Chapter Nineteen
Ciara had remained cryptic on the specifics of the Midnight Feast, but based on the dress she’d chosen for me and the fundamental understanding of what an orgy entailed, I decided it might be best to be surprised rather than chicken out.
As promised, she had glamoured the dress to instantly transform it into something that fit my body. Although “fit” might be an overstatement. Not that its raciness was from a lack of magic so much as a lack of fabric. The gown consisted entirely of sheer layers of black tulle that swished across the floor with each step I took despite my five-inch stilettos. But other than length, there was nothing remotely modest about it. Its sheerness allowed nothing to be worn underneath it, and the only discretion it offered was by way of embroidered leaves that overlapped my breasts and my hips, a few fronds draping past my knees in various shades of black and bottle green. I couldn’t decide which message it sent: that I was available or that I belonged to the wild, verdant heart of the Nether Court itself.
Every head in the room turned as we entered, and many of them bowed immediately when they saw the princess at my side. The guest of honor had opted for a rose-colored gown that gathered at the neck and flowed in a long, sensuous column down her body. Its color offset her pale, luminous skin, making the darkness of her hair and the subtle pink of her lips all that more stunning. But more than a few eyes tarried on me, including, I realized with a shiver, Oberon’s.
He was standing near the entrance, deep in conversation with Sirius, the young Astral Court prince. A smile spread across Oberon’s face as our eyes met, his entire being seeming to glow from within from the light court magic smoldering in his veins. Sirius, on the other hand, shot me a goofy grin.
Ciara noticed them looking at us and elbowed me in the ribs. Grabbing my hand, she dragged me over. “Oberon, I heard you met Cate, but I believe Sirius was being shy.”
Sirius didn’t look nearly as shy now. He straightened, showcasing his broad shoulders and impressive build.
“It’s a pleasure.” His voice was as deep and smooth as his flawless brown skin. He reached for my hand, and I allowed him to take it with some hesitation, blushing a little as he brought it to his lips. Another gentleman. Apparently, I had just needed to look to the light court for one. Who knew?
“It’s a pity one of you is already spoken for.” Oberon smiled at Ciara. “Best wishes, by the way.”
“They haven’t called the banns yet. I’m still single tonight,” Ciara teased, but I heard the undercurrent of trepidation as she spoke.
Oberon turned his full attention to me, amber eyes gleaming. “In that case, perhaps we won’t have to fight over Cate.”
Sirius and Ciara shared a look as she stepped a little closer to me. “No one is fighting tonight.”
That sounded like wishful thinking, especially with the number of armed guards stationed around the perimeter of the ballroom. I was about to point that out and then defuse the sexual charge to the conversation with a new topic when a familiar weight settled against the small of my back.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” his dark voice rumbled.
I hadn’t seen Lachlan approach, but my entire body was aware of him instantly. I dared to look up as he stepped to my side. His gaze whispered across my body, drinking in the see-through fabric of my gown and the provocative placement of its adornments inch by inch. I was sure I imagined the slide of his throat, the way his eyes shadowed, the shift as he angled himself between me and the others. He leaned closer, lowering his voice, although I had no idea why. The other fae could clearly hear him. “I don’t remember picking out this dress.”
“Yes, thank the gods.” Ciara rolled her eyes and jabbed her brother with a perfectly manicured fingernail. “Were you picking out dresses for the Midnight Feast or a debutante ball? I already promised poor Cate I would take her shopping tomorrow so she has something decent to wear.”
Her brother ignored her entirely, bending farther so that his lips grazed the shell of my ear. My breath hitched as he murmured, “Mouthwatering,” then pressed a kiss to my neck.
I gawked at him, but he only smirked, as if that masculine arrogance that got under my skin so easily was second nature and not something he could help. But now it wormed its way deeper, lower, not stopping until I found myself shifting to squeeze my thighs together against the sensation.
Oberon studied us. “She would make an exquisite offering. Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”
The request was enough to free me of my daze. I looked to Ciara, but she only shook her head slightly.
“Unfortunately, I already have everything I want,” Lachlan said. His hand slipped from my back then, and I fought a surge of disappointment—until his fingers laced with mine and tugged. “There are more people I’d like you to meet.”
