The Hidden Luna Queen (Maeve and Xaden) novel Chapter 86

Maeve POV

It is just a dinner.

As I sat in the center of the palace banquet hall, feigning confidence as I sipped my water as was taught, surrounded by Xaden and his younger siblings while they engaged in light conversation, I tried to breathe.

Alpha King Arlan and Luna Queen Leonora were a distance away at the head of the table, speaking with their eldest son, and I continued to inhale… long, slow, and shaky as I feebly tried to calm my nerves.

It’s only a dinner, so relax and think of something else.

Shockingly enough, I would find my advice to be easier said than done. Everything I saw and breathed just reeked of wealth and status and pure alpha bloodlines and I felt more than ever that I did not belong.

Even more so than I ever did in Moonstone.

Who on earth was I trying to fool with my nonsense? Considering that every member of the immediate royal family would be in attendance and that I was to employ every etiquette rule I had learned over the last few days, it became extremely apparent that this was way more than just a dinner. It was yet another test I needed to pass, regardless of what Xaden or his mother tried to say otherwise.

I was just a waste of space here… a fraud—

“Just breathe, Maeve,” Xaden murmured by my ear, the calm in his deep voice magically enticing me to obey his words despite my pitiful attempts mere minutes before. “You trained for this for days with my mother, and I’ve seen the change in you, even if you don’t feel it just yet. You can absolutely do this.”

I twisted to gaze at him, seeing nothing but sincerity.

“Tonight is all about you,” he said. “And I know you'll blow us all away.”

Setting my jaw, I forced myself to nod in agreement. The queen had repeated many a time about maintaining a strong, invulnerable composure when in the company of nobility. Ally or not, anyone could—and would—find my weaknesses and exploit them for their benefit, if given the opportunity.

Not that I necessarily believed these three people would do that… but this was not about what I believed. This was about practicing what I learned.

If I didn’t get the hang of this, I might find myself tangled with the wrong person.