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Chapter seven

Rendezvous

Zayne

It was torture, watching Ayla with the Starlit King.

Even her blast of power, this starlight, hadn’t been enough to stop him. Every step, every twirl twisted in my heart with the pounding reminder that I couldn’t do something so simple as be with her.

Instead, she was in his arms. The monster who I once trusted. It made my blood boil.

This was the fae king who had promised Eleanor and me safety only to exploit our youth at the first chance he had. And yet, the crowd gravitated toward him as if his opinion was the most important in the room. Even if Mer hosted this event, he was its leader.

She couldn’t have refused him when he’d singled her out, and I wished Iona had given her something plainer to wear, because dressed like this, she sparkled as brightly as him.

Everyone was staring.

She was young, shiny, and new. I cursed Rhett’s plan to call Ayla his Valterran cousin, because once word got out, they’d all shower her with questions about the humans.

They would feast upon her beauty, her grace, and her knowledge of what fae goods Valterra would value most. They would eat her up and leave her empty, taking her for themselves.

But Ayla was mine.

If her powers lay in starlight, so be it, we would still find our way. Our hearts were bound by a tether, our relationship forged by trials everyone refused to see.

Except I couldn’t claim her from the shadows. Not now.

Even when the music stopped and she was finally released from his dance, I didn’t unclench my fists.

With only a glance in my direction—more than she should have spared me—Ayla accepted a glass of wine and meandered through the curious fae with a demure smile and shy conversation.

Through it all I watched, I listened. I plotted our fastest way out, ready if anything took a dangerous turn.

At long last, she escaped the crowd, a glass of wine in her hand as she leaned against a pillar. Silently, I found a place beside her cast in shadows.

I lifted my voice above my darkness. “Everyone seems to like you.”

She didn’t look at me. She barely moved her lips as she held the glass to her mouth and replied, “Any other day, I might have enjoyed it. But here...” she shivered. “I don’t know who to trust.”

“You’re smart to be cautious.”

“Will there ever come a time when I don’t need to be careful?”

I didn’t have a good answer for that.

She yawned dramatically. “Is it too early for me to leave? Maybe we could sneak out together.”

My heart raced at the thought of taking her into my shadows. “I’ll gladly hide you away.”

“We can search Calindra’s rooms while she’s busy.”

“Agreed.”

Playing up the dramatics, she tilted back the rest of her drink.

She handed the empty glass to a servant and waved farewell to Rhett.

After a reassuring glance at Ninti, who was chasing Rimu on the outskirts of the pavilion, Ayla wandered in the direction of our rooms, as if she was truly ready to retire.

From the shadows, I trailed behind her. Unable to wait another second, I reached out, allowing my hand to brush hers.

She smiled, the sweet sight a reminder that no matter how distant the shadows placed me, she still only had eyes for me.

We walked through the courtyard, retracing our steps, and once she reached the darkest spot, I set my hand on her elbow and guided her aside. I brought her into my shadows, holding her so close our bodies almost touched.

She inhaled deeply. “Impressive. I don’t remember your shadows being so impervious before.”

“I suspect it has to do with everything that happened in Gloom.”

She touched my chest and sighed, looking at her hand. “I hope this stops flaring up soon though.”

I leaned closer. “Is it really starlight?”

“So he says.” She glanced away.

“What do you think?”

She frowned. “It’s possible. When he touched my magic, it was like he could control it.”

Zayne nodded seriously. “How’s your control now?”

“Better, I think.” She studied her hand. “After he directed my magic, it makes a little more sense.”

“Small blessings.”

“Regardless…” She shook her head, shifting her skirt to the side to expose a dagger holstered on her upper thigh. “I’ve got other weapons. Ones I actually know how to use.”

My knees weakened at the sight of her skirt bunched aside. When she flattened it out, it did nothing to hide her sharpening essence, spicy as ever.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you snuck out,” I admitted. “It was miserable, watching you with him.”

She blinked at me. “You’re jealous?”

“Of anyone dancing with you? Always.”

“Good.” She pressed her palm to my chest and leaned closer as if we were two lovers hidden away and not a pair of palace infiltrators.

I growled, my lips moments from hers. “You’re teasing me.”

“Maybe I’ve decided I’m ready for more.”

She didn’t mention the tether, but the promise of more remained, flooding my imagination with delicious possibilities. I traced a finger down the length of her neck.

