CHAPTER SIXTEEN:THE DINNER TRAP

Elara’s POV

Royal dinners were never truly about food.

They were performances.

Every seat, every glance, every word spoken across the long polished table carried meaning. Alliances were strengthened between courses. Rivalries were hidden behind polite smiles. Even silence could be a weapon.

Tonight felt different though.

Tonight felt dangerous.

The grand dining hall glittered with candlelight. Crystal glasses reflected warm gold across the table, and the scent of roasted herbs and wine filled the air. Nobles spoke in low voices while servants moved quietly between them.

But beneath the elegance of it all, tension coiled tightly in my chest.

Because Prince Adrian sat beside me.

And across the table…

The king was watching.

Adrian looked entirely at ease.

He leaned back slightly in his chair, one arm resting casually along the backrest as though the palace belonged to him.

“You look nervous,” he said quietly, glancing at me.

“I’m not.”

“You just stopped breathing for three seconds.”

I shot him a look.

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Am I?”

His eyes flickered briefly toward the head of the table.

Toward Caelan.

Then back to me.

“Relax,” Adrian murmured. “No one is going to start a war over dinner.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced.

Across the long table, Caelan sat in quiet authority.

He looked exactly as a king should.

Composed. Controlled. Untouchable.

He spoke occasionally with the council members seated beside him, nodding when appropriate, listening when necessary.

To anyone else in the room, he appeared perfectly calm.

But I noticed the small things.

The way his hand tightened around his wine glass when Adrian leaned closer to speak to me.

The way his gaze drifted back to us again and again.

And the moment Adrian’s fingers brushed mine while passing the bread basket—

Caelan’s jaw clenched.

Just slightly.

But enough.

Adrian noticed too.

Of course he did.

“You know,” Adrian said thoughtfully while cutting a piece of meat on his plate, “I think His Majesty dislikes me.”

“That’s a bold assumption.”

“Not really.”

He glanced toward the king again.

“Most men only look at someone like that when they’d prefer to throw them out a window.”

I kept my voice low.

“You’re imagining things again.”

Adrian chuckled.

“You keep saying that.”

Then he leaned closer, lowering his voice.

“Would it help if I behaved less obviously?”

“Yes.”

He smiled.

“Unfortunately, I’m enjoying myself.”

At the far end of the table sat the Queen Mother.

Elegant as always.

Observing everything.

She lifted her wine glass slowly, her gaze moving across the table with careful precision.

When her eyes landed on me, they lingered just long enough to make my stomach tighten.

Then she glanced toward Caelan.

Then Adrian.

Then back to me again.

It was subtle.

But unmistakable.

She was watching the three of us.

And she was beginning to understand the pattern.

Halfway through the meal, Adrian set down his fork.

“I believe it’s time,” he said lightly.

“For what?”

He stood.

Immediately several nearby nobles quieted.

Adrian lifted his glass slightly toward the king.

“Your Majesty,” he said smoothly.

The entire table turned.

Caelan looked up slowly.

“Yes, Prince Adrian?”

Adrian smiled politely.

“I simply wished to thank you again for granting me permission to court Lady Elara.”

A ripple of interest moved through the hall.

Nobles exchanged curious glances.

Across the table, Caelan’s expression did not change.

But the silence that followed felt heavy.

“You are welcome to pursue any honorable intentions you have,” the king replied evenly.

Adrian’s smile widened slightly.

“Excellent.”

Then he looked directly at me.

“And I do.”

My cheeks warmed as several nobles began whispering quietly.

Adrian raised his glass.

“To new beginnings.”

Reluctantly, I lifted mine as well.

But when I glanced toward the king—

The look in his eyes sent a shock of heat straight through my chest.

It lasted only a second.

But it said everything.

Jealousy.

Frustration.

Something deeper that neither of us could safely name.

He looked away first.

Turning back to his conversation with the council as though nothing unusual had happened.

But the damage was done.

Because Adrian had seen it.

And so had the Queen Mother.

The dinner ended shortly afterward.

Nobles drifted toward the music hall while servants began clearing the table.

Adrian offered me his arm again.

“Walk with me,” he said.

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

“Possibly.”

We moved slowly through the palace corridors, the distant sound of music echoing faintly behind us.

“You know,” Adrian said thoughtfully, “I think the king may actually hate me now.”

“You’re provoking him deliberately.”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

He stopped walking.

Then looked down at me seriously for the first time all evening.

“Because I want to know something.”

“What?”

“Whether he intends to fight for you.”

My heart stumbled.

“And if he doesn’t?”

Adrian’s expression softened slightly.

“Then I will.”

Later that night, as I stepped into a quiet hallway near the gardens—

A hand caught my wrist.

I barely had time to react before I was pulled gently into the shadowed alcove beside the window.

Caelan.

His breathing was heavier than usual.

“You shouldn’t be alone with him,” he said.

“You’re the one who allowed it.”

“That was before he started announcing it to the entire court.”

His grip loosened slightly, though he still hadn’t let go.

“You’re jealous,” I said quietly.

His eyes darkened.

“I’m realistic.”

“You’re jealous.”

For a moment he said nothing.

Then he stepped closer.

Too close.

“If I were jealous,” he said quietly, “do you think I would still be standing here pretending everything is fine?”

My heart pounded.

“Is it?”

His answer came in a whisper.

“No.”

Neither of us noticed the soft footsteps in the hallway.

Or the shadow pausing briefly around the corner.

Watching.

Listening.

Because the Queen Mother had decided something tonight.

If there truly was something dangerous growing between the king and his stepdaughter—

She would uncover it.

And when she did…

The consequences would shake the entire kingdom.