Chapter 30
HEMMING
S hayfer slipped back into our shared room, looking every bit the fae lord’s son he was wearing all that gifted finery. I, however, tugged at the collar of the black tunic I’d found laid out for me upon our return like it was an enemy trying to choke me. The fabric was tight and oppressive, and it was all I could do not to rip the thick brocade from my body.
It made it difficult to reach the blades I wore beneath it. And I knew I might need them that evening.
Shayfer crossed the room, a smile on his face as he walked toward me. But that smile belied the nervousness he felt—it was apparent in the stiff set of his shoulders and the creases at the corners of his eyes.
I immediately rose from my seat.
“Might I have a word, Hemming?” He gestured to the adjoining room that held a copper bathtub in the center of it. “It’ll only take a minute, I promise.” Without question, I walked past him into the small space, my hackles rising with every step. “My apologies, Eldrien, but I must give Hemming a brief lesson in etiquette for this evening. To say he is sorely lacking would be an understatement. Unless you are in need of one too?”
“I may have been young when the curse befell Anemosia, but appropriate social behavior had already been instilled in me.”
“Excellent. This should take but a moment.” Shayfer winked at the Minyade male, then followed me in and closed the door behind him. He walked over and turned the faucet handles, and the loud rush of water filled the room. “I will make this brief for the sake of appearances, Hemming, so if you could please resist the urge to overreact as your beast will no doubt demand, I would very much appreciate it.”
“What is it?” I asked, knowing my manners were not the concern he wished to address.
“I’ll put this bluntly for the sake of expediency: you won’t approve of the outfit Ariel was provided for tonight’s festivities. I thought it best to forewarn you, because you cannot risk the plan by having a brutish reaction when you see her.”
“I’m not brutish?—”
“You are when it comes to her welfare, and under normal circumstances, I find it strangely endearing. I might even be a bit jealous of it, truth be told, but it cannot happen tonight. For her sake, you must quiet your beast.”
I clenched my jaw hard to stifle a growl. “How bad is it?”
His hesitation did nothing to assuage my concern. “She’s covered where it counts—for the most part. Beyond that, I cannot say much.”
Considering that much of Ariel’s skin was commonly exposed, save for her legs, that was an ominous statement. “I will be fine,” I replied, a lie if ever I’d told one. Because the truth was that I could not guarantee I wouldn’t scoop her up the moment she walked into the party and run off with her to save her from whatever indignity Vesstan had planned for her.
The growl I’d tried to withhold rumbled through the room.
“That is the exact response I’m trying to avoid, Hemming?—”
“Which is why I’m letting it out now.” I walked over and turned off the water drowning out our conversation. “Is there anything else?”
He shook his head. “No, I think the rest of the plan is solid.”
“Good. Then we’re done here.” I opened the door to find Eldrien sitting on the end of the bed, scowling at us as we returned to the room.
“A discussion about decorum doesn’t require secrecy,” he said, his tone accusatory.
Shayfer, ever the diplomat, responded. “You say that because you’ve never had to have one with him. Believe me, it’s better for all parties involved if it’s done in private.”
Eldrien folded his arms across his chest. “ Private , I understand. Secret , I do not.”
“Different shades of the same color,” Shayfer said with a dismissive wave as he turned to walk away.
Eldrien’s hand shot out and caught his arm, pulling him in close. “You’re lying to me. I can sense it.”
“I lie to everyone when necessary,” Shayfer replied, pulling his arm free before I could intervene. “That is my gift, as well as my burden. But thankfully for you, it has worked in our favor until this moment, and if you can set aside my methods for the evening, you will see that it continues to do so.” He pinned the taller male in place with a keen stare. “Doubt me if you wish, but everything I have done since we left the Midlands has been in the name of supporting Ariel’s quest, as well as our collective safety. You can choose to believe that or not. It changes nothing.”
The two stared at each other as they bit back further arguments. A knock at the door was a welcome interruption.
With one eye on the brewing feud, I walked over and opened the bedroom door, hoping to find Ariel on the other side. Instead, I found Vesstan’s manservant, Thallen, standing there, hands clasped in front of him.
I wondered how long he’d been lurking outside. My palm itched for the blade tucked into the waistband of my pants.