First a kiss and now he was holding my hand? He’s marking his territory, I reminded myself, but I was so rattled by the gesture that it took me a minute to remember why I was here. “I should stay with Ciara.”
His hand tightened around mine. “This is her night,” he said. “I’m sure she’ll spend it wisely.”
Sure enough, she’d slipped off to visit with another group. She spotted me, and I raised my brows in an unspoken question. She shooed me with one hand and winked.
“I won’t let anything happen to her,” Lachlan reminded me, echoing what she had said earlier, and despite the uncertainty I felt about him, I knew he was telling the truth.
He led me away, deeper into the belly of the crowd. I suspected this had been Ciara’s plan all along. The reaction she’d intended to provoke. Was it her revenge on Lachlan to play matchmaker? If so, she was going to be very disappointed.
We paused as a server stepped into our path, holding a gold tray laden with champagne coupes. Lachlan reached for two, passing one to me. I took it gratefully, already overheated in the crowd—at least that was what I was telling myself. But the first taste of the drink on my lips made my eyes widen. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever tasted. It was much sweeter, like pure nectar, with none of the fire of whiskey or the warm fullness of wine. I found myself gulping more, relishing the honeyed taste of it on my tongue.
“Careful with that,” he told me. “Ambrosia will give you one hell of a hangover.”
“Ambrosia?” That was the name of this heavenly substance. The fae were really holding out on us poor humans, hoarding all these delicious delicacies in their world.
“And it’s got a kick to it,” he warned me.
“I can handle myself.”
He drew a breath and pulled me closer—not so close that our bodies touched; just close enough to make me wish they were. “You’ll want more,” he said, “and you can have as much as you want as long as you’re willing to risk the consequences.”
He really saw everything, and somehow that made this strange, forbidden attraction to him worse. “Do I need your permission?”
“No.” Sadness stole his smile. “Just know that you will be safe if you want to let loose.”
The offer cracked something inside me open, and I clung to the pieces and tried to wrench them back together. “I thought you didn’t want me to let loose.”
“It’s not about me,” he said darkly. “It’s about you, and since you’re going to hide behind that sarcastic mouth I adore, I will spell it out.”
Adore? Him? Me? The very mouth in question fell open because the way he held my gaze told me he’d meant what he said. He wasn’t mocking or teasing.
“No one touches you—human, fae, or any other creature—without your permission.” He definitely wasn’t joking now. “So enjoy yourself, because if you say no, it will be respected, or I will personally remove the offending part from the bastard’s body and choke them to death with it.”
Every word eddied from my head. Lachlan snagged another glass of ambrosia from a passing tray and handed it to me. I gulped it down and instantly relaxed enough to nod.
He waited a minute. “Better?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“That’s fair.” He scanned the room over his shoulder, his face tightening. “But I should warn you that things are about to get very interesting.”
A hush fell over the crowd, and all around us, fae rippled apart, creating a wide chasm in the middle of the room.
Bain strode into the center, the chandeliers overhead catching his platinum hair and sharp features, making him look as dazzling and sharp as its crystals. Ciara stood on the edge of the crowd, hands clasped together. Everyone stilled as Bain addressed the room. “I regret to inform you that the rumors are true: the lovely Ciara Gage has agreed to marry me.”
“I regret to inform you,” I muttered along with a few choice words.
Lachlan hmphed. “I’m the one getting stuck with the bastard as a brother-in-law.”
“Whose fault is that?” I bumped my hip against his. His thumb stroked the back of my hand, and my entire body tensed.
“Tonight, we partake in the Midnight Feast—a last supper, if you will.” Bain’s voice was smooth and wicked. Fae around us began to whisper, the entire room crackling with an electric energy that hummed over my skin and found its way into my blood.
That might also have been the ambrosia.
“Marriage is the binding of not only two souls but two families. It is not something I enter lightly,” Bain continued. “I’ve had three hundred years to wait for the perfect woman to come along.” He extended an arm toward Ciara. She strolled toward him, a smug smile on her face, but it didn’t extend to her eyes. His speech might be winning over the crowd, but he was going to need to worry about her. When she reached him, he seized her hand. “I’ve found her.”
