Page 29

Sav

R obin laughed and laughed, and I would have soundly cursed him for laughing at our situation, but my uncle was never one to shirk courtly duty and he’d beheaded creatures for far less severe offenses than speaking disrespectfully to someone in a position of power.

Although he was only sitting in the highest seat in Faerie in Mab’s absence, he certainly outranked me at present.

Much had changed in Faerie in my banishment. What had my uncle done to gain this seat and what did it mean for my chance to receive aid?

Something flared to life in my chest as my gaze traced the broad line of Jack’s shoulders.

When I had been cowed by my family, he’d chosen that moment to show courage.

Warmth radiated from Jack as he stood facing my uncle in a foreign land, and I reached for his hand, squeezing it, meeting my uncle’s gaze as I waited for his next words.

It had been a small thing to stand up for me, and certainly Jack didn’t know the threat my uncle posed, but none of that mattered to my heart. It was swelling, pulsing in time to some invisible tune that seemed to sing whenever he was near. If I wasn’t careful, I’d listen to it.

“Go, prepare yourselves in the proper attire,” Robin said. “Dress for the evening. Tonight, you will sup with us and attend my ball. In the morning, you will return to make your request.”

I dipped my chin and Jack bowed. We backed away, not giving my uncle our backs in a show of deference.

My step was light as I dragged Jack to our rooms. If I impressed him tonight—proved to him I was still a member of the court—there was a chance he would grant my request. He could have sent me back to Earth the moment I set foot in the throne room.

Instead, he had given me this one chance. Because of Jack.

“Hazel will have someone appointed to assist you. Bathe and find something nice to wear for dinner.” I spun to face him, giddiness riding my every word. “Jack. This is important. The impression we make tonight will decide what happens next. Do your best to blend in.”

Jack’s bright green eyes searched my face for a long moment. “I won’t let you down, Sav.”

A nervous flutter erupted in my stomach, and I swallowed, backing away from his door. It was anticipation of returning to a fae court, seeing my uncle, the hope that we would have our army. It was not Jack.

In my room, I sat on the massive bed beside the fireplace, running a hand over the soft woolen blanket—forest green with golden vines stitched along its edges—magicked to represent my court’s colors.

A minor detail meant to put the occupant at ease, but it only reminded me of a home I wasn’t welcome in.

I rubbed my arms, staring at the low fire.

Once, I would have flicked a finger and set the wood ablaze.

Now, with hardly any magic at my disposal, I was forced to stand, grab a poker, and stoke the fire by hand.

I stared into the embers, lost in my own thoughts.

Jack needed a bath, and a shave, and dinner wouldn’t be for some time.

That left me with a racing mind and growing anxiety.

If my uncle refused to assist me, if he sent me away, there was only one other place I could go.

Even the heat of a toasty fire wasn’t enough to keep the chill leaching into my belly at bay.

It had been three years since I’d been home.

Three years since my magic had been bound, and she had cast me out of Faerie.

It was the last place I wanted to go, but if my uncle wouldn’t help me, what other choice did I have?

When my skin was blisteringly hot, lips chapped from the heat, I left the fire, went to the boudoir and slid aside several pale blue gowns.

The court adorned every wardrobe with clothes magically designed to fit your exact measurements, but they were also in winter court colors.

My uncle would expect me to wear something that represented Spring. Even if they had cast me out.

Reaching in the back, I pulled a dark green gown off its hanger, tugging the rope beside me and a fae with ice blue skin and bright green eyes rushed through a door beside me, bobbing into a curtsey.

“Yes, Lady?”

“Would you help me dress…”

“Corylus, Lady.”

“Corylus. And would you help with my hair?” She looked up, surprise registering on her face as she took in my round ears. She recovered quickly, nodding and I undressed, letting the powder blue gown I had borrowed from the bathing chamber fall to the floor.

I stepped into velvety soft fabric and held out my arms. Corylus worked quickly, fastening each button up my back and led me to a table in the room’s corner.

“How would you like it?” she asked, leaving off the lady this time.

“Half up. Ringlets. Is that still the style in Winter?”

Corylus’s eyes met mine in the mirror. “You’ve been here before?”

