“Good thing I’m here, then; otherwise you’d be talking to your glass of wine all night.” He chuckled, about to sit when Lina and Cole arrived.

Bri craned her neck past him to see them standing under the archway. The sight of Lina hit her like a crashing wave. She wore a bright red dress patterned with sapphire and burnt-orange thread. It was a simple summer outfit, perfect for traveling as the fabric wasn’t easily crumpled, but the way that it fit her . . . The front fabric wove across her ample chest, creating diamond cutouts of dark brown skin that pressed through the holes. It flowed down from her waist, billowing around her large hips and draping to the floor. She was brighter here, as if the colors of her soul were a more vibrant hue. The change in attire had shed a layer off her regal countenance and now she was wholly ethereal.

“Bri?”

“What?” Bri’s attention snapped back toward Carys.

“Do you prefer Southern or Eastern?” Carys asked as Neelo smirked into their glass.

“Southern,” Bri said, not knowing what they were referring to but assuming between the two of them, the answer would inevitably be Southern.

As Lina stepped from the archway, Cole moved to leave them.

Bern cut him off. “Wait,” the silver-haired fae said. “Why don’t you join us?”

Cole adjusted his spectacles, looking down at the courtier with a humble smile. He debated the offer for a moment before saying, “Thank you.”

As Lina sat beside her, Bri contemplated praising the Princess’s dress but then thought better of it. She decided instead to focus her attention on the platter of food in front of her. Twirling the stem of her wine glass, she took a steadying breath. The sumptuous wine and balmy sea air wasn’t helping. Her wayward attention superseded all logic, lost to the sensations of the evening. She needed to get a grip, but as the intoxicating scent of jasmine and rose oil wafted toward her, she had to swallow the lump in her throat. She thought of the feel of her lips against Lina’s own, her mind drifting to where else she’d like her lips to explore.

Bern and Cole sat at the end of the table, where Bern opened a bottle of wine between them.

“I thought we were bringing our own provisions,” Lina said, dipping a piece of flatbread in oil and then the spices in the same combination as Bri had. “But seeing as there’s more than wine, I’m guessing Rish is hiding somewhere around here too.”

She brought the oil-soaked bread to her mouth, a pleasurable hum coming from her lips. Bri almost bit her wineglass in half, clenching her fist around the linen napkin in her lap. Gods, that sound. Why did Lina have to make that sound? Their enjoyable evening was going to be reduced to utter torture.