness. Was it supposed to be a secret that you seem to be under the impression this woman hung the moons?" Tobias winked, then he and the princess were off and spinning again, headed to some other part of the dance floor.

"I love both of them d-dearly, but my little sister and her knight find too much pleasure in teasing me." Cas huffed, blinking furiously as if to suppress tears.

"I'm sure they mean well."

"Y-you must think me a fool for being enamored with you so quickly."

"Don't be silly, I'm flattered. I liked you right away, too." I smiled gently and squeezed his hand. It was true, I did like him. He was a gentle, genuine boy. If anything, his sudden and surprisingly strong feelings towards me made me pity him.

The music quieted and all the pairs separated, bowed, and applauded the musicians. Some groups switched partners, but Cas held fast to my hand.

Julian approached and bowed before us. "Forgive me, Highness. May I steal the lady for a dance?"

Cas blinked in surprise. I'm sure my expression was similar.

"I-I um-I s-supose-"

"Great." Julian took my free hand in his larger, calloused one and tugged me away, just as the next song began. It was a Luminous waltz, though slightly more up-tempo than I was used to.

"Hey!" I protested as Julian guided me through the movements. He was skilled and had no problem with the speed. I, on the other hand, stumbled all the while. I looked around for Cas, but he was lost in the crowd. "You didn't even ask me if I wanted to dance with you."

Julian shrugged. "It wasn't your decision to make."

"Goodness Juju, tone down that charm or I might swoon," I said sardonically. I bit the inside of my cheek. I hadn't even had a chance to ask Cas any of the important questions I had planned.

I scanned the crowd for him again, and momentarily caught sight of a tall head with a gold crown and dark red curls. He was laughing and smiling, looking perfectly at ease dancing with a shorter knight with a mane of dark curls. That Lion person, maybe?

I couldn't make out anymore details, since their back was to me and Julian decided that was the opportune moment to whip me into a dip.

I yelped as my fingers slipped on the chainmail covering his arms, nearly causing me to hit the ground. One of the braids broke free from my updo and slapped me in the face when Julian pulled me back up.

I glared, thankful Carlyle wasn't here to fawn over how 'gooorgeous' he was-that would have only made me angrier. I was about to say something snarky, but the intensity of his stare caught me off guard. "What's that look for?"

"You're beautiful," Julian grumbled. His tone was anything but complimentary.

I pulled back slightly. "I'm sorry?"

He sighed. "It's not your fault. But it is deeply annoying."

"Oookay."

We continued through the dance, Julian guiding me a bit too rough through each motion, neither of us looking at each other. I took the opportunity to look around the ornate ballroom, since I'd given up on trying to spot Cas in the crowd. It wouldn't do me any good. I couldn't talk to him now, anyway.

There was a massive balcony that circled the ballroom, a few yards up. That's where the musicians sat, along with dozens of nobles who weren't interested in dancing.

As I scanned the balcony, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled.

A woman who could be none other than Queen Amaranth-judging by the elaborate crown she wore-stood there, her hands tight on the railing. Her expression was cold and unreadable as stone, but her eyes were bright and burning. A white man with slick black hair stood next to her. They both looked at me, and only me.

I felt cold. I felt small.

It felt as if their stares pulled back every layer of me, down to my soul, exposing everything in my heart and pinpointing my intentions instantly.

I hoped that gut feeling was wrong.