She leaned closer, giving me the lightest of kisses. “But first, we have business to attend to.”

“Fine.” Still teasing, my thumb trailed over her nipple, and I treasured the sharp intake of her breath. “Stay close to me. I can dampen sounds, but the less noise we make, the more discreet we’ll be.”

We moved together, staying close to buildings where the shadows were thickest. Hand in hand and wrapped in shadows, we wandered to the royal wing. There, several apartments surrounded an open-air courtyard, a grand pool at its center, its tiled base a mosaic depicting the history Mer.

Several guards patrolled the area, none of them noticing us, and I led Ayla into a narrow alley between two of the buildings. “I’m headed to the Underworld,” I explained. “I’ll be able to see the shard from there.”

“I’ll watch.” Ayla nodded, her gaze darting about.

My awareness settled beyond, and I paused, examining the corner of my cloak that contained the shattered shard. It gave off the slightest of purples, and I focused on it, deepening my connection to its essence.

Satisfied, I looked about, searching for a similar sight, seeking out vibrations that matched the shattered shard until… there.

The shards came into focus, and my chest tightened.

“There are multiple shards here,” I told Ayla, my voice sounding far away.

“More than one? Are you sure?”

My hand heavy, I pointed to the third door from the left, my mind still halfway in the Underworld. “One of them is in there.” Next, I indicated a second door not that far from the first. “And another is in there.”

“Then we’ll just have to break into both apartments.”

“And there’s more.”

Her breath shortened. “What do you mean?”

I paused, double-checking what I was seeing, but there was no doubt. “There are more shards back in the guest wing.”

“Oh.”

This was more than I had bargained for. It was a relief to know we were so close to our goal. And also, we had so much more to do in Mer than planned.

I found Ayla tense beside me as I resurfaced with the living. “Everything okay?” I asked.

She shook it off. “I always get nervous when you’re in the Underworld. I’m still afraid you’ll get trapped down there.”

“Never again,” I promised her.

Her lip quivered, but her gaze darted back toward the royal wing and the circling guards. “We’ll just take this one shard at a time, starting here.”

“Agreed,” I said, grabbing her wrist and preparing to shadow-step.

She pulled away. “What about the wards? Iona said—”

I shook my head. “I think I can work around them.” My skills were so much stronger than they used to be.

The shadows were quick to obey and easy to manipulate, and twisting them just right, the ward could be bypassed. Soon we had vanished from the courtyard to stand just within the apartment door.

Ayla followed as I led the way deeper into the rooms, drawn by the source of the purple light. The living space was filled with stiff ornate furniture, the walls cluttered with shelving that sealed countless items behind glass, including a collar similar to the one Calindra had sent to Inarus.

Ayla glanced at it and then to me. “I hope they’re not making more of those.”

I didn’t answer, leading the way to the back of the apartment. “The shard’s this way.”

We walked to the back of the suite and passed by two bedrooms, one far smaller than the other and decorated with fresh flowers and cozy blankets, the room at odds with the rest of the apartment.

Ayla paused at the door with a frown on her lips.

“Iona’s room? She really is different from her mother. ”

“I hope so,” I agreed.

Together, we reached an office at the back of the apartment. Thick curtains covered the back of the room where a beautiful window should be. Ayla approached the large desk on the opposite wall.

“This is Calindra’s,” she confirmed, indicating an unfinished letter on the desk. “Where is the shard?”

I pointed to the floor beneath an ornate chaise lounge that never looked sat in. “I think it’s under the floorboards.” I pushed the couch to the side, and we lowered to the ground, our fingers spidering in the search for loose boards.

“Found it,” she said, gripping a panel and shifting it out of place.

Outside, I heard the mumble of voices.

“Quickly,” Ayla whispered.

I reached inside, my hand searching.

The voices grew louder.

My heart raced as my fingers brushed something rough. Shifting, I curled my hand around the object, pulling it free, and purple light flashed across my vision. A rush of Gloom’s stagnation filled me, slowing my breath.

Ayla shoved the floorboard back into place, jolting me back to reality. I shoved the shard into the pocket with the shattered shard, then helped her heave the couch back into its place.

Footsteps neared as I grabbed Ayla’s hand, prepared to shadow-step out of the suite, but I paused at the sight of Ayla, her ear tilted toward the long hallway.

“Mother, I...” Iona said.