Page 36

Kate opened her eyes, and what she saw in the mirror stole her breath.

Two iridescent purple wings trimmed in black edges, like those of a giant butterfly, formed behind her back.

She had wings . More importantly, she didn’t recognize her own face.

She knew it had to be her face, but when she looked at herself directly, she saw only a mystery.

“Now, don’t try to use your wings. They are simply for show. And this will help as well. We use the masks mainly as a tease, but all the Fae tonight will be wearing glamour.” Eudora placed a silver mask over Kate’s face and tied it with black ribbons.

“Now you’re ready for a Fae ball.”

Kate, lost in butterfly dreams, stared at herself in the mirror, still not recognizing her own face, and wished she didn’t have to hide from Roan.

What if he could see her being a part of his world and not just as some pet?

Would he fall in love with her then? A tear dripped down her cheek, and Eudora gently wiped it away.

“Don’t cry, Kate. Please . Mortal tears are too powerful to waste, and they will give you away if any of my kind see them.”

“I’m sorry, you’ve been so nice.”

Eudora’s gaze softened with infinite gentleness. “Magic is easy when it’s done for others. At least, it is for me.”

Kate smiled through watery eyes. “You really are a princess. You’re how I imagine a real princess should act.”

“I shall take that as the compliment I believe you intended it to be. Now dry your eyes, Kate of the Winslows. It’s time to conquer the Twilight Court.”

Her only wish at that moment was to capture Roan’s heart.

* * *

A ball. Another damned ball. Now of all times.

Eudora was either mad or brilliant. Word of the burning of the dark woods and the murder of Lady Kyma’s sisters had sent the Unseelie court into a spiral of terror and fear, and all were on edge.

The murder of trees and their guardian dryads was unthinkable.

Not in a thousand years had such a crime been committed in his lands.

Even the Fae in his realm who possessed the darker gifts were haunted by the actions Culan had taken.

Only Eudora would have had the foresight to throw a ball to distract his courtiers. Roan hated balls, hated dancing with women who vied for the position of his queen consort and the power that came with it.

Eudora adored the romance and intrigue that accompanied events like these, but Roan had never cared for such things... until Kate. He now found himself wanting the strangest things, saying the strangest things... and she’d penetrated the armor around his heart like no one else ever had.

He’d intended to be far away from this nonsense, but pragmatism and something else had held him back from his usual flight.

He told himself that by attending tonight, he could gauge the disposition of his court, something he would need to know once he and the war council declared war upon the Seelie.

But there was something else he couldn’t quite explain.

It felt like an invisible nudge that kept him here, and he could not pull away.

Roan lingered in the shadows of the ballroom, half hidden from view as he watched the Fae lords and ladies spin across the black-and-white tiled floor. Will-o’-the-wisps illuminated the room, and pixies flitted through the silver chandeliers, teasing the wisps.

A Fae named Clinda strummed a harp, filling the air with music.

Several others held string instruments or flutes and joined her in creating a symphony of enchanting sound.

Clinda blew Roan a kiss when she noticed him watching her.

The kiss became a shimmering flash of light from her lips and turned into a bright-blue bird that flew overhead and circled Roan before flying out the nearest open back door.

One of Clinda’s gifts was the ability to take affection within her soul and turn it into wild and beautiful birds to fill the skies with birdsong.

She also was gifted with the ability to play enchanted music that would inspire mortals and Fae alike to dream impossible, wonderful dreams. Many of humankind’s greatest works of art had been painted by a mortal listening to Clinda play.

Turning his back, Roan slipped out the balcony door and faced the great labyrinth that surrounded and shielded the palace from harm.

Moonlight rose above the windswept walls below him, casting black shades in a dizzying pattern.

Kate was out there with her troll friend and that grumpy kobold.

He wanted to go to her right then, to have her in his arms. He wondered what she would say this time, given their last encounter.

Would she continue to be guarded? Would she beg to be released, demand yet again that he let her brother go yet again?

Or perhaps she would try to woo him in the hopes of gaining some advantage?