I was going to throw up on her behalf.
Lachlan cleared his throat, and I realized I might have said that bit aloud.
“But before we spend the rest of our lives together, we’re going out with a bang,” Bain said. Ciara blanched under the light of the chandeliers, growing nearly as pale as her future husband. “Or ten. Who’s counting?”
Everyone around us laughed and clapped, but my stomach began to churn.
Bain lifted Ciara’s hand and kissed it. “Have a good time tonight, but try not to get in too much trouble.”
He clapped his hands together, and the whispers around us turned into shouts and cheers.
This was getting weird.
Bain released her, and Ciara edged away from him, back to the safety of the crowd. I watched as a few fae stopped her to gush and gossip. I was about to pull away from Lachlan and go to her when Aurora moved to her side and whispered something. Ciara sagged with relief and nodded before the two of them vanished into the crowd.
Bain didn’t seem to notice as he finished his speech. “To begin our delicious feast, offerings from all four courts.”
I craned my head, watching for food to appear and completely unprepared for what happened instead.
Two rows of people filed into the room, taking up the empty space around him. I forgot how to breathe. They were all beautiful, bodies of every shape and size, some slender, others luscious with curves, others muscled and brawny, but all wearing nothing more than a shimmering coat of golden paint from head to toe. I blinked as I took in swaying hips and pert breasts and ready cocks.
Bain offered the onlookers a devilish smile, and instantly the lighting in the room shifted, lowering along with the space’s energy into something sensual and inviting. The fae around me swirled and mingled. There was no shyness as many approached the gold-painted people at the center of the room. But I could only stare as I took in more details now that my initial shock was wearing off. Some of them had the tipped ears of the fae, but others did not. Humans? Or the other creatures that the fae claimed existed? My mouth went dry as two females approached the painted male closest to us. They offered him a coy smile, one of them leaning to whisper in his ear, the other reaching for his—
I jerked my gaze away. Nope. Definitely didn’t need to see that.
Lachlan urged me closer to his side. “Maybe we should leave.”
“I’m fine.” Mostly. My brain felt fuzzier than ever. “Maybe we could walk around a bit?”
He offered me his arm, and I took it, no longer caring what message it sent, as long as that message included that I was not up for grabs.
We wandered toward the perimeter of the room, carefully bypassing interested eyes, their intentions so bald I felt a little queasy. But as we walked, I began to realize what he’d been trying to tell me earlier. “When you said let loose, you meant…”
“If you choose.” He glowered at a fae who’d started in our direction, and the other man thought better of it.
“And you?”
“I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Oh. My gaze snagged on one of the gold-painted women nearby. She laughed as the crowd gathered around her, flirting with them without reservation. What would it be like to be that free? “Did they volunteer?”
“Most of them.”
There was no sign that any of this was making him uncomfortable. Then again, he had probably done this before. For all I knew, he might have been up there painted with the rest of them a few times. The thought made the sweetness of the ambrosia still lingering in my mouth turn sour.
“Others are repaying a debt,” he continued. “But they are all here willingly.”
I snorted. “I doubt that.”
His gaze slid to mine. “The fae do not need to take anyone against their will.”
“But you’ll trick them,” I pointed out.
He bristled and moved closer, catching my wrist. “I didn’t offer you tonight.”
I felt the blood drain from my face as I remembered what Oberon had said earlier. That was what he had meant. He had hoped that I would be among the painted people paraded out as a gift from another court to the happy couple.
“Am I supposed to thank you for that?”
“I might die of shock if you did.”
“In that case, thank you.”
His eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, Bain and Shaw approached us. “Lach,” Bain began. “If you have a minute to discuss the matter of the—”
“Are you skipping your own orgy?” I blurted out.
“Why?” Bain purred. “Are you asking me to stick around? Perhaps business can wait.”
I choked. Before the shock wore off, Lachlan stepped between us. His jaw worked slightly. “She is not. I’ll be along shortly.”
