Page 6

Chapter 5

Vareck

“Nobility at its finest.” The words were cast from beneath my breath as the music paused. Men, women, and creatures of all kinds broke off from their dances and began to move to their prospective cliques. A clean separation between the noble and the common split down the middle. So swiftly, they parted the floor and went from dancing to drinking and gossiping. The nobles cast sideways glances at the commoners of the kingdom, laughing snidely at whatever disgusting comments they shared at the expense of those less fortunate.

“You’re the one who wanted to throw the party,” Kaia murmured so only I could hear it. “You know how they are.” I glanced sideways at the lead of my royal guard. She stood beside me, the dark blue of her formal armor was a stark contrast to the gowns that filled the room.

I felt eager and restless. I didn’t want to be sitting on the throne. I wanted to know if the woman in my dreams was here. It was a small chance, and I knew that, but it didn’t stop me from looking. “In hindsight, we should have changed tradition this year and not had a masquerade ball. It’s a sea of masks out there. How can I find her when most faces are hidden?”

“Slight oversight,” she agreed stiffly, scanning over the guests again, her deep purple eyes focused as she looked for anything out of place.

“Relax,” I said, shifting my weight on the throne. “No one is going to try to start a coup.”

“You don’t know that.”

I huffed. “Some of them may hate me, but no one really wants this job, Kaia. Hell, even I don’t.”

She softly shushed me, glancing around to make sure no one heard me. It was the truth, and she knew it. I was here because it was my birthright. My father had been a terrible king, a horrendous leader, and an even worse husband and father. I suppose my outspokenness in those facts encouraged the people of Faerie to at least trust that I would get us out of this mess.

While the nobility of Faerie wanted rank, privilege, and wealth, they most certainly did not want the responsibility of a cursed kingdom to rule.

A coup was the last thing on anyone’s mind.

Even within a ballroom filled with people, I felt disconnected from it all. My legs were spread out to the corners of the chair, leaning back to rest my cheek in the palm of my hand. I tried not to seem bored as nobles approached and music floated through the background. Apparently I was failing. Kaia nudged me gently, giving me a chastising look, a scolding crease formed between her brows.

“What?”

“Mind your posture,” Kaia leaned in, whispering, her voice playfully scolding. I rolled my eyes, swatting away her hand. She considered it a minor success. “ And fix your face.”

The overwhelming desire to laugh was difficult to ignore, and I covered my mouth with the back of my hand to block the smirk that begged to appear. Only Kaia would speak to me this way . . . and Corvo.

“Lord and Lady Stone approach,” she whispered as a high fae couple dropped the masquerade masks they’d held up to their faces. Those accessories always seemed to be a nuisance. I’d rather a mask that tied, but so many nobles wanted to be seen , so they often used the type that was handheld. The vanity was obnoxious.

I inclined my head, greeting them by name, which clearly pleased them. Points to Kaia. She had an impeccable memory for names and faces.

“King Vareck, you’re looking exceptionally handsome tonight.” The woman curtsied, holding the flowing fabric of her gown to the side. Pieces of her bodice shimmered in a unique way I’d never seen before.

“I say, this is the best party I’ve attended in ages. Wouldn’t you agree?” her husband added, bowing slightly in respect.

“We’re pleased you could attend,” I said, wishing they would go away. “I hear your greenhouses are doing well this year. We owe you many thanks for all you provide to the kingdom.”

Faces I may forget at times, but their importance to the kingdom was something I always knew. In a land of perpetual winter, greenhouses were a primary source for growing food. Only half of our livestock could handle the cold—long-haired cattle and draft horses—while the remainder were housed in a similar fashion in order to survive. They needed warmth too, so greenhouses were the solution for both. It was how our kingdom survived. That and trade with the human world .

The Stones’ greenhouses were our source of kale, zucchini, lettuce, bell peppers, and a various assortment of other greens. Every year was different as to whether the crop yielded results, and the past year had seen a decent bounty. Much of the kingdom had been pleased to see the return of those items in the markets, though the greenhouses with fruits weren’t fairing as well.

So delighted that I had acknowledged them, they jumped into conversation about how production had been. I nodded politely on occasion, but otherwise I found it difficult to focus.

Another tug in my chest pulled my attention, twisting uncomfortably. I gripped the armrest of my throne. I idly searched the crowd, skipping over nobility. It was a lost cause. She wasn’t here. I would have seen her by now.

That was when it hit me. A strong note of citrus caused my nostrils to twitch, and my eyes began to search through the crowd. The air was fresh, like a new day in spring. Soft rain could have poured down in the room, clearing the earth of decay and ruin. It was enticing. Intoxicating .

My eyes widened, pupils turning into thin slits as I desperately scanned the crowd, and still nothing. My frown deepened, and the scent was lost when I spotted Prince Damon. Of course, my nephew was here to be the life of the party.

Damon tilted his wolf mask up to wink at the two fae he was chatting up. He must have said something amusing because they were soon laughing. The blushing one almost spilled her wine down her pale green and yellow dress. I figured she must have had too much to drink to find him humorous, or she assumed she could gain status by bedding him. Tucking a blonde curl behind her ear, the woman held out her hand to the prince, and he took delight in kissing the back of it. I forced myself to look away as Damon took the other woman on his arm.

“Pissant fuckboy,” I huffed, moving to press a finger into my temple.

“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?” Lord Stone asked, standing near the foot of the stairs by the throne.

I looked down at him, unsure of what to say. He stared at me in question, and I looked to Kaia for help. I could see the mild annoyance in her eyes. A look only I knew. And one that only she could get away with.

