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“I suppose we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer.

” I run a palm over my clothes as well. The remnants of Kaelis’s needy hands are gone.

But his scent still clings to the fabric.

My heart still flutters. “Do I look all right?” I ask.

But what I really mean is, Do I look like I was ready to have you push me against the wall and fuck me senseless?

The prince, to my surprise, answers sincerely. “Frustratingly immaculate, as always.”

“Good to know my mere visage is enough to frustrate you.”

“More than you know,” he murmurs under his breath so quickly that I am left wondering if I heard him correctly at all.

The passageways blur as he leads me through abandoned halls and into lit ones. I stare at the now-familiar slope of his shoulders. At the silhouette he strikes against the light—as if rejecting its glow outright.

He’s handsome. I’ve known that from the first moment I laid eyes on him. I’ve acknowledged as much before. Yet, there’s something about him that draws the eye. Over and over again. He’s more than simply pleasing to look at. He’s unique. Otherworldly.

This is Kaelis, second-born and first hated! a voice in me screams the reminder. But why? is a softer question in response. He’s the man who…

Killed a clan?

Yes, that is true. An odd thing to find myself able to stomach. But I’ve never carried much fondness for nobles. Wouldn’t I have done the same if I had the power to level a clan?

Designed all my misfortune?

Is that true? He wasn’t the one to put me in Halazar as I once thought.

And he was the one to get me out…though only for his own benefit.

Some kindness and a smoldering look through the shadow of his long, messy bangs should not—will not—undo everything he has been a part of.

He has directly facilitated and benefited from a system that delights in torturing Arcanists and…

He’s trying to dismantle that system.

If he can be believed.

Never before have I felt so conflicted about anything or anyone.

Throughout my whole life, there has been a clear order to the world around me.

They—the Oricalis family and the high nobles who support them—are the enemy.

I can practically hear those words in my mother’s voice.

They cannot be trusted. They are the orchestrators of our suffering.

They would destroy the world, if given the chance.

My stomach knots. Everything that I thought was so clear is now as shrouded as the academy was to me when I first stepped foot within it. The only thing that breaks through the murky vortex of my thoughts is the bright lights of the main hall as the doors open before Kaelis and me.

The main hall of the academy has been transformed for the All Coins Day celebrations.

The scent of dozens of flowers assaults my nose the moment I step inside.

They fill baskets supported by shepherd’s hooks on the walls.

Garlands of ivy and jewel-toned hanging moss are strung between them.

The tables are all done in golds and greens.

A forest floor of lichen covers the stone and pads our footsteps.

I’d be in awe of the beauty if I didn’t feel like I were walking to the gallows.

All eyes are on Kaelis and me. My hand rests lightly in the crook of his elbow as he escorts me past the initiates’ tables.

The faculty table has been split in two, with a new and separate seating area for the royals at its center in the front of the room.

King Naethor, Ravin, and Leigh are all present and already seated.

The first two look at me with gleaming eyes.

As if I am the main course they’ve been waiting for.

Leigh is wearing a mild expression, but the way her eyes stare off into the distance and the muscles of her face seem pulled taut—as if fighting to keep her expression placid—tells me she’d probably rather be anywhere but here.

Same, I wish I could tell her. My heart races as I take my seat next to Kaelis, among the royals. It’s an effort to keep my hands steady. The weight of everyone’s undivided attention upon me has never been greater.

Despite all the japes and gossip, my engagement to Kaelis hasn’t felt real until this moment. Not even during the soiree. But something about my peers and about the king seeing me in this way has made it real.

I swallow my worry and force a smile. The king stands as soon as Kaelis sits. He lifts a crystal chalice.

“To another successful All Coins Day. You are all truly the mark of excellence.” King Naethor’s eyes drift toward Kaelis and me. His slight smile looks anything but sincere. “And to my second-born son, your headmaster, and the woman he has seemingly chosen.”

Hardly a glowing endorsement of me… But when he drinks, we all drink with him. There’s not enough wine in the world to drown the sour taste in the back of my throat.

Dinner begins in earnest. The tables are filled to the brim with food laid out on ornate, heavy golden platters brought out by academy staff. I force myself to eat, even knowing that the food will taste little better than ash under these circumstances. I’m proved right.

“I must say that it is a truly unexpected delight to host so many from my family. Usually it is just Ravin visiting my domain and wearing out his welcome.” Kaelis is the one to break the strained silence.

I resist stepping on his foot underneath the table. Must he instigate? As far as I was concerned, we could go the whole dinner without saying a word.

“Impossible! Visiting you is always my absolute favorite thing, brother. I know you secretly love when I surprise you with my affections.” Ravin wears a shit-eating grin, and the brothers look more like boys about to resort to punches than the men they are.

I bite back a sigh. Royal or common-born, some things—like siblings—are ever the same. I wonder what Kaelis and Ravin’s relationship is like with their youngest brother, the third-born prince. He’s thirteen now, I think, so I suppose he’ll be making more trips from the Oricalis Castle soon…

“It is a rare delight, indeed.” The king’s sentiment is oblivious to his sons’ squabbling.

In fact, it’s almost…wistful? The king seems surprisingly sincere as he stares beyond my shoulders and into the vastness of the hall.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say it’s the look of a man who genuinely cares for the Arcanists behind me.

The hardness slips from his eyes, and his gaze softens to what I’d describe as longing.

Then his attention shifts, and the cold and calculating ruler I’ve come to know is back with an almost menacing grin.

“Especially now that I have another opportunity to sit with the woman my son has decided to surprise me with as a potential future family member.”

“It is my honor to be in your collective presence.” I keep my eyes on my food, using it as an excuse to feign deference.

“Twice in one day, even.” The king leans back and stretches a hand on the table, tapping his finger in thought.

“I am truly blessed.” I force a smile and take a drink.

“Indeed, especially as a common-born girl whom my son met—How did you meet?” His eyes dart between us.

I glance at Kaelis, grateful when he speaks. “I was doing work in Eclipse City—”

“I don’t remember you doing work in Eclipse City in the past year at all,” Ravin chimes in.

Kaelis narrows his eyes at his brother. “I don’t tell you my every movement.”

“But don’t we have a deal that we respect each other’s boundaries? If one goes to the other’s domain, then it is clearly communicated?” Ravin leans back in his chair, swirling his wineglass. Leigh continues dutifully eating at his side, as if this is all very normal.

Four suits, I hope I don’t ever actually have to marry into this family and get used to this. If I do, I’m taking her approach: silence.

“Maybe I’d respect the boundaries more if you did,” Kaelis says.

“Enough.” The king is solely focused on me. “I want to hear it from her.”

“I…” I glance at Kaelis. We never discussed how we allegedly met.

“Don’t be shy. Tell me of this love story for the ages.”

“I was born in Eclipse City. My mother and father were deeply in love. Though his work kept him from staying in the city, as he was often called away.” The truth surprises me.

Fleeting glimpses of my early years drift through my mind.

They almost condense into the face of the father that I’ve actively worked to forget.

I can’t share the whole truth, but that doesn’t stop the painful details from softening my voice somewhat as I weave the fiction of what could’ve been.

“We weren’t anything special, my family. But we had enough and made our way.”

“Where are your parents now?” the king asks.

“My father left when I was still toddling about. My mother died at the Descent.” The words harden some.

The king doesn’t even have the decency to offer me condolences.

So I’m shocked when Kaelis shifts and a knee slides against mine, pressing into me.

Almost like encouragement. My eyes drift to him, lips parting slightly with questions I can’t ask in this moment.

He knows what I’m saying is true, I realize.

He hears it in my voice. “There were enough funds left behind to help me sustain myself.”

“Even though you were just a child?” Leigh interjects, genuine sympathy in her voice. Maybe she’s not as bad as I first assumed.

“My mother had trusted family friends that I knew well. They helped look after me. Stepped in and managed things in her stead—until I was old enough to do it myself.” I think of the cloaked figures that would always come around Rot Hollow.

The people she worked with—the people I knew were always looking out for us, too.

People like Bristara. “I didn’t meet Kaelis until I was old enough to make my way to the Descent myself. ”