Chapter 37
After a detour to fix my hair and makeup, I headed to the masquerade.
The vast cavern was filled with faeries and looked even more magnificent than when Kallen and I had watched it being decorated—the stalagmites were wrapped in purple silk, and Grimveldian ice sculptures were scattered between them, depicting dragons, phoenixes, and enormous bears.
Faerie lights drifted overhead, and pixies danced in floating iridescent bubbles while an invisible orchestra played.
For the first time, Blood House was represented by more than two people.
Lara had stayed at the house with Gweneira, but I was accompanied by two dozen faeries wearing red and silver: some of the Noble Fae who had defected from Earth, Light, or Illusion House going public with their new allegiance.
Jaws dropped as we passed, and pride filled me.
Blood House had been building quietly, but here we were, stepping into the light.
An eerie flute melody shivered into the space between notes, and a primal drumbeat started, the cadence matching my footfalls.
It was a song for me, I realized with a sense of unreality.
Just as Imogen had a tune that announced her arrival at events, someone had composed one for the Princess of Blood.
That was the sort of thing that happened for mythical heroes and villains, not poor girls from Tumbledown, but which did the composer see me as?
My entourage split off to join the revelry, and I stopped to assess the layout.
The dance floor was at the center, with tables ringing it for those who wanted to eat or talk.
Long refreshment tables along the walls were piled high with platters of grapes and cheese, skewers of glistening meat, and thin peels of vegetables shaped to look like flowers.
Large wooden sculptures of unicorn heads shielded the servants’ entrances, and a steady stream of wine-bearing Underfae appeared from doors hidden in the unicorns’ necks.
The servants and guards in attendance were a mix of Light and Illusion faeries, and I wondered how the Light faeries felt being here after what had happened. They’d likely had no choice, though. Wherever house leadership went, they followed.
Everyone in attendance wore a mask, though most were thin scraps of fabric, concealing little—the Fae were too vain of their beauty to obscure it.
I looked for the most important players.
Imogen was seated on the dais, of course, overlooking the dance floor.
Like Osric, she had a throne for every occasion, and this one had been carved from an enormous piece of smoky quartz.
Drustan was spinning Rhiannon across the dance floor, while Torin and Rowena spoke with Ulric at the refreshment table.
Hate spiked inside my breast at the sight of them.
Rowena’s smile was so sweet, no one would ever guess the evil she was capable of.
Rowena spotted me and nudged Torin. When all three faeries turned to stare, I nodded politely, hoping they wouldn’t read anything amiss in my expression.
I turned to look for Hector but found Oriana instead—who was unfortunately moving in my direction.
Her chestnut gown was covered with embroidered gold vines, and her mask was metallic green.
She looked as serene and perfectly put together as always, but as she took up position beside me, she struck me as somehow smaller. Stretched thin.
“Look how greedy they all are,” she said. “Gluttons who don’t care that the famine is coming.”
The chatter and laughter did seem too loud, the dancing too exuberant. Faeries guzzled alcohol and tore into roast duck legs as if they were starving. There was a wild edge to the night; the end of this Accord was coming quickly, and the Fae were sinking their teeth into whatever they could.
I eyed Oriana with distaste. “Come to gloat?”
Her blond brows rose. “About the catacombs? I’m better than that.”
I laughed incredulously. “No, you’re not. You’re not better than any of this.” I tipped my chin towards the dancers. “Who are you to judge how they behave, anyway? It makes no difference to you.”
She gave me a frosty look. “Do you imagine I don’t care about Mistei?”
“It doesn’t matter if you care. You’ll spend your time the same regardless: trapped behind your walls of thorns, telling yourself it’s wisdom.”
“Wisdom means looking into the distance rather than being caught up in the passions of the moment. Maybe you’ll live long enough to learn that lesson.”
How she enjoyed lecturing me from her pedestal. “That so-called wisdom lost you everyone you claimed to love.”
She shook her head. “My sons would still be alive if they’d followed my example.”
She wasn’t even thinking about Lara. Or else she didn’t want to admit that she could have made different choices to save her.
