Chapter 32 #2
She did look then, seeing the truth in what he said. The calculating gazes, the whispered conversations behind fans, the way eyes tracked their movement with keen interest. For the first time since arriving at the Forest Court, she didn't feel like prey.
She felt like a queen.
"You're doing something to me," Eliam said suddenly, his voice low enough only she could hear. "Something I don't understand."
"What do you mean?"
"This." He gestured subtly between them.
"The way I couldn't stop thinking about you while I was gone.
The way seeing you in that dress, in my crown, makes me want to cancel this entire ball and keep you to myself.
The way I'm already dreading tomorrow's hunt because it means hours without you beside me. "
Her throat tightened. "Eliam…"
"I know." He spun them through a complex series of steps that left her breathless.
"I'm not supposed to feel this way. You're human.
Fragile. Temporary. But when you went under that ice.
.." His hand tightened on her waist. "Something in me broke at the thought of losing you. And I don't understand why."
"Maybe that's enough," she said softly. "Not understanding but feeling it anyway."
"Spoken like a human." But his tone was fond rather than mocking. "Always so ready to accept mystery."
The dance carried them through the ballroom, past clusters of whispering courtiers and fae lords who watched with sharp interest. An hour passed in swirls of silk and music.
Then another. Her feet should have hurt in the delicate shoes, but adrenaline and the surreal quality of the night kept her moving.
No sign of autumn colors. No golden-haired destroyer. Just dance after dance, Eliam's hands never leaving her for long, his presence a dark constant that had become oddly comforting.
The warmth in her chest pulsed, reaching for him with something that felt dangerously close to hope. Maybe Malus had changed his mind. Maybe he'd taken his freedom and fled far from here. Maybe she could actually have this.
"Whatever you're thinking about," Eliam said, "stop. You're tensing up again."
"Sorry. It's just… this is all so much."
"The night's barely begun." He spun her through a complex turn that left her breathless. "Wait until after tomorrow's hunt. The revelry then makes this look tame."
They danced until her legs trembled with exhaustion, until the other courtiers began to watch with knowing smiles, until Eliam finally guided her toward the throne. The court sensed something formal approaching and began to gather.
"Stand beside me," he commanded softly. "Where you belong."
She took her place at his right hand, the circlet heavy on her brow. The warmth in her chest settled into steady contentment. Whatever happened, she'd had this, these hours of being his chosen, of dancing in his arms, of feeling like she belonged.
"Lords and ladies," Eliam began, his voice carrying to every corner of the ballroom. "Tonight marks more than the eve of our Wild Hunt. Tonight, I wish to formally announce—"
The doors opened with quiet authority. No dramatic entrance, just the subtle shift of air that made every fae in the room turn.
"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
Briar felt her heart sink.
Malus strolled in like he'd been invited, autumn colors rich against his golden beauty. Hanging on his arm, dressed in warm yellows and bronze finery, her expression serene as still water—
Ferria.
Briar's blood went cold. Ferria, who had given her the leaf, who had advocated for the safety of the Star Court and had sent her to the dungeons with kind words about mercy. Understanding crashed over her like a wave. She had been played by her from the beginning.
Briar felt Eliam go utterly still beside her. It wasn’t the stillness of shock, but the stillness of a predator spotting impossible prey. His hand found her wrist, grip careful but firm, already drawing her behind him as he stepped forward.
"Brother." The single word carried lethal weight. "How… unexpected. Last I checked, you were supposed to be in chains."
"Chains break. Locks open. Even your dungeons aren't as secure as you believed." Malus moved forward with casual confidence, the crowd parting in confusion and growing alarm. "Your little mouse here can attest to that."
The silence that followed was deafening. Briar felt every eye turn to her, felt Eliam's grip on her wrist shift from protective to restraining.
"What did you say?" Eliam's voice had gone soft, which Briar knew was infinitely more dangerous than shouting.
"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Malus produced something from his pocket, a silver leaf that caught the light. "She's been keeping secrets, brother. Sneaking through your castle with this clever bit of magic, visiting poor Thomas Gray in your dungeons. Such a bleeding heart, your pet."
"There is no Thomas Gray in my dungeons."
"No. There isn't." Malus smiled, clearly amused by the revelation. "Just your dear brother, locked away and forgotten. Until she found me."
