16. Zoey
Zoey
Jake stumbles back, staring at his arm in shock.
“What the hell, Zoey?” he yells, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and disbelief.
My heart pounds as I stare at the blood trickling down his skin and at the rake I used to do it.
“I told you not to touch me,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just… reacted.”
“If you didn’t want to hurt me, then maybe you shouldn’t have broken up with me and attacked me with a garden rake,” he says, although somehow, his anger softens again, and he lowers his scratched-up arm. “But I understand. You’re scared. You don’t trust me yet. But once you settle in here, we can fix this and get back on track.”
“Wow,” I say slowly, not lowering the rake. “Are you completely delusional? ”
“No. You’re the one who’s not thinking straight,” he rushes to continue. “It’s because of Aerix. He’s jealous of us. He’s trying to turn you against me. Don’t you see that?”
“There’s no way Aerix is jealous of you,” I say, and I raise the rake, threatening to slash him with it again.
I won’t—at least, I don’t think I will. But if I don’t get through to him now, I have a sinking feeling that his infatuation will just get worse.
Plus, his accusations and assumptions about what’s going on between me and Aerix are really pissing me off.
“Zoey,” he repeats my name slowly. “You need to calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. I love you. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t still be here with you after you attacked me with that thing. Don’t you see that?”
I’m staring at him, thrown by how quickly this escalated, when Aurora’s suddenly standing at the edge of the garden, her eyes wide with concern.
Aurora—the king’s pet who’s always reading in the courtyard. She’s the most beautiful of all of us, and the most docile. The least willing to socialize, let alone place herself in the middle of a confrontation.
“Is everything all right here?” she asks, her eyes darting between me and Jake.
I lower the rake, my knuckles aching from how tightly I’ve been gripping it. “It’s fine,” I say quickly, even though my heart is racing, and my hands are trembling. “I have it handled.”
Aurora raises one delicate eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “If you say so,” she tells me, and then she looks at Jake, her eyes narrowing. “You should go,” she tells him, and he bristles, his shoulders tightening.
“This doesn’t involve you, Aurora,” he says, his voice edged with frustration.
“It does now,” she replies evenly, not giving an inch.
He laughs and runs his fingers through his hair, as if he can’t believe this is happening. “You never say a word to any of them,” he says, “but suddenly you’ve got something to say about this?”
She doesn’t move, her measured calm unshaken. “I speak when it’s necessary,” she says, glancing at the scratches on his arm. “And it looks like you’ve said enough here.”
Jake exhales slowly, his face crumpling with frustration. “Fine,” he gives in. “I’ll go. But Zoey… this isn’t over. You’re just confused right now, and scared. I’m going to fix this. I’ll figure out a way to make things right. I promise.”
He turns to leave, his shoulder bumping Aurora’s as he hurries past her to storm inside the palace.
When he’s gone, I become painfully aware of our audience.
Malakai’s girls—Lacey, Katerina, and Brenda—are huddled over the table where they’re playing cards, whispering among themselves. Isla’s holding tightly onto her whittling knife, as if she was ready to attack Jake with it if he kept pushing me.
Henry’s already moving toward us, his trademark smirk firmly in place.
“Well, that was quite a show,” he says, his eyes traveling down my body in a way that makes my skin crawl. “Never thought I’d see someone take down lover boy with a garden tool.”
“I’m sure you know a thing or two about handling tools,” I say, raising the rake.
“You’re funny.” He laughs, tilting his head and studying me. “And now that you’re in need of a new swimming instructor, I’d be happy to offer my services.”
“I’d rather drown,” I say, not breaking his gaze.
Aurora looks back and forth between us with a hint of a smile.
Meanwhile, I continue my staring contest with Henry, refusing to lower the rake.
Aurora takes the opportunity to break the tension.
“I’ve always been interested in gardening,” she tells me, speaking slowly, as if she’s trying to talk me down. “Do you need any help with anything?”
Only if it involves using this rake to slash the smug smile off Henry’s face, I think, although now that she’s here, I don’t want to startle her and lose what could be a good opportunity to talk to her.
Maybe I can learn more about the Night Court from her. Or maybe I can make another friend.
Right now, I’d take either.
“Actually, yeah.” I glance at her, while also keeping an eye on Henry. “I could use a second opinion on whether this mint is ready to be harvested.”
Henry huffs out a laugh, but he doesn’t move. “You’re really going to ignore my offer like that?” he asks me. “I’d be a great coach.”
“Oh, were you still talking?” I look at him, feigning innocence. “I thought you left.”
Aurora snickers softly, and Henry’s smirk falters.
He leans in, lowering his voice. “You’re going to regret rejecting my help,” he tells me, although I don’t step back, unwilling to let him assert power over me. “You’ve barely skimmed the surface of the way things work around here.”
“And you’ll regret standing so close to me while I’m holding this rake,” I reply sweetly, lifting it for emphasis.
I don’t actually expect the threat to work.
But he simply shrugs and saunters away, throwing one last grin at me that makes me want to hurl the rake at his face.
When he’s gone, Aurora steps closer, her expression thoughtful. “You handled that well,” she says .
“Did I?” I laugh, finally lowering my makeshift weapon. “It doesn’t feel like it.”
“It did to me,” she says, and she crouches beside the mint, her fingers brushing the leaves. “You stood your ground. With both of them.”
“The rake helped.” I glance at it, hoping to look unbothered, even though I can’t shake off the confrontations with Jake and Henry. “And I didn’t mean to hurt Jake.”
“But you meant to stop him from pushing you,” she says, gentle, but firm. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Her words are oddly calculating for someone who usually seems so demure.
Maybe there’s more to her than I assumed.
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” I say, not wanting to push, but also wanting her to open up.
“Let’s just say I’ve learned a few things during my time here.” She plucks a mint leaf, rolling it between her fingers. “The Night Court has its own rules, and its own patterns. The sooner you understand them, the better equipped you’ll be to survive.”
“Is that what you’ve done?” I ask. “Survived?”
“I’ve done more than survive. I’ve thrived.” Her green eyes meet mine, sharp with intelligence, and when she stands, there’s miraculously no dirt on her dress. “ The mint’s ready, by the way. You should harvest it soon.”
With that, she walks away, and I get the distinct feeling she wasn’t just referring to herbs.
But between Jake’s delusions, Henry’s threats, and Aurora’s cryptic advice, I need time to think.
Because one thing’s becoming crystal clear: in the Night Court, every alliance, every confrontation, and every seemingly casual conversation is a move on an intricate chessboard.
And I’ve yet to even put my pieces into place.