Page 29

ZOEY

As much as I’d love to, I can’t simply march into Aerix’s quarters. The humans are trapped in our wing, unable to leave unless we’re escorted by a night fae.

Unless...

Aerix told me to spend time with Aurora and Isla.

Now, Henry’s dying words echo in my mind.

Isla was raised here. She’s not like us.

I look down at Henry’s body one more time. I should feel something—remorse, horror, or guilt. Something.

All I feel is a cold certainty that I did what needed to be done.

So, I grip the dagger tightly, wiping it clean on a section of my nightgown that isn’t already soaked in blood. The fabric tears slightly under my trembling hand, but I force myself to keep going. I have no time to waste.

Finally, as satisfied as I can be given my situation, I step over Henry’s body and make my way to the door.

The human wing is arranged with suites lining the top floor—each suite designated to a royal, their humans given private rooms inside them. Since it’s daytime, everyone is asleep. The Night Court doesn’t even bother putting guards in the human wing while the court is asleep, thanks to the magical wards keeping us in here, and the fact that even if we figured out how to get past them, we’re so easily overpowered by the night fae that we wouldn’t make it far.

Plus, I’ve heard they like knowing we’re free to do what we wish in here while they sleep. It’s entertainment to them—a test to see what we’ll do in the dark, when our basic instincts take hold. A sick sort of reality show for them to sit back and watch.

Given the attention I’ve been getting from Aerix, I was already dripping with main character energy. Now, with Henry dead…

I’m going to positively reek of it.

Unless I can cover it up.

So, when I reach the king’s suite, I don’t pause. I knock.

No one answers.

I knock harder. And harder. Anxiety spikes through me with each slam of my fist against the wood, and my hand is definitely going to bruise.

Come on, I think, praying to whatever god is in the Night Court that they’ll hear me. Wake up. Please.

Finally, someone answers.

Aurora. Her hair is wild from sleep, but even so, she’s as beautiful as ever.

Her eyes widen at the sight of me—disheveled, blood-splattered, and breathing hard.

“What happened?” She opens the door fully, letting me inside. “Is that your blood? Are you hurt?”

I close the door behind me, spinning around and leaning against it. “I need help,” I say, my voice steadier than I expected. “I need to see Aerix.”

Aurora steps closer, her eyes scanning me from head to toe. “Is that blood yours?” she repeats, alarm creeping into her voice.

I shake my head. “It’s Henry’s.”

Her breath catches. “What?” she asks, scanning me over yet again, as if trying to put the pieces together.

“He came to my room,” I say, forcing the words out. “He tried to—” My throat tightens, my stomach twisting as I remember Henry’s hands on me. “He tried to force himself on me. I stopped him.”

Aurora’s expression shifts from shock to understanding. “You killed him.”

It’s not a question, but I nod anyway.

“Where is he now?” she asks.

“In my suite. In the living room. On the floor.” My voice sounds hollow and distant. “I need to get to Aerix.”

“Wait here.” She gives me an encouraging nod, then disappears into one of the bedrooms.

I exhale shakily, every passing second a reminder that Henry’s body is lying on the carpet in my suite, bleeding into the rug. If Aerix can’t—or won’t—help me, I’m screwed.

But he’ll help me. He loves me.

Hushed voices sound from the room Aurora disappeared into, and she returns with Isla.

Isla’s wearing a silken robe, her long, dark hair loose around her shoulders.

“Leave us,” she says to Aurora, sounding different than I’ve ever heard her. Harder. Stronger.

Aurora hesitates. “Shouldn’t we?—“

“If you know what’s good for you,” Isla cuts in, “you’ll stay quiet about this. Unless you want the king’s infatuation with you to come to a sudden end?”

Aurora’s face pales. She nods once, then retreats to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Isla turns to me, her gaze sharp and assessing. Then, she takes my bloodstained hands in hers, turning them over and studying them, as if admiring my handiwork.

“You’re a natural,” she says, her thumb brushing over the sticky, crimson mess. “And I’m pleased you realized that in the human wing, I’m the queen on the chessboard.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, my heart racing so fast that I swear it’s about to explode.

It’s too much, too fast, and I’m drowning in it.

“It means,” she says, dropping my hands and pulling a slim silver key out from the chain around her neck, “that like the queen in chess, I can go anywhere.”

My breath catches. “That key can get us out of the human wing?”

“Yes.” Her intelligent eyes gleam with satisfaction.

“But how?”

“I was born here. Raised here,” she says, echoing Henry’s dying words. “By the king and queen.”

I stare at her, the pieces clicking into place. “You’re a spy in the human wing.”

“The king and queen placed me amongst the human pets as a decoy, to be their eyes and ears,” she confirms, studying my face. “Do you know why I’m helping you, ?”

I shake my head.

“Because the royals raised me. I view Aerix as a brother. And I see the way he looks at you.” She reaches out, tucking a strand of blood-matted hair behind my ear. “If he loves you, then I accept you as family, too.”

My mind reels with this new information.

Isla was raised by the king and queen? She’s a spy among the humans? And now she’s decided I’m an honorary member of the royal family?

“We need to cover you up,” she continues, hurrying into her room, opening the wardrobe, and pulling out a dark cloak. “Put this on.”

She drapes it around my shoulders, hiding the blood-soaked nightgown beneath. The soft fabric against my sticky skin makes me shudder, but I welcome the coverage. Anything to conceal what I just did.

“The night fae in the halls will smell the blood,” she warns, “but they know better than to question me. They also know better than to lose control and attack you. They’ll keep their fangs to themselves, since the ones incapable of self-control don’t survive the Night Court’s test that accompanies the change.”

She leads me to the door, key in hand, and I follow her in shock. But before she opens it, she turns to me one last time.

“Aerix will take care of this,” she promises. “But you need to be smart and take care of yourself, too. You have to play to win. That means taking out pawns, even if those pawns are your own pieces.”

“I understand,” I say, and I do. Because if I hadn’t killed Henry, he would have…

I stop myself, not wanting to think about his body in my suite’s living room, bleeding out, staining the rug.

Isla nods, seemingly satisfied, and opens the door.

We slip out into the hallway, and I follow her out of the human wing, uneasy about walking through the palace without a night fae to protect me. But like Isla promised, the few night fae walking about glance at us, avert their gazes, and hurry away.

Adrenaline burns through my veins, and I stick to her side.

She moves like a queen—head high, posture regal, gliding across the floor. She’s not a night fae—her eyes aren’t the dark midnight color that theirs are—but she sure knows how to carry herself like one.

As we walk, everything that’s happened tonight races through my mind.

“You know about Katerina, don’t you?” I ask quietly, our only witnesses now the chandeliers floating overhead, sparkling constellations gazing down on us. “About how she lied about her brother?”

Isla’s pace doesn’t falter. “Of course I know,” she says. “I know almost everything that happens around here.”

Right. I should have figured as much.

“Her brother wasn’t sent to the barns,” I continue, needing as much information as possible. “That they tried to escape together, but she made a deal with Malakai.”

“That’s true,” she confirms. “Her brother was taken elsewhere. She chose her own safety over his.”

I press my lips together. “Where was he taken?”

“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that you understand the game you’re playing. Because every move comes with a price.” She pauses, then adds, “Are you willing to pay that price for Aerix?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “I already have.”

We turn a corner, approaching a set of ornate double doors.

Aerix’s doors.

The guards startle as we approach. But when they see Isla, they say nothing.

I shift on my feet, suddenly nervous.

What will Aerix think when he sees me like this? Will he be proud? Angry? Will he help me, or will he decide I’m more trouble than I’m worth?

“,” Isla says, her voice softer now. “Remember what I said. You’re family now. But family can still be dangerous.”

With that cryptic warning, she turns and disappears, leaving me alone with the guards in front of Aerix’s doors.