Her lips curled into a sneer. “I doubt you folk even know how to dance.”
“You’re right, the only thing my folk does is lure pretty innocent girls to dark alleys to drain them dry and discard afterwards. That’s what you believe, is it not?” There was bitterness in my tone, but I refused to believe I was disappointed by her refusal. I couldn’t be. I hadn’t been serious in the first place… right?
I needed to stop staring at her like she was the only person in this wedding, but her red dress made it hard to look away. Her pale complexion and golden-brown hair was out of place in a sea of darker shades.
My own hair, dark brown as it was, could likely match closest to hers out of everyone in the court, something Regar pointed out the day we saw her dragging her luggage up the grand staircase of the main palace. His idea was that my mother must’ve belonged to the light side, even as absurd as that idea may have been. We’d agreed not to talk about it, but he couldn’t help but bring it up when King Grath brought Siya around, and then her daughter.
I wanted to believe there were other brown-haired death fae out there before I came around. We just hadn’t met them… yet. It didn’t help that my mother was AWOL, and nobody knew who my father was.
One day, a babe was dropped off at the reserve’s doorstep without so much as a note. Success. What a surprise it turned out to be when that child needed to feed on life. I was the last child born in decades for our court. Fae had trouble conceiving and unexpected pregnancies were non-existent, which left my existence with a big question mark. Not a problem to solve right now, if ever.
My current problem was getting my ass back on my seat and pretending I hadn’t gotten up in the first place. My knees refused to bend. So instead, I stood there like the perfect idiot as Isay took a step away from our table, unsteady from Void Sundance.
Time slowed down as her high-heeled feet searched for solid ground in the grassy courtyard but inevitably sank into the soft surface. Void Sundance, being stronger than Isay expected had gone to her head faster than any of us thought to warn her about, and for a moment she appeared puzzled. Only until she lost her balance completely trying to pull her feet free and went tumbling to her hands and knees.
I could’ve caught her and saved her from ripping her pretty dress open when it got caught in the fall, but I wasn’t allowed to touch her. Rules were rules, and we were out in the open for the entire court to see.
Giggling, Isay swayed back and forth where she fell, the sound like bells swaying in the wind. Everyone close enough to have heard her turned to look if her fall hadn’t caught their eye yet.
“I did wonder if she could stomach Void Sundance,” Ferro finally sighed when Isay failed to get back on her feet for the second time and nobody rushed in to help. We couldn’t do anything for her. “Here’s the answer. Can’t say I’m terribly surprised.”
I shook my head and planted my ass back in my seat. Not only were people staring at Isay, but I also started to draw attention. Her crawling through the grass towards the palace between fits of giggles had to have something to do with me standing stiffly with my eyes fixed on her, didn’t it? No.
Huffing out a breath, I grabbed my own Void Sundance and gulped down a healthy dose of it. It burned down my throat until it settled in my stomach. Unlike with Isay, it did little else to intoxicate my senses. It also did not help to settle my nerves as the girl kept making a spectacle of herself in front of the entire court.
She should have simply agreed to the dance. I could’ve escorted her out safely thereafter. It was too late now.
When the commotion got impossible to ignore and the new queen caught sight of her daughter lying between the tables staring at the sky like it was a complete marvel stars appeared once the sun dipped low, she carefully stood up in her puffy white garment and glided over to Isay.
Every movement of hers flowed like the softest breeze. Her golden hair, slightly lighter than her daughter’s, billowed after her on her delicate but unswerving path to the girl.
She hadn’t been a queen for a day yet, but Siya carried herself like she’d been born to rule. When she passed our table, her gentle face held firm discontentment. I received the brunt of it as she must’ve seen our interaction, too.
Just great. I didn’t need to get on the bad side of the queen this quickly. Didn’t plan on it to happen at all.
Siya tenderly pulled Isay to her feet and steered her stumbling form out of sight. Only then was I able to look away from where she’d disappeared to. I got to meet four completely different reactions. Hiko sneered at me like he had at the girl. Regar grinned so widely you’d think he’d gone mad. Ferro squinted his eyes, studying me. Sinister simply sighed in relief, glad that Isay was gone, taking her intoxicating scent with her, a raised eyebrow being the only indication he wondered about my uncharacteristic response to her.
I rolled my shoulders and rubbed my neck, then took another gulp of Void Sundance. They didn’t stop staring.
“What?” I barked, narrowing my eyes.
“What the hell was that?” Hiko started first.
“Dance?” Regar snickered.
“Do you have hots for her?” Ferro asked, “it’s a bad idea all around.”
Sinister just shook his head, not bothering to comment, but I was sure he wouldn’t be one to judge.
He was one of those fae that enjoyed seeing their prey wriggle between his legs before they faded away. The only reason he’d stayed away from Isay was self-preservation. I bet the bastard would dream of ways to take her spark when he’d hit the bed tonight.
I wanted to strangle that mischievous glint out of his eyes but settled for finishing my drink instead and turning the conversation around to something less focused on me.
One thing was certain: I needed something stronger than Void Sundance to survive the night.
Chapter 3
ISAY
MY HEAD POUNDED, AND MY STOMACH ROARED. I ROLLED OVER and face-planted on the carpeted floor with a high-pitched yelp. I still wore the red dress, but it was stained and hung loose on one of the shoulders. A rip torn through the back told a story I did not care to hear recounted.
My own brain couldn’t remember anything after Karmuth had asked me to dance with him. I bet they laughed about it afterwards. ‘She didn’t shake Regar’s hand, but you tried your luck anyway?’ Hilarious.
I must’ve made a complete fool of myself. Not only did I not fit in, but now I was the fae girl who couldn’t hold her liquor.
I looked down at my dress and cringed. The girl who made love to the grass too, by the looks of it. Not a good image for their new princess. Lovely how that word rang out in my head in the taunting voice of Hiko, holding just the same amount of disdain in my thoughts as it did on his tongue.
Maybe I could obtain a rebellious reputation and join the dark side? Or maybe I’d continue to be the court’s jokester, a laughing stock of the death fae. Walking unobtainable dinner, but at least she’s entertaining.
My stomach grumbled again, so I pulled myself off the ground, discarded the dress for simple sweats and tee, and made for the door.
The room was spacious, much more so than the room I’d occupied back in Elverstone. We’d lived in a humble one-floor abode close to the foods and the Elver waterfall. The rush of the water hitting rocks below could be heard from anywhere in the village, but more so by our house. I had spent most of my time outside and all I needed a roof for was for my bed and storage. I had thought my mother enjoyed our simple lifestyle, but she quite obviously didn’t.
In this space I had a bed bigger than one would have a full use for, and yet I managed to fall out of it. Great. An armchair overlooked the room, directed towards the bed and balcony, and gave me the feeling of someone staring at me while I slept.
I’d woken up the first several nights here in cold a sweat, certain that the armchair was occupied by a creeper, but it remained empty.
Behind that, an armoire took up a whole wall and remained mostly empty, too. I didn’t have a whole lot to fill it with. A desk of the same wood and design loomed by the window with a balcony behind it stretching two metres out and connecting to neighbouring rooms on the side, divided only by meagre barriers.
