My Fiancé Swapped Room Cards So I Mated His Rival novel · Chapter 13 of 24

Chapter 13: The Ball

The Lowell house had every window lit.

Four hundred guests stood in the ballroom, and every one of them turned when Lucian and I walked in.

I wore green. Lucian wore black, and his hand sat steady at the small of my back.

Through the bond I felt him pull toward the ceiling. Rosalind was somewhere above us, and he could feel her thread getting stronger with every step.

"Easy," I said under my breath.

"I'm easy."

"Your eyes are red."

"Then smile at someone," he said. "It will help."

Cornelius Lowell came down the stairs with his arms open.

He was silver-haired and courteous, and he kissed my hand with great warmth.

"Miss Ellison," he said. "How well the bond suits you."

"Thank you for the invitation."

"It was my great pleasure."

His hand was cold and dry, and it held mine a moment too long.

Tristan stood behind his father in a black suit. He did not look at me. He looked at the ceiling too, and his fingers were shaking against his glass.

The eldest of the Hierarchy sat in a high chair by the fireplace, in grey, with her cane across her knees.

She rapped it once on the floor, and the room went quiet.

"The young couple will present their bond," she said.

Lucian and I stepped into the middle of the floor. We turned our necks to show the twin marks, and the room breathed in. The eldest touched my wrist with one dry finger, and Lucian's pulse jumped under my own.

"It is real," she said. "Is that all you came to show us?"

"No, madam," I said.

I turned to face Cornelius.

"Mr. Lowell, why does your house order a blood draw every week under the initial R.?"

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