Lara was thriving in Blood House because I cared about her more than I cared about the cruel traditions of the Fae court.
Because of my influence, she was still part of this world she wanted so desperately to belong to, and my influence was a fraction of what Oriana wielded.
There were so many ways I wanted to hurt her, so I chose the one that seemed like it might cut deepest. “If Selwyn and Leo were alive, they would be ashamed of you.”
Oriana flinched. “Don’t talk about them like you knew them.”
“I know they died for their ideals.”
“They still died .” The word ripped out of her, and Oriana pressed her fingers to her lips as if startled by her own vehemence.
I was done with her. It was a sudden, final feeling, like a blade coming down.
Of all the people I could spend my time on tonight, our conversations would matter the least, because how could I negotiate with someone who wasn’t even honest with herself?
She was never going to be the mother Lara deserved or the princess Mistei deserved.
“Good luck living with yourself,” I told her, then walked away.
It took a few moments to wrestle down my temper. Caedo gently bit my wrist, and I used both the slight pain and the pleasure the dagger took from that taste to ground myself. We could destroy her , it whispered.
She isn’t worth the effort.
Hungry , it complained.
You already had dinner.
I want more . Caedo shared a mental image of dead bodies piled around the tables and blood streaking the dance floor. You could drink, too , it whispered dreamily. Taste your vengeance and then spill more.
The notion was disturbing, and I was reminded that although we were connected, the dagger was an entirely alien creature.
Magic made tangible, thirst personified.
It had a limited moral code, but if I didn’t provide strict rules for both of us, it would stray to far darker places than I was comfortable going.
At least there were still places I was unwilling to go.
Seventeen more days , I told it, and then you’ll drink more than your fill.
More faeries were trickling in late, and my attention was caught by a group of Void faeries led by Hector, Una, and Kallen.
His eyes found me quickly, and desire coiled in my belly.
I jerked my head to the side, then walked towards a sparsely populated corner of the cavern.
I stopped beside an ice sculpture shaped like a dragon and waited.
The Void faeries joined me soon after. All three looked dangerously elegant: Hector’s mask was black leather, and his dark tunic was studded with small points of steel, while Una wore a gown layered with black feathers and a matching mask.
I’d already seen Kallen’s outfit, of course.
He was perfectly groomed again, tunic buttoned and hair no longer mussed, but all I could think about was his mouth moving between my thighs.
I curtsied, hoping I wasn’t blushing. “It’s a pleasure to see you tonight.”
What a pleasure, indeed , Kallen’s smile said as he joined the others in returning the bow.
Hector straightened, flicking his long hair over his shoulders. “I hear we are to have an eventful evening.”
I’d told Kallen to prepare Hector so we could make the most of what little time we had before the meeting, and as usual, the Void prince was getting straight to the point. His toe tapped with restless energy.
“A decisive one, certainly,” I said.
Hector looked around. “I would love to speak freely. Can you confirm no one’s working Illusion magic nearby?”
Cursing myself for still not being in the habit of performing those sweeps, I reached out with my Blood powers, searching for any living bodies. “There are faeries behind that servants’ entrance,” I said, pointing to one of the unicorn heads some twenty feet away. “No one closer than that.”
“Good.” Hector’s expression grew serious. “I want to start by thanking you. This can’t have been an easy decision.”
“I wish it had come clear sooner.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter how we got here. We’re here now, and we need to discuss how to approach the conversation later tonight. Will Gweneira be recovered enough to attend?”
“I’m sure she’ll be at the meeting even if she doesn’t feel recovered. She’s not going to miss discussing what happened at Light House—especially if she suspects I’m also choosing a king.”
“Do you believe she suspects?” Una asked.
“If Drustan told her about our argument, then yes. He must know that tipped the scales.” The thought made me queasy. It was a relief to have finally chosen, but now I had to actually declare that choice to my former lover, who had spent decades preparing for a different outcome.
“Once you declare for Hector, Drustan will have to make some rapid decisions,” Kallen said, and despite the topic, the sound of his voice sent a pleasurable shiver over my skin. “What does your gut tell you he’ll do?”