The Starlit Prince by C. F. E. Black EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Author:C. F. E. Black
- Language: English
- Genre: Folklore
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
T A L I A
Snaking through the crowded ballroom, dodging masked faces as they
turned toward me, I couldn’t help but regret my choice to dress up
like a bright red macaw. Wearing the costume had seemed like a
good idea six months ago when I’d ordered the dress, when the only thing
at stake for the evening was who I would dance with.
A man in a wolf mask stepped in front of me, halting my escape.
“Señorita,” he began, voice deep and falsely melodic, like he was trying to
sing to me. He even moved his feet back and forth and lifted his arms at his
sides.
I nearly choked on my sip of sangria but recovered enough to offer a
smile, wishing my bird mask covered more than half my face, so I wouldn’t
have to worry about schooling my expressions. The man, unfortunately,
took my smile as encouragement and angled his body even closer.
“Excuse me, señorita…what-was-it?”
“Talia Balcázar Ferrera,” I supplied through a clenched smile.
“Ah, yes, señorita Balcasan.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t correct him.
“Do me the great honor of dancing with me. I have been watching you
all evening, and I must say, yours is the most magnificent costume in the
room.”
My shoulders lifted and fell in a quick sigh. There was no escaping
these hungry vultures. “I’m sorry, but you mistake me for my friend. You
see? Over there.”
His eyes traveled. I watched them widen beneath his mask as he
discovered Zara, wearing the exact same costume.
“Do you not mean her?” I asked again.
Silence hung between us in the noisy ballroom. Just as Zara and I had
planned, this vulture had no idea which of the women wearing the
ridiculous macaw mask was the one set to win a fortune in the morning.
He coughed politely. “Indeed. I was mistaken. I would greatly
appreciate it if you could put in a good word with your friend over there? I
was hoping to dance with her before the evening expired.” He tapped his
chest with his free hand. “And I must say, she caught my eye the very
moment I arrived.”
To make him wait, I took a long sip of sangria, emptying my glass. “I’m
sure she did.” Zara was always turning heads, even in a room full of masks.
Her curves, highlighted as they were in this year’s tight-fitting style, put
mine to shame. “I’ll do my best.” I gave him a dismissive curtsy before
stepping around him and hurrying away.
Practically stomping through the ballroom, I looked over to where Zara
was fanning herself flirtatiously as she giggled at something a broadshouldered man had said. She’d had her seamstress make me a dress to
match hers, a stroke of brilliance that had kept the fortune hunters positively
puzzled all evening. But wearing the same dress as the prettiest girl in the
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