Or perhaps she would simply open her arms to him and he would take her straight to bed?

He grinned at the possibilities, then caught himself.

It seemed she had a strong hold over his emotions.

Stronger than he’d ever expected, because he wanted her any way he could have her.

He would take her quarreling with him, he would take her wiles and her wit, he would take her tears and her need to be held.

He would take her kisses and give his own, and he would listen to her talk all night, every night.

From the moment he’d met her, Kate had exceeded every expectation he’d had of what it would mean to keep her here with him. She’d touched him—deeply—to the point that he couldn’t think unless those thoughts included her.

She was not some simple human to collect from the human realm as a prize and keep as a lover.

She was Kate— his Kate—in a way that seemed far too infinite to define with words alone.

He wasn’t even sure what that meant. He was the ruler of the Unseelie, master of the labyrinth.

Whatever he desired, he claimed. And yet he realized he could not claim Kate unless she wished for it.

Tapping into and unleashing her desires was easy and enjoyable.

.. but he was no closer to what he truly desired from her.

He wanted all of her, not just her body.

He wanted his little mortal’s heart, her soul, and he would battle whatever he must to prove to her that she could trust him.

Roan gripped the white marble railing as he gazed out at the labyrinth.

Long ago, he’d visited the heart of the labyrinth.

It had been a quiet place, a peaceful place.

.. a garden where anything could bloom.

He had not been able to stay long. The peace and the quiet had unsettled him greatly.

It had been too tempting to stay in that place where he felt safe and quiet. He had never returned.

Kate felt like the center of the labyrinth.

Was that why he was so drawn to her? She possessed violent storms of emotions and heartbreaking memories, some of which he’d stolen to give her the same sort of peace that she gave him.

Even now, those memories glowed from inside the crystal that hung around his neck.

He could never tell her what he had done.

She would never forgive him. He’d stolen some of those memories because he’d been jealous.

.. and he’d wanted to protect her from the things he’d seen in the memories that hurt her.

He’d done it because she’d become precious to him.

Humans were so outspoken when they believed themselves to be wronged, even if it was for their benefit.

He conjured a silver orb of light, which glowed in front of him as he sought out a vision.

“Show me Kate,” he whispered. The cloud within the orb did not change. “Show me Kate,” he repeated, more harshly. Again, nothing. Curious. Worrying. He looked out at the labyrinth. “Show me the kobold and the troll.”

The troll and the kobold sat in the sand beneath the moonlight, a cave entrance at their backs and the vast dark sea before them. Kate was not with them. Fear struck Roan’s heart like a mortal blow. Where was she? He peered more closely at the beach in the vision of the orb.

“The sea...” he murmured. They were by the sea, which was outside of the labyrinth, which meant Kate was not in the labyrinth. The orb could not show her because of the magical wards he’d placed upon the palace to prevent them from being spied upon, which meant she must be in the palace.

Roan dismissed the orb. He turned to the ballroom full of dancing courtiers.

He needed to find his little human and make sure she was safe.

He also needed to know how she’d found her way inside.

It should have been impossible for any creature that was not Unseelie to enter.

If she could breach its defenses, then the Seelie might as well.

He left the darkness of the jasmine-scented night and entered the ballroom.

Dancers moved out of his way as he crossed the room.

He alone among his people was uncloaked.

It was the custom to disguise oneself with a Fae glamour for a ball, but he was not hiding tonight because he was not here to play games with the ladies of the court.

At the opposite end, the great doors leading into the ballroom opened.

A young Fae lady stood alone in the doorway, a silver mask covering her face.

The curve-hugging bodice of her purple gown was embroidered with silver Celtic knots, and loose, flowing sleeves hung from her shoulders.

Her purple wings, tipped with black, shimmered behind her.

She glowed with a light unlike any silvery opalescent shine the other Sidhe possessed.

He let the wild form of his owl creep into his eyes.

“Show me the truth,” he whispered as the owl’s vision changed his blue irises to the near black of a barn owl.