Page 5 of Beaux and Dragons

Perhaps I was too hasty in saying I would fly over there, but I am anxious to hear news of you, so do not tarry. The house has grown dull without you here.

Padre requested I start arranging my birthday celebration to find a beau and has begun talks about my betrothal again. I requested that he allow me to choose the suitors. Julian will not be attending the festivities, so do not fret about him being a threat to your previous request. That brings me to asking if you will be able to attend the celebration.

Ana

Letter the Eighth

From Ana to Federico

12 months after Federico left

Dear Federico,

The war ceased and just in time. Celestia has doubled in size since I last wrote about her and now can speed past Carbón in races.

My birthday celebration is in less than a month, and I can think of no one else I want more to bepresent than you.

Ana

Letter the Ninth

From Federico to Ana

12.5 months after Federico left

Dear Ana,

Pardon me for not responding earlier. I’ve received your letters, but hadn’t the paper or ink to respond. I’ve gotten permission to attend your celebration. Write my name on your dance card or perhaps fill the whole card with my requests.

I’ll see you soon.

Federico

Chapter three

The Coming-of-Age Ball

Ana perched in front of her mirror, choosing between the ruby necklace or pearls. The first one highlighted her skin tone, and the other was a gift from Federico when he’d retrieved a small trinket from a pirate’s booty and sent it to her. He hadn’t died on her, and he’d kept his promise to write. Over the last year, none of the letters included any mention about him asking for a betrothal, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t have it in mind.

The reflection in front of her revealed a young woman compared to the girl Federico had last seen. Before, she wouldn’t have filled out the silken dress, and her rounded cheeks had some definition. What would he think of hernow? The fact that it mattered more than ever curled in her stomach with a new anxiety and excitement that rivaled soaring through the sky.

She looked to the painting of her mamá on the wall. “Lord, why couldn’t she be here?” The tiny prayer echoed through her bedroom, which had a four-post bed, wardrobe, and ample space to walk. Yet the riches inherited and earned from the estate couldn’t replace the love and advice from her mother.

Her older sister, Maria, swung her bedroom door open and marched into the quarters. “Are you ready yet? The guests have taken over the ballroom.” She leaned over her shoulder and adjusted her own styled ringlets.

“I can’t decide which necklace.”

“The rubies, indeed.” Maria narrowed her green eyes over her too-sharp nose—an unfortunate feature. “But what does it matter? Our cousin will not be here to form a betrothal.”

Ana cringed. “I don’t think I’d want to attach myself to a stranger or someone I’ve spent but a handful of days with.”

“Not for you, for me.” She smacked her lips and shifted her expression into a demure one. “Come on. It is time to present you to high society.” Maria shifted her hipsas she exited the quarters. Though her sister would never admit it, at four and twenty years of age, she was getting quite old for a proper match.

Ana clipped on the pearl necklace and blew out the candle beside her vanity as if making a wish for an airman to return and keep his promise.

For the next several hours, Ana curtsied and smiled until her neck and cheek muscles twitched from all the exercise. She found her gaze drifting to the entrance of the ballroom. But the shadows never matched the form of a lanky fellow. Perhaps he looked different, and she’d missed him.

Her heart quickened with the thought. She adjusted the pearl necklace and accepted a beverage from a servant to cool her heated cheeks. The never-ending partner switches would begin soon, and she had one waltz with her father before she’d have to begin obeying her dance cards. So many suitors from families with status, but none with the tempered and jovial character of the young boy she’d called friend.