Eliam turned to look at her then, and what she saw in his eyes made her stomach drop. Not just anger, but betrayal. Raw and cutting.
"You visited the dungeons." Not a question.
She tried to speak, to explain, but the compulsion still held. Her throat closed on the words, leaving her mute and damned by her silence.
"Several times, actually,” Malus provided, knowing full well she could not speak for herself.
“Bringing food and comfort. Building my strength meal by meal.
" Malus stepped closer, Ferria moving with him like a shadow.
"She was so kind. So eager to help the poor, starving human. Even promised to plead my case to you."
“Quite a resourceful little thing isn’t she?” Ferria purred mockingly. "I didn't expect her to be so successful. But then, you always did have a weakness for broken things that needed saving."
"Ferria." Eliam's attention snapped to his former courtier, and now real fury began bleeding through his control. "You're with him. With my brother."
"I go where power flows," Ferria said simply, fingers trailing lightly over Malus’ sleeve. "Where balance might be restored."
"The Star Court?"
"Knows nothing of this. This is... personal."
Briar watched as understanding dawned in Eliam's eyes, and with it came rage that made the air itself heavy. "You gave her the means to deceive me. You orchestrated this."
"I gave a trapped girl a tool. What she did with it..." Ferria shrugged, the gesture both elegant and dismissive. “The rest was her choice.”
Eliam's hand tightened on Briar's wrist until she gasped. She raised her other hand to catch his sleeve, desperate to explain but unable to form the words. Finally he looked down at her and it was as if he'd never seen her before. Like she was a stranger wearing familiar skin.
“Is this true?” He asked. “Deny it, tell me they’re lying, and I will believe you.”
Briar could only lower her head, the compulsion ensuring she was unable to even deny her crimes.
"How many times?" The question came out rough. "How many times did you sneak down to feed my enemy while I—" He cut himself off, jaw working.
She couldn't answer. Could only stand there as his grip turned bruising, as understanding twisted his features into something far colder and more cruel than she’d ever witnessed.
"While I tended you after the river, while I let you choose your dress… while I gave you my crown…" His other hand came up to touch the circlet, and she flinched at the gentleness of it. "You were betraying me."
"Such drama," Malus observed, a malicious grin stealing across his face. "Though I must thank you for keeping her so well-fed, brother. Made her such an effective savior. Every kindness you showed her, she passed to me."
That did it.
Eliam moved faster than Briar’s eyes could track, releasing her to lunge at his brother.
They collided, Eliam slamming Malus into the ground with enough force to crack the marble, Thorned vines erupted from the ground around them.
The vines curled around Malus, thorns piercing through his finery into the flesh beneath.
"You dare," Eliam snarled, pinning Malus down. "You dare use her against me?"
But Malus was laughing even as Eliam’s grip tightened, choking him. "Not—so weak—anymore—"
Golden light pulsed from him, the vines touching him withered instantly, green to brown to ash in heartbeats, crumbling away from his skin like paper in flame. He threw Eliam off with more strength than he should have had, rolling to his feet with all the grace and poise of a seasoned predator.
"You see? Your pet fed me well." Malus straightened his disturbed clothing. "Not enough to take what's mine today. But soon."
"Yours?" Eliam rose slowly, and the very air seemed to thicken with his fury. "Nothing here is yours. You lost that right when I put you in chains."
"Because you couldn't kill me. Couldn't bring yourself to end your own blood." Malus's smile was sharp as glass. "That weakness will cost you everything. Starting with her."
They circled each other while the court pressed back against the walls. Briar tried to move, to speak, but found herself frozen by more than compulsion. The two brothers radiated power that made her human bones ache.
"Get out," Eliam commanded, his voice a deep rumble that made the very walls of the hall tremble. "Take your conspirator and leave my court."
"For now." Malus offered a mocking bow. "But rest assured, I'll return. This was my court first, little brother. You've just been keeping my throne warm."
He turned to go, Ferria falling into step beside him. At the door, he paused, looking back at Briar, his lips curving into a dark smile.
"Thank you for everything, little mouse. Enjoy your freedom while it lasts. The next time you wear a crown in this hall, it will be at my sufferance—if I let you wear anything at all.”
Then they were gone, leaving devastation in their wake.