Grishma (Book One in The Necoh Saga)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Brianna and Emlyn flipped through dress after dress in Sophie’s massive wardrobes.

Emlyn held up a bright turquoise dress that was tied tightly at the bodice with a white ribbon. “How about this one?”

Brianna rolled her eyes. “No, that won’t do. She’s meeting the King and Queen tonight. She has to wear something special!”

Emlyn went back to inspecting each dress until she found something worthy to show Brianna and Sophie.

“So,” started Brianna with a coy expression. “How was last night?”

Sophie smiled as her thoughts drifted to the previous night with Algid.

With a dreamy look in her eyes, she murmured, “It was perfect.”

Emlyn spun around so quickly, she almost lost her balance.

“Spill!” commanded Brianna.

Sophie sighed. “Well, he could tell I had been crying when I got out of the bath. I guess my eyes were all red and puffy. Anyway, he comforted me like a warm blanket on a chilly day.”

Emlyn giggled. “Did you really just compare him to a warm blanket?”

“Shhh!” said Brianna. “So, you got out of the bath and he noticed you were upset. Then what?”

“Well, we had a beautiful dinner together and a few glasses of wine… Followed by Bressa’s antidote for dessert,” said Sophie.

“Antidote?” Brianna asked.

“Apparently, someone in Sumner gave me something that affected my memory,” said Sophie. “So when Bressa looked at my arm, she told me she would give me something to fix the problem.”

Emlyn’s jaw dropped. “Who would do such a thing?”

“Adeline,” said Brianna and Sophie at the same time.

Emlyn scrunched up her nose. “I never liked that girl!”

“Bressa warned me the antidote might make me feel strange, and man, she wasn’t kidding,” said Sophie with a sheepish smile. “I felt completely blissful, all my sadness just melted away.”

Emlyn chirped, “I bet Prince Algid liked that!”

Sophie could feel her cheeks getting warmer and she emitted an embarrassed giggle. “He did.”

Brianna looked Sophie in the eyes. “So fess up! Did you to do it or not?”

“Brianna! Don’t be so brash!” scolded Emlyn. Grinning sweetly, she said, “What she means is, did you two finally consummate your marriage?”

Sophie looked down at her hands and smiled. “We did, and it was magical.”

Gossiping and covering all of the juicy details, the girls talked until they had picked out the perfect dress for Sophie, pinned her hair up, and selected several rings and a jewel-encrusted bracelet to wear to the feast.

“You look stunning,” said Brianna.

“Time for us to get ready. Do you need anything else before we go?” asked Emlyn.

“No, thank you for your help,” said Sophie.

A few moments later, Algid returned to their bedroom chambers. “Wow,” he whispered as he walked up to her.

She turned to face him and kissed him passionately.

He traced her collarbone with his finger. “Are you sure you want to go to the feast tonight?” He kissed her neck. “We could just skip it and stay in here all night. Just the two of us.”