“Don’t dawdle,” Bain said in a clipped tone. “And do let me know if you change your mind, Cate. I’m afraid this is a limited-time offer.”
“She doesn’t wish to participate,” Lachlan said through gritted teeth.
Bain shrugged as if this was no great loss to him but possibly one to me. “Then find a babysitter and hurry up.”
I was vividly imagining shoving a champagne glass down his disgusting throat when Lachlan turned to Shaw. “Keep an eye on her. I won’t be long.”
His brother nodded, but his face fell a little. I couldn’t blame him. If I was the orgy sort, I wouldn’t want to get stuck keeping an eye on someone who wasn’t.
Lachlan lifted his hand toward me, and for a moment I thought he was going to wrap it around my neck, drag me close, and kiss me, like he had that day on the street. Instead, he traced his index finger along my collarbone, trailing it to my pendant. “If you need me…”
I forced myself to nod, hoping that the noise of the crowd, which was becoming more salacious by the moment, swallowed the sound of my beating heart, the blood roaring in my veins, the slight gasp that escaped when that finger dipped slightly lower before it disappeared entirely.
As soon as they were out of sight, my legs buckled. Shaw’s hand shot out to steady me, his palm ghosting over my shoulder only momentarily. “You okay there?”
“I’m just a little dizzy.” I pressed a hand to my forehead and found it slightly feverish. “I haven’t eaten anything. Probably shouldn’t have had ambrosia on an empty stomach.”
“All the nudity probably doesn’t help, either,” he pointed out with a grin.
I smacked him on the shoulder, and he laughed.
We wound our way through the crowd in search of something to eat.
“Are all fae traditions so…pornographic?” I asked.
He chuckled, raking a hand through his hair as his eyes landed on someone in the crowd. “No. Some are even family friendly.”
Clearly, tonight was an adults-only event.
My gaze followed in the direction of his to find Titania tracking him from across the room. Apparently, she had eyes for both of the Nether Court princes.
“I think she likes you,” I said dryly.
“Titania? We’ve…hung out before.”
I refrained from asking him how long and hard they had hung out. It was obvious from the way he was looking at her that it was a memory he treasured. I shoved him slightly in her direction. “Go on. I can take care of myself.”
“Lach would kill me if I left you alone,” Shaw said, still looking at Titania longingly.
“I am just going to find something chocolate and hide in a corner to stress eat,” I said. “It’s an orgy. Live a little.”
He cast a doubtful look in my direction. “I shouldn’t—”
“You should. They don’t throw these every week, right?”
God, I hoped not. If I was going to be expected to attend regular orgies, I was going to have to get a lot more comfortable in my own skin or start bleaching my eyeballs.
“Just don’t go far. I’ll be right back,” he promised.
I shooed him away, glad that one of us was going to have a good night, then beelined for a dark alcove nearby, stopping only to swipe another glass of ambrosia from a passing tray. Lachlan had promised I was safe here. I might have relieved my conscripted chaperone from duty, but I suspected the order to protect me had been given to every Nether Court guard here, because no one approached me.
I just had to wait for Lachlan to return, and then…
And then I had no idea what would happen. He didn’t want to be out there, and neither did I. Rubbing my fingers together, I wished his hand was still in mine. That had to be the ambrosia’s fault. No wonder he’d given me that warning.
Leaving was a perfectly rational option, but if Ciara came looking for me, I’d feel terrible. I hoped she wouldn’t. I hoped she was having the time of her life and checking several people off her to-do list.
Food would be a distraction, but apparently, this was a liquid-only feast. Which seemed a shame because, honestly, I’d read quite a few sexy scenes involving food in a romance novel or two. I wondered if the fae were open to suggestions. I giggled to myself as I imagined what an orgy comment box would contain.
A few interested parties roved my way, and I offered them apologetic smiles before slipping deeper into the alcove, allowing the shadows to cloak me as I sipped my ambrosia and tried to find a safe place to rest my eyes.
It turned out the only safe place I could look was the floor, because it didn’t take long before casual flirting became more serious.
