66: Ada's POV

I somehow managed to find sleep after Nik’s orders not to tell anyone anything we’d said to each other. How, I have no idea. My heart had seemed to break with those words, and yet, I’d shut it out enough to rest. At least he was here and no longer in the middle of enemy territory.

When I awoke, a small fire was burning in my fireplace. I blinked. Sitting on the sofas in my little sitting area were all three Alpha Princes. All three were in their usual suits — Darius in navy, Phoenix in emerald, and Nik in black. They were all holding papers and sifting through them wordlessly. None of them looked up as I left my bed, heading toward my bathroom.

Quickly, I showered and dressed myself. I chose a new dress that Gwynn had made for me. It was tea-length, made from chiffon and cotton materials. The skirt flared out at the waist. It was crimson red. I paired it with a pair of black heels and simple pearl earrings. I twisted my hair up and put on light makeup.

I may not know what was going on today, but if all three of them were in my room and dressed formally, I was damn well going to follow suit. Sahara laughed as I took in my reflection and smoothed my skirt. *We look fine. Now, go see what is going on.*

As I emerged from the bathroom, Darius turned his head to look at me. He smirked, but remained wordless. I was surprised he was here, given how we’d left things the last time he’d come into my room. Phoenix set down his papers first and patted the seat beside him. It wasn’t lost on me that Nik had positioned himself on the couch with Darius, furthest away. Fine. He wanted distance? I could do distance.

I slammed the mental bond between us down tight. There would be no one-on-one conversations anymore if that’s how he wanted to play this game. Sahara whined softly, but I ignored her and took my spot beside Phoenix. He grasped my hand with his casually.

Darius spoke, voice firm, “There is a ball tonight. You are expected to attend.” He seemed unnerved by my continued silence. His jaw ticked, his eyes darkening, “I have asked that you keep up appearances. I do not expect you to attend with me,” he sighed, “No one does.”

“You’ll be with *Elizabeth*,” I stated bitterly and motioned for him to go on.

“I’ve been making the arrangements for this ball for the last few weeks,” Darius rolled his eyes and shifted on the couch, “I’ve gotten my father to agree to let both Nikolai and Phoenix escort you.”

Nik’s eyes went matte as he averted his gaze from me. That was just fine. Two could play that game. I squeezed Phoenix’s hand and rolled my shoulders back, “What’s expected of me at this ball?”

“Simply attend. Entertain certain guests and keep them out of the line of sight of my father,” Darius grumbled, “Finn will be there.”

I perked up a bit. I crossed one leg over the other and leaned back, “And how do you plan to pull that one off?”

A growl emitted from Darius’s chest. I opened my palm and arched an eyebrow, wielding a ball of flame. Darius cleared his throat and shook his head, looking at Nik with a look that screamed, *Can you believe this shit?* But Nik was too busy looking at the fire to notice anything going on. Darius flexed his hands before resting them on his pant legs.

His voice was flat, “Because I can. Your father, Francine, and Adrian will also be in attendance.”

The ball of fire smoked out as I practically leapt to my feet, “What?”

“Yes, do tell her why you’re throwing this ball, Darius,” Phoenix sighed.

He narrowed his eyes at his brother. Darius spoke firmly, “It is a celebration thrown in their honor for being the pack that provided us with the Royal Surrogate.”

“Their honor?” I snapped, heat rushing to my cheeks as anger coursed through my veins. My fingertips extended into small claws, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Nik sighed, stepped between Darius and me. I hadn’t realized I’d been taking steps toward Darius, but now that Nik had made it a point to blockade him, I realized that he’d taken steps away from me as well. The smirk I shot him was fast and short-lived. Nik crossed his arms over his chest and nodded back at the couch behind me.

The order was clear. I chose to ignore it.

I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my head to the side. He sighed, shadows emerging from around him. As they looped around my wrists, tugging me back, I pushed for my own to come out. They slid from my palms, billowing beneath me before slowly climbing up my body. I watched Nik’s face as I felt my own shadows loop around his. With a small push of effort, they sent his shadows shooting away from my wrists.

He grinned, “You’ve improved,” Nik twirled his fingers, “Let’s not forget the most important thing, Ada,” he whispered, and I felt him tap against the door I had slammed shut on our bond. I kept it closed tightly. He could say what he wanted out loud. He shook his head, oil-slick hair falling into his face, “Fine. I’ll say it out loud: I’m still better than you.”

All at once, his shadows burst forth and slammed into my body. They chained me, bound me, before I could even process what was happening. I wasn’t shoved or tugged back onto the couch beside Phoenix, but was lifted to my spot and slammed down into it. My teeth clanked together from the force as the shadows seemed to blink out of existence.

Nik tugged on his suit jacket sleeve and returned to his own seat. Phoenix patted my knee and sighed, “There are many ulterior motives behind this celebration, Ada.”

“Name one that’s going to make me okay with this,” I spat out, earning me a look of pity from Phoenix.

Darius spoke, voice soft, “Because tonight is the night my father will die.”