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I love you, I want to say to Aerix, but the words won’t come.

Not in front of everyone. Not when I don’t know if the words that make him so vulnerable are ones he’s comfortable having them hear. So instead, I lean forward and kiss him again, hoping it can get across what words can’t right now.

He pulls me closer, his mouth moving against mine with deliberate possession. His wings curl around me like a shield, and a breeze stirs around us as I kiss him back with equal fervor, my body arching into his.

When we break apart, I’m breathing hard, my lips stinging from the pressure of his.

The crowd’s expressions range from fascination, to disgust, to grudging respect.

Isla catches my eye from across the square and raises her goblet in a subtle toast. Aurora stands beside the king, her beautiful face unreadable, but there’s something in her eyes that might be approval.

Queen Ravenna watches with an intense, calculating stare, as if reevaluating everything she thought she knew about her son—and about me.

And then Prince Malakai is striding toward us, a smug smirk on his sharp features. Like all fae, he has an unnatural grace, his midnight eyes studying me and Aerix like he’s not sure what to make of us.

But it’s the woman at his side who catches my attention. She’s tall and regal, with pale skin that glows under the moonlight. Unlike the other fae in the courtyard, her wings aren’t out.

“Brother,” Malakai greets Aerix, his gaze flickering to Lady Reesia’s body with casual disinterest. “What an entertaining evening you’ve provided us so far tonight.”

Aerix’s arm tightens around my waist. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he says, a warning breeze blowing around us.

The woman beside Malakai studies me with a curious intensity, her lips curved in a smile that seems genuinely warm.

“You haven’t introduced us to your consort,” she says, the final word rolling off her tongue with deliberate emphasis.

Malakai smirks. “Forgive my rudeness. Zoey, this is Evangeline. Evangeline, Zoey. ”

I stare at him in confusion. Because minus that one time in the throne room when I first arrived in the Night Court, I’ve never even seen Malakai. Yet, he’s addressing me like we’re… not quite equals, but like I’m something more than Aerix’s human pet.

“Nice to meet you,” I say to Evangeline, trying and failing to get a read on her. There’s something different about her. I just can’t place what it is…

“The pleasure is mine,” she says, her eyes never leaving my face. “It’s been too long since someone shook the foundations of this court.”

There’s a weight to her words, as if she expects me to know the meaning behind them.

“Evangeline was once like you,” Malakai explains, his voice carrying a hint of pride. “Human. Mortal. Fragile.” His fingers trace her back, at the place where the base of her wings should be. “Now, she’s turned.”

Understanding washes over me in a cold, clarifying wave.

Evangline was human. Malakai turned her into a vampire.

“Do you have wings?” I ask her, unable to curb my curiosity.

My question elicits a small smile from her. “No wings,” she says. “And no ice magic. But I do, however, command air.” She flicks her wrist and creates a breeze around us, although she releases it quickly, as if she doesn’t want to show off.

Still, there’s confidence in her posture. Power that radiates from her like a physical force. She belongs here—not as a pet or plaything, but as an equal to the night fae.

And I realize with startling clarity: that’s exactly what I want to be.

“Your display at the fountain was magnificent,” Evangeline continues, stepping closer and touching my arm with cool fingers. “The first time I drank from Malakai, I thought my heart would burst from the power of it.”

Malakai reaches for her and pulls her closer, wrapping his arm protectively around her waist. “You took to it well, my dove,” he murmurs in her ear, tracing the shell of it with his tongue before turning back to Aerix.

“I was skeptical at first, but after seeing your consort tonight, I approve. After all, true brothers always stay together. Especially when it comes to recognizing... potential.”

Something dangerous flashes in Aerix’s eyes. A warning, perhaps, or acknowledgment of some shared secret.

Wind whips around us in a sudden, violent burst.

“We appreciate your support,” Aerix says, but before Malakai can respond, the crowd parts again as King Thanatos approaches.

Aurora follows two steps behind, like a beautiful shadow.

Malakai and Evangeline step back, bowing their heads in deference, and leave us alone with the king.

Thanatos stops in front of me, his tall form looming. But unlike when I first arrived at the Night Court, I don’t shrink away. Instead, I stand firm, my expression carefully blank, channeling every shard of hard-won confidence I’ve earned since arriving in this deadly, beautiful realm.

“Well,” he says, his voice like gravel wrapped in silk, “what have we here?”

His fingers reach out to cup my chin, tilting my face to examine Lady Reesia’s blood on my skin. His touch is cold and clinical—nothing like the possessive heat of Aerix’s.

I don’t flinch. Not this time. Instead, I hold his gaze, refusing to look away. Because I’m not the terrified girl he examined in the throne room that first day, praying he didn’t claim me as his pet.

I’m something else entirely now.

“Your hair is exquisite tonight,” he observes, and much to my relief, he doesn’t try to touch it. “Like inky starlight in the darkness of our court. ”

“Aerix styled it, Your Majesty,” I reply, careful to keep my voice steady.

His lips curl into a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “You wear our darkness well,” he finally says, releasing my chin and turning to Aerix. “Keep her and do whatever you want with her.”

It’s not approval—not exactly. It’s permission. As if I’m a finely wrapped weapon he’s allowing Aerix to wield. Not a woman, not a force, but a prize.

But it’s enough. It’s a recognition of my place in this court, however grudging.

With a final appraising look, the king turns and walks away.

Aurora gives me a subtle nod before following him. Good job, it seems to say. You learned well.

The moment they disappear, Aerix pulls me against him, his wings curving forward to cocoon us in shadowed privacy.

“They all see it now,” he murmurs for me—and only for me. “You were never meant to be anything but mine.”

His words sink into me, as potent as his blood and as binding as his magic. And as I look around at the night fae who now watch me with cautious respect instead of open disdain, I can’t help but think he’s right.

I was made for this darkness. For him. For everything the Night Court represents.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.