“Lord Vesstan demands your presence now,” he said with no inflection in his tone. “This way.” He gestured for us to join him in the hall and stepped back a pace to allow us through the doorway.
“Of course,” Shayfer said from behind me. He brushed past, smiling at Vesstan’s lackey as he entered the hall. Eldrien reluctantly followed behind him. Unlike his fae counterpart, he couldn’t hide the irritation he harbored after the argument they’d just had—something he’d need to conceal before we entered the ball.
As I needed to conceal my own irritation.
He led us back through the winding halls, the clack of his steady footsteps on the gleaming wooden floors enough to drive me mad. It felt much like heading into battle, but this was a battle I was ill-suited to fight. It was not predicated on swords and brawn; it was one of cunning and deception. Perhaps if I’d been raised by my father, I would have been better prepared.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly skilled at either, and the fact that Ariel’s life hung in the balance only made my inadequacy harder to swallow. I tugged at the collar of my ridiculous shirt again. As though he could hear the pained cries of the silken fabric, Shayfer shot me a warning glance over his shoulder.
Music wafted down the halls as we neared the party—music that hurt my ears. It was all light, hollow notes in a slow, rhythmic pattern that droned on without end. No deep, grounding notes. No drums to accentuate.
The doors enclosing the event were covered in a gilded pattern of swirls that extended from the top to the bottom of the glossy white fa?ade. Thallen halted before them, his back still to us, and gripped the handles.
“A small caution before you enter,” he said without turning. “Lord Vesstan excels at taking whatever you love most and taunting you with it for eternity.” His eyes were creased with anger as he dared a look back and pulled down the high collar of his shirt to reveal a silver band around his neck. “You’d be wise to remember that.”
Without another word, he threw the doors wide and walked in, hands clasped behind his back yet again. The sounds and smells assaulted me, and it took a moment to steady myself against the sensory overwhelm. Once my eyes adjusted to the dimly lit space, I realized why.
The center of the room was densely packed with couples dancing so close, their bodies nearly melded together. Along the periphery, the walls were lined with servants standing at attention, their silver collars reflecting the diffuse candlelight. And at the far end of the room stood a balcony partition filled with partially-dressed women and Vesstan, leaning against the railing like a captain at the helm of his vessel. His vulturous stare raked over the crowd, and I knew exactly who he was hoping to see.
Ariel …
I scoured the room to find her, to no avail. She was nowhere to be seen.
I edged closer to Shayfer and leaned down to speak in his ear. “She’s not here.”
He nodded. “She is the guest of honor, so she will be the last to arrive. Vesstan will want to make a spectacle of her—his new acquisition.”
“She is not his,” I growled in his ear.
He shot me a deadly look that would have made Ariel proud. “She is tonight. And if you’d like to make that permanent, you’ll let your beast run unchecked this evening. That will ensure our failure and Vesstan’s win.” His stern expression softened. “I know this must be hard for you, but you must see the bigger picture, lest you be cut out of it entirely. Promise me, for all our sakes, that you can do this.”
I opened my mouth to respond just as the music cut off and the doors behind us opened wide once again. The entire crowd turned as one to see what warranted such a disruption, but I already knew. I held my breath as Thallen entered the room and stepped aside to reveal her.
When Shayfer had deemed it necessary to warn me about Ariel’s attire for the party beforehand, I’d known I was in trouble, but the second she stepped through the vaulted doorway, I understood just how much. All eyes were on her as she strode deeper into the room, following Thallen’s lead. Every attendee there greedily drank in every inch of her as she cut through the middle of the room—and there was much to drink.
With every other step she took, her leg broke through the thin layers of her dress, baring her to the hip. I looked up at Vesstan, who watched her every move like the predator he was, and the beast inside me prowled, begging to break free and show him the real predator in his midst. Had it not been for Shayfer’s forewarning, he likely would have.
I could see her discomfort in the stiff set of her shoulders and the tension in her mouth, but she held her head high as everyone she passed feasted their eyes on her exposed flesh. She knew their sort from her time in the Midlands, but unlike the residents there, these people didn’t know she could flay them in an instant, given the chance. I smiled at the thought.
The beast