“Only a few times,” I said, glancing down to hide the emotion brimming behind my eyes as memories of the time I’d spent here rushed to the surface, threatening to send me into a dark place.

Once, years ago, I sat in a chair very like this one while someone dressed me for the evening.

Then, I’d sat in giddy anticipation of the evening to come.

An evening of dancing in the arms of the male I loved.

Stolen kisses in a dark alcove around the ballroom and lovemaking in a bed that would be ours when we were wed.

I laced my fingers together in my lap, working to quell the memories of Bracken, of Foxglove’s betrayal, of my broken heart. I stuffed them down, swallowing the lump rising in my throat. Nothing good would come of revisiting those memories.

“There you are,” she said. “A princess if I ever I saw one.”

“Mab, I hope not,” I said, looking up. It was polite.

A court gesture meant as a compliment, but it was too close to a fate I never wanted to accept.

Atop the crown of my head, my hair was woven into thick braids and looped around the back, leaving several strands to curl around my face and neck.

It had been three years since I’d dressed for a royal dinner; three years since I’d worn my hair in the fae style and dressed in court finery.

My eyes found Corylus’s. “It’s a masterpiece. ”

Her cheeks darkened to a shade of navy, and she dipped into another curtsey. “Will that be all, Lady?”

I nodded.

“Wait, Corylus.”

She turned in the doorway.

“I give you this comb in appreciation.” I pulled the pearl comb I’d brought to the human realm from my bag and handed it to her.

It was too great a gift for a low fae performing her duty, but I’d spent three years among them on Earth and I could no longer see them as our inferiors, our burden. We were all equal.

Her cheeks flushed again, and she bobbed low, tucking it into a pocket before darting through the door.

In the long corridor leading from my room to the dining hall, I moved on slippered feet, a chill ghosting over my skin.

The last time I’d been here, I had been prepared to give my heart and my hand to Bracken, a male I believed was deserving of it.

That thought sent another spear of pain through my chest.

“Wow.”

I spun, heat crawling up my neck as Jack strode toward me, dressed head to toe in black, a navy sash hugging his hip, golden threads adorning the sleeves of his coat and breeches.

A cream silk shirt peeked between the folds of his jacket, accentuating his tanned skin.

His raven hair was tied back, exposing his strong jaw.

My gaze met his, and a spark of electricity jolted down my spine. Those eyes were inhuman.

“You look…Like a princess.” He reached for my hand, lifting it to his mouth, but instead of pressing a kiss to my knuckles, warm fingers twisted my hand, and he leaned down, lips grazing my wrist. The thrum of my heartbeat against his mouth picked up speed, and I tugged my hand from his hold.

He released it easily, bright eyes devouring me as I stepped back.

“I’m not.”

The heat in his gaze simmered, and his brows furrowed. “What?”

“I’m not a princess.”

He held out his elbow, and I slid a shimmering gloved hand through the crook of his arm. “I meant, you look beautiful.”

There it was again, that word. He’d said it before, even if he was delirious.

I tucked a loose ringlet behind my ear, the side of my face burning under his stare.

He was a human; and not just any human, the son of my enemy, and that made him my enemy, too.

I couldn’t let a pretty face and court finery distract me from that fact.

We reached the dining hall, and a thrill of nervous energy ran through me.

Jack’s arm squeezed my hand as the doors swung open and he ushered me in.

I moved into the room, leaning into his warmth, and nearly fainted as the smell of all that decadent fae food invaded my senses.

It had been too long since I tasted the flaky pastries, smooth, rich jams and flavorful spices of Faerie.

I released Jack, slipping into the seat beside Hazel—as I had every time I visited Winter.

At least there was one friendly face in this place, even if we hadn’t stayed in touch after my last visit to her court.

My gaze traveled over the lush spread, mouth watering as I imagined the divine flavors that would soon explode across my tongue.

“Sit by me, Jack.”

Snapping out of my food-induced daze, I glanced up to see Jack move past me to Hazel’s other side. My appetite vanished, gaze narrowing as Hazel’s bare hand landed on Jack’s leg, sliding up his thigh and squeezing.