Page 29

M oments after I’d agreed to attend dinner with Aedan, the dressmaker entered the hall with a large cart. He’d apologized for the shortage of appropriate items, promised to bring more soon, and left me with piles of clothes.

Now I wore a new white dress with a corset-style bodice and a lacy skirt that flared and swirled as we walked to the Dining Hall. Aedan had insisted on waiting for a maid to do my hair, so now I looked like a princess. I expected someone to jump out from a corner and yell, “Imposter!” at every turn, but… nobody did.

Our trip to the Dining Hall was completely unremarkable.

Just before we crossed the final curtain that would dump us on the royal dais, Aedan stopped. He cupped the side of my face with one hand and brushed his cheek up against mine, whispering in my ear. “Firehawk. You are gorgeous. People tonight will see you with admiration or jealousy. Do not let their reactions upset you. ”

He paused, and then added, “Oh, Callista. I will bless your fire, and carry your light. I am glad you are here.” He grazed my cheek with a soft kiss, and then straightened, placing my hand on top of his forearm in a more formal hold than the comfortable one we’d had as we walked. “This is how the King of Hemlit should introduce a royal peer from another kingdom to his people.”

And before my heart could finish floating out of my chest, he straightened, threw the curtains apart, and sauntered onto the dais.

I stayed with him, standing tall like I imagined a princess might, and forcing a smile on my face. We stopped at the edge of the dais, in the same place we had months ago when he’d first warned everyone not to hurt me. The entire room shifted, like a great wave, as everyone rose from their seats and bowed.

Unlike last time, the faces I saw as they stood back up looked at me with curiosity. I didn’t see any of the anger and venom that I’d seen the first time. Did they not realize who I was?

Some did. Jolter grinned. Next to him, Molanna smiled, and on the other side of her, Koan winked. I could feel Aedan restrain a groan, which made my smile relax into an almost-chuckle.

Another wave shifted the room as people slid away from the center to make an aisle to the dais between their bodies. A tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired elf sauntered along the new aisle until he stood on the floor right in front of us. He bowed dramatically.

Aedan tipped his head in a small, polite gesture, so I imitated it. “Cousin,” the king said, “welcome home.” He gestured to his table on the dais behind us, and the crowd—hundreds of elves—broke into a cheer.

The cousin smiled—a beautiful, well- practiced smile—and climbed the six steps to join us on the dais. Aedan waved at the crowd, and the room filled with the general chatter of hundreds of conversations. He led me back to his table, where we joined his cousin, Fagan, Mylo, and his aunt.

Servants brought platters and platters of meats, breads, vegetables, and desserts. Before they’d finished setting them down, the cousin started the conversation. “Aedan, I heard you had a new human, but nobody told me she was prettier than any of the elves.”

He made me sound like a pet.

Aedan set a hand on my knee under the table. “Her name is Callista, and she belongs to herself, not me.” He tipped his head toward me and spread a drawling smile across his face. “Callista, this uncouth barbarian is my cousin Guyan. He’s normally much better behaved.”

“My apologies. Callista, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Guyan’s apology came out smooth and polished. I could see why he made Mylo nervous. Everything he said, even these casual comments, sounded both too practiced and too natural. It reminded me of the most innocent smile and perfect answers Alastor used to come up with when he had actually done something he should be in trouble for.

Guyan tore a bite of bread off a roll. “I am normally much more polite, but the years of attempting to defeat the curse have taken a toll.” His gaze swept up the entire table. “Hemlit has needed its king, and I’ve tried all sorts of things to get through the curse’s boundary to you.”

Aedan sipped something from a goblet. He saw me glance at him and smiled. “You’ll like it, Callista. I believe Forten had you in mind when he prepared it.”

I tasted my drink. Lemonade. I wanted to leave the hall and hug the giant cook, but instead, I simply said, “That was kind of him.”

Guyan nodded at me. “You’ve done better for yourself than I expected. The stories I heard from your brother made me think I’d need to storm the dungeon and free you from chains.”

“You spoke to my brother?” I nearly jumped up from the table.

The cousin chuckled. “Yes. I’ve been in Terrarinmarin for some time, but when I returned to the hills a few weeks ago, rumors of a human going crazy at the border of Sirun made me curious. I found him, and we talked quite a bit.”

Guyan tossed a grape into his mouth and waved his hand toward Aedan. “Did you know her brother can break the barrier? Both the fae’s curse and the protective layers you put up before that?”

Aedan’s hand held my knee a little tighter, as if the pressure would keep him calm. “I did know.”

Guyan leaned over the table. “Aedan. You could use him to end the curse. Think what that would mean for everyone here. You included—are you still a monster during the day?”

Aedan’s voice tightened. “I am.”

“So why not use this human to break the fae’s hold on you?”

Aedan stiffened, so I dropped a hand under the table and touched his. He flipped his palm over and gripped mine with an almost-frantic force, as if apologizing all over again for the day we’d met. “Two reasons,” he ground out.

Guyan leaned back and picked up another grape. “Do tell.”

“One. I do not know where he is, and I cannot leave the barrier myself to find him. Two, I do not think he would be amenable to helping me.”

Guyan laughed. “I’d forgotten how strict and somber you were. Let me solve all your problems. One. He is roaming the woods outside the boundary to Sirun, trying to convince someone to come rescue his sister.” He dipped his chin dramatically at me. “Who clearly does not need rescuing. He refuses to enter the boundary himself because he thinks it would mean her death.”

He looked at me expectantly, as if I should explain the question he didn’t ask. I met his eyes and lifted my chin. I did not feel obligated to explain anything to him, and I already agreed with Mylo. He was up to something.

Aedan’s aunt sniffed. “That’s because the entire reason Callista is here is as collateral to keep her brother out.”

Aedan leaned forward. “No. That was the reason she came here. She is now my guest, and I have already explained—more than once—that she is to be afforded every convenience and luxury we would offer any visiting royal.”

A satisfied smile spanned Guyan’s face. “Well, that explains quite a lot. I wonder if we shouldn’t send someone to alert young Alastor to the fact that his sister is happy? Perhaps encourage him to live a life that isn’t preoccupied with convincing people to challenge a drekkan king?”

Aedan’s hand had tightened around mine during the conversation. I didn’t want to do anything at Guyan’s suggestion, but I also didn’t want Alastor wandering around the forest forever. “Can we do that? Send someone to tell him?”

“Of course.” Aedan finally turned from Guyan to me. “If I’d had any idea he was still out there, I would have done something ages ago.”

I squeezed his hand back. “I know.”

Guyan swallowed a bite of meat and dabbed at his chin with a napkin. “I’m glad we’ve resolved this. I’d feel terrible leaving him out there for years. ”

Acantha reached a hand over to Guyan’s arm. “What were your thoughts on the curse? Surely you’ve had some ideas since you managed to get through the barrier?”

“Yes, Sena,” he said. “I believe—” He paused, like an actor building drama on the stage. After scanning all five of us, he spread his arms and placed his palms on the table. “I have many reasons to believe that Callista and Alastor’s mother was the fae who cursed Aedan and the barrier.”

He clearly expected a big response, but instead Mylo buried his face in his goblet, the aunt sighed, and Fagan bit back a chuckle.

Guyan folded his arms. “You already knew.” That elf could read people so easily it was scary.

“Yes,” Aedan answered. “We knew.” He promptly placed a bite of chicken in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to say anything else.

Guyan recovered quickly. “Well, then you’ve probably already discussed the possibility that since her blood runs in their veins, they could destroy the curse.”

Acantha’s brows lifted as she turned to Aedan. He shook his head. “No, it is not so simple. As you’ve already discovered, Callista and Alastor are only half fae. Callista does not have any magic that will fight curses.”

Guyan’s trouble-filled grin casually loped across his face. It was like Koan’s, but more sinister. “Then it’s a good thing I’ve come home. I think I can find a solution.”