It wasn’t all that different from reading a book, I told myself, taking in the scene. In fact, it reminded me a little of a fairy tale retelling that I’d burned through last year. But this time, I didn’t have to imagine anything as fae coupled off around me, some even breaking into small groups. I watched as a few parties left the ballroom, heading upstairs to the massive beds that waited to welcome them and their partners for the evening. The less inhibited—and there were many of them—took to the walls or empty banquet tables along the edges of the room. Now I knew why no food had been laid out. I watched a male devouring a beautiful fae, the skirt of her gown hiked around her waist, her legs spread as he licked and sucked and nibbled. No man had ever touched me like that, devoured me like I was his last feast.
I could have that tonight, I realized—which was definitely the ambrosia talking. Lachlan had technically given me permission to take someone to bed. I didn’t doubt I could find a willing partner or two. The thought rocketed through me and landed with a low, persistent throb between my legs. The problem wasn’t having permission. It was that even as I watched, I knew I didn’t want any of them. I reached up and touched the skin behind my ear, remembering Lachlan’s stolen kiss. I belonged to someone else, like it or not. And I definitely did not.
Right?
“Mind if I hide with you?”
I startled as Oberon slipped beside me into the alcove. He was truly unspeakably hot, but I didn’t trust him. I pressed myself against the wall, clutching my glass of ambrosia to my chest, and nodded.
“Not your thing?” he asked.
“Will you think less of me if I say it isn’t?”
He chuckled. The laughter made his face look softer, almost human. Outside the alcove, someone moaned. Loudly. My eyes went wide, and Oberon chuckled again.
“Maybe we should find somewhere quieter,” he suggested, holding up his hands to show he wasn’t a threat. “No expectations.”
“That sounds exactly like what someone with expectations would say,” I pointed out. “You asked Lachlan to share earlier. Why aren’t you out there enjoying all of…” I flourished a hand at the debauchery before us.
“It’s not my thing, either,” he confessed. “I was only interested in you.”
A laugh burst out of me. “Why?”
“I’m doing this poorly.” He hung his head. “The Hallow Court is a bit more isolated than yours.”
My blood warmed at the idea that the Nether Court was mine.
“Honestly, I hate going to these things,” Oberon said. “I don’t have Lach’s swagger.”
Or his ego. I laughed at my own joke, and Oberon lifted a curious brow. “I was just thinking we could form a club for those of us who are not orgy regulars,” I said to him.
“Unfortunately, I suspect we’d be the only members.”
His voice was warm and welcoming, slightly musical, and it beckoned me. Not with the same magnetic force I felt when Lachlan walked into a room, but rather like the warm promise of a patch of sunlight on a cold day. My head spun a bit, imagining that the glow that seemed to emanate from his skin was sunshine itself.
He offered me his hand, and I stepped slightly out of the shadows, stumbling when my heel caught one of the sheer panels of my dress. How many glasses of ambrosia had I drunk?
“How did you get roped into coming here?” he asked as I tried to shake my heel free. “Something tells me you didn’t know it was going to be like this.”
I shook my head and yanked the fabric loose, which threw my already shaky balance into question. Oberon caught me before I landed face-first on the floor. He clearly hadn’t gotten Lachlan’s memo, though, because he didn’t withdraw his hand. I liked the way it felt on my waist, warm and steady.
“I made a bargain with Lachlan Gage,” I admitted to him.
His amber eyes widened. “Is that so? You don’t seem happy about it.”
“I got my brother out of trouble, so I guess it was worth it. It’s just that the price is a little steep.”
“Oh?”
“Every night in his court for the rest of my life.” Somewhere deep down I knew I shouldn’t be telling a stranger all my problems. Especially not a stranger that ruled a rival court. But while I was unclear on exactly what ambrosia was, it loosened my tongue as much as it did my inhibitions.
Oberon whistled. “That doesn’t sound like Lach.”
I grimaced. Apparently, no one knew Lachlan. Not his brother. Not his sister. Not the other princes. “I guess he needed someone to torture.”
“I don’t think that’s why he made the bargain,” he said carefully, but then he glanced up and his expression twisted, eyebrows knitting together.
Before I could look over my shoulder, a cold voice cut in. “Well, isn’t this cozy?”