Kaia jumped in, saving me. “Your incorrigible brother-in-law, sir. The one you were just telling us about.”

“Yes, your wife’s brother. He is obviously a fool of the people,” I added, thinking about my nephew. “Just because he knows how to charm them, they see him as perfect.” Kaia stole a glance toward me but remained silent, the noble’s face turning to excitement that I had so readily agreed with him.

She and I both knew the sentiments were held exclusively for Prince Damon. His level of charisma was mildly annoying. He knew how to get what he wanted without being pushed over, all while making someone else think it was their idea when it failed. Twerp.

“Those are my exact thoughts, Your Majesty. It’s like you—like you plucked them from my mind. How invigorating!” the noble continued to falsely praise me over nothing. I was slightly thankful that my input was relevant, if only so I didn’t have to reply a second time. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Kaia finally took pity on me.

She stepped forward, placing a hand over her chest. “The king must now prepare for his speech.”

“Oh, my. Yes. Thank you, Your Majesty.” The man stumbled over his words with a bow before he and his wife giddily scurried off. My shoulders dipped in relief, and I continued staring straight ahead, hoping to find the woman I’d spent years searching for.

“Well, you certainly made him the happiest man of the evening,” she mused, returning to her position at my side.

“That’s what I’m here for,” I said dryly.

“C’mon, Vareck,” she began, “lighten up.”

“If hell melts, perhaps,” I quipped. “I would say when it freezes over, but we’re already there.”

Kaia pressed her lips together, holding back a huff of a laugh.

Another note of citrus took over my senses, tickling my nose and making my chest tighten. “Do you smell that?” I asked, sitting up straighter as I searched the banquet tables and crowds.

“Smell what?”

“Citrus. Lavender.”

Kaia turned and looked at me with a hint of concern. “I don’t smell either of those. Maybe someone’s perfume. Lavender is common enough, but the citrus crop hasn’t survived for the past three years.”

“I think it’s her,” I murmured, focusing all my attention on the throng of guests, trying to find something that would confirm it.

“Where?” Kaia stiffened, snapping her head in the direction I had been looking.

“I don’t know,” I said under my breath. “Just a feeling . . .”

“Vareck, we can’t find a feeling. What makes you?—”

Kaia said something more, but I could no longer hear. My mind had wandered, replaying aspects of my dreams, whispering promises of hope, if only I could find her.

Just as I thought the prospect of losing my mind was higher than I’d previously suspected, I saw someone. A lone woman, traversing the crowd as though she was searching for somebody important. A black and red dress hugged the curves of her figure. The ginger color of her hair reminded me of the morning dawn, bringing the warmth of a long, forgotten sun.

Surrounded by people who paid her no attention, she picked up a flute of wine, tipping the liquid back. Her soft, supple lips caressed the glass. Loose waves kissed her cheeks, having long ago freed themselves from the bun pinned on the nape of her neck. A matching mask concealed her face, but as she turned, brilliant hazel eyes locked with mine.

The world around me became foggy. My mind blanked and my mouth turned dry. All I could do was stare. An intense fire simmered in my stomach, heating parts of me that had long been turned to ice. Gripping the arms of the throne, I watched her watching me. A hand on my shoulder shook me from my reverie and my entire body tensed.

“Your Majesty,” Kaia said quickly, “Lady Eleanor is here.”

I cursed as my sister-in-law stood in front of me, blocking my view, and I stood up quickly, only to find that my mystery woman was no longer there. “Not now, Eleanor.”

There was never a time I wanted to listen to my late brother’s wife prattle on about the lack of an heir and securing her son’s succession, but this moment was especially inconvenient. She spoke, but I couldn’t hear her over my own thoughts as they continued to race through my mind.

“Vareck, are you listening?—”

“Not now,” I barked, causing several guests to turn toward us. She flinched at the rebuke, but I didn’t care. The firmness in my stare was enough for her to pinch her lips and bow her head in respect as she walked away.

“What are you doing, Vareck, you’re making a scene,” Kaia said through a false smile and clenched teeth.

“Black and red dress,” I mumbled, searching for a glimpse of her again, skimming the color of gowns in the crowds.

“Pardon?”

“Her hair . . . like the embers in my hearth . . .” The words were barely audible, only Kaia could hear me. “Her eyes . . . they are like fresh foliage from underneath the snow.”

“What in the netherworld are you talking about?” Kaia whispered harshly. “Stop speaking poetry.”

I grasped Kaia’s shoulders firmly, staring eye to eye. “I found her. She’s here.”

Her lips parted on a gasp. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Cover for me.”

She shook her head, scrunching her features in confusion. “Cover for you? What does that even mean? You’re the king. I can’t ‘cover’ for you,” she whisper-yelled at me while I walked away. “Where are you going?”

“To find her,” I said, heading down the steps and toward the main doors while Kaia cursed behind me. It didn’t matter. I felt . . . free? Almost lightheaded.

It was her. I knew it; deep in my bones, I knew it. After all these years, I would get the chance to be near her. Nothing would stop me.

A woman with blonde curls bumped into me in the hallway, and I apologized with the intent to move on swiftly before the color of her dress made me pause. Pale green and yellow. The giggling fae that had been all over my nephew earlier. The one he’d left with not long ago.

Creeping dread inched its way over my skin and sunk into my stomach, filling my mind with visions that enraged me.

Here she was, returning to the party, far too soon.

Alone.

Damon was nowhere in sight.

That meant one thing.

Not for the first time, I wondered what would happen if the king of Faerie killed his successor.

Tonight, the kingdom might learn the answer.