Page 20

19

Draped in her burning ember dress, Mara held one of the prince’s hands, her hip in his other. He pulled her close to his chest as they twirled, his silver eyes searing through her.

He guided her through the motions the same as Evrardin had, but this felt oddly dissimilar. Her hand gripped the solid ice of his, his leathered hand crushing her own. She could see the words on the tip of his tongue, everything he wanted to say to her.

She had to restrain herself from letting her eyes flicker about the gardens for a fifth time, seeking out the brooding guard, wondering where he went off to. She hated how much she wished he was still here, watching as Acastus swept her about the celebration, waiting for her to finally return back to his side, both of them annoyed, bickering aimlessly into the night instead of having to mingle with courtiers she didn’t give a shit about.

Acastus narrowed his eyes, a sinister smile plastered across his thin lips. His silvery eyes swallowed whole by his dark makeup and mask, making him more predatory than usual.

“He’ll take you to the library tomorrow,” he said in a deep tone.

“Who?” Mara inquired.

His eyebrows narrowed. “The captain.”

Mara timidly nodded. There was something raw and angry in the prince’s voice.

As if he could sense her thoughts, his hand rose from her hip and wrapped around the back of her neck in a threat buried beneath her hair. “You will learn how to glassfaire.” Mara nodded again before he jerked her to look straight at him. “This isn’t a request, Maralena. It’s a command.”

A flicker of fire rose in her chest.

He smiled. “Better keep those thoughts to yourself, Princess.”

“I—I wasn’t?—”

He tsked, his hand squeezing harder. “You will be in the library day and night until you figure it out. Evrardin will assist in anything you might need.”

She had desperately wanted to curl up in the library and read her days away, trying to forget all of this madness, but now… now she felt a murmur of terror pull at her thinking about being locked in there.

“Okay,” she mumbled. She winced in his grip.

His eyes flickered between hers, his hand sliding around the the front of her neck, resting on her throat. She swallowed and Acastus smiled with the bob of her throat. “Were you jealous?” he beckoned.

Her lips parted but she did not respond.

“Did you see me with the noble women tonight? Did you wish it was you I had my hand wrapped around? Did you wish it was you I gripped by the throat?” He looked at her lips and her fingers vibrated in nerves. He pulled her closer, his fingers tightening. “Do you enjoy it now?”

Mara tried to hold back her emotions, keeping them from her face, and Cas made an odd sound in the back of his throat.

“Do you wish I would defile you in the same way I do them?”

Mara’s brows knitted. She almost went to nod, perhaps giving him what he wanted, but just before she did, Cas’ eyes sparkled, and he slowly released her neck.

“I don’t mean to frighten you, Princess,” he crooned. She hated how swiftly he was able to switch between personalities; foolish enough to want to believe his gentler words—his sensual praises. “It’s imperative to the kingdom that you learn to glassfaire.”

A blush of anger still laid bare on her cheeks.

“I cannot tell you why, but you must trust me even though I’ve given you no good reason to.” His hand found hers. “Your ability will help me save Solstrale in its descent from grace as the fae turn on us. It’s bigger than just me or you.”

She felt voiceless, like if she spoke now, his eyes might glean gold.

“You’re now aware of Solstrale’s animosity with the Faelands?”

She nodded.

He let a harsh breath out through his nose. “It seems all the kingdoms are keenly aware of my father’s incompetence to keep the fae on our side.” He shook his head, his eyes refocusing on her. “No matter, I’ll need you to help keep the fae at bay. To keep them from rebelling, though, my war council isn’t as convinced.”

“But, how do you know I’ll be able to glassfaire?”

Cas swirled her around, his hand warm on her waist. “Your mother could. It’s very likely you can, then, as well.”

Mara bit her lip. “How’d you know my mother could…?” The words escaped her, trying her best to restrain those bloody memories from filling her mind.

“Some secrets are not so easily kept. Like I said, all the kingdoms stick their noses in each other’s business. Each kingdom with their own spymaster.” He smiled at her and her lips itched to mirror him.

Mara marveled at him as he spoke so earnestly, his features relaxed. “I’ll try my best, My Prince.”

“Good.” He gave her a kind smile. “I want us to be friends, Maralena.”

She swallowed. “I’d like that,” she said, though she wasn’t sure she would.

He spun her around again before taking a moment to admire her. “You look lovely, by the way.”

She gave him a coy grin. “Thank you. You look lovely as well.”

He laughed. “Don’t let my dress maids hear you say that. I tried to tell them how outrageous this attire was, but they insisted the Sun Prince wear garb bright enough to woo the sun goddess.” He rolled his eyes and Mara let her lips rise with a genuine smile.

They danced in silence for several beats as she forced her mind go empty.

“Have you not yet visited the coastal gardens? They’re far more enthralling than these.” He gestured to the gardens they currently swayed through, a soft violin harmonizing in the air.

Her palms warmed, the prince’s eyes flickering to gold. She shook her head. She had wanted to visit the sea so desperately, but it seemed rather difficult to get someone to escort her outside the main walls. She had resigned to looking at it from the high windows.

“Hm,” he hummed. “You’ll have to pursue them, then. I know how much you love the wild flora.” He twirled her about in a soft circle. “I recommend going early in the morning.”

She let her face go alight with mirth, tilting her head sideways, about to implore more on his meaning, but the prince’s eyes flashed to steel as he gained sight of his father approaching on their flank. He looked down at Mara for a final intake of her features she tried to soften, something tenderhearted cascading through his eyes for the briefest moment—so fast, she may have missed it if she wasn’t watching him so intently.

“That will be all,” he concluded soundly.

He kissed her cheek, sending a flush through her body before dropping her hands and disappearing behind her.

Mara instinctively reached up to her face to touch where the prince just had his lips. Aware of the audience around her, she turned and looked for some salvation, some reprieve from this tortuous event.

She lost sight of Evrardin and now the prince had slipped into the shadows. Maybe she could bother Lord Cofsi again, though she thought better of it. Instead, she awkwardly made her way to the long oak table filled with luxurious desserts before stealing a few. She hovered about the masquerade for a good while longer, mingling with courtiers and desperate to go back to her bed.

It wasn’t until the sun got close to rising that she finally was set free from boring conversations and could set off toward her rooms. She reached a hand up under her curls as she scurried down the halls, her neck irritated. The spot where her nape met her hairline tingled with soreness. The exact place the prince’s hand had lingered.

Mara wandered the halls, still unsure exactly where her rooms were located. Her hand now trailed a windowsill, its open glass skimming out over the ocean. She let out a sigh of solitude.

She had wanted to explore more of the castle, but when she began edging down corridor after corridor, her feet wouldn’t let her continue. The halls appeared so dim—so treacherous—some of them looking like they led into the blackened night. The castle certainly needed some renovation. The lingering depths haunted her, telling her to go back. The cobblestones and wood were shrouded in shadow, desolate, and crying out. Cobwebs stitching together cragged stone.

She thought herself lucky when she happened down the wing where she resided, her heart swelling with solace. No guard stood stationed outside her door, all of them back at the masquerade. Good , she thought, she could still have her peace.

As if the gods were taunting her, her tranquility shattered at the sound of shuffling footsteps and a strangled male grunt rippling in her ear, framing her in place. It sounded like it was coming from within the walls of her chambers.

She gently pushed the door to her room open, gasping when she saw the blood pooled on the ground near her bed. The viscous liquid trickled between the floorboards, soaking the wood into a sore shade of mahogany.

Evrardin glanced up at her intrusion, his face unwavering even as he held a man dead beneath his palms. He straddled the body, his tunic covered in blood, some in his hair, but most drenching his hands. Her mirror stood tall behind them, the back of Evrardin’s boot grazing it. Its glass had been splattered in blood and Mara’s heart sank.

She darted toward him, stumbling like a newborn deer, and his eyes briefly flashed, like he couldn’t decipher what she was doing.

He shook his head, recentering his attention on the dead body. With a chafed tone, he drawled, “I’ll be out of your chambers in just a moment, Princess —” His adjuration fell short, his voice raising an octave like he was asking a question, her small hands tentatively turning his head toward her.

“Are you hurt?”

Evrardin looked like he wanted to roar a laugh, but he was too astonished to do so. His fingers released the corpse, letting it sag limply to her floor. “No,” he said tersely. Confused. Unsure.

Her eyes welled with disquiet and Evrardin gave her a hateful grimace. She glanced at his torso, his pale linen shirt now a deep crimson. “You’re covered in blood,” she stuttered, her words clipped and broken at the end.

He knitted his eyebrows when she sucked in a sharp fleet of air, like recognition dawned on him. “It’s not mine—” Her hands shook by her side, Ev’s eyes tracing them. “Mara,” he breathed, standing up to his full height.

Her chest rose and fell in hectic movements, the air moving, but none seemed to take purchase long enough in her lungs to work. She froze in terror at the man desecrated on her floors, his eyes still open in shock. Evrardin’s voice rang in her ear but she couldn’t make him out. Images of her mother flashed in her head, stealing all the air from her every time she drew a breath in.

“Mara,” he said more sternly, finally gaining her regard when he grabbed her hands forcefully and placed them against his chest.

She looked up at him like a timid rabbit, tears in the distance, her thoughts somewhere else.

“I’m fine,” he all but snarled.

She nodded, biting her lip to hold the tears at bay. She cursed herself for having a meltdown over the idea of Evrardin dying like her mother had, his body torn as he got caught between the realms, blood… everywhere .

“Breathe,” he coaxed, his voice cracking like it wasn’t used to talking this delicately.

Her jaw clenched, her fingers tightening in his shirt before she truly looked at the captain—not through him. To stare at him for what he was, not the memory of her mother. “I just…” Her words lodged in her throat. “My mother… I?—”

He shook his head. His grip tightened against her skin and heat waves ebbed inside her veins. “Not my blood,” he said.

Was the ill-famed captain trying to soothe her?

When she seemed to steady, he gave her a long stare before dropping her hands and spinning away from her. He effortlessly heaved the man’s corpse into his arms and over his shoulder, the blood leaking from an unseen wound.

Mara might have been able to tuck away her past, but she still looked at him in shock and confusion. Something held him there a moment longer. “Someone from the Icewoods.” He cleared his throat, Mara’s gaze blank as she stood silently. “Was comin’ for revenge on Cas. Guess that cunt meant somethin’ to them.”

The way he referred to Sir Orion, not even mentioning his name, made her lips twitch.

When he moved again, she called his name quietly. He stopped but didn’t turn toward her. “Would he have killed me if I was in my rooms?”

Ev adjusted the man’s weight on his shoulder. “I don’t doubt he’d have tried.”

As he left her room, she realized she should have asked why he was in the vicinity of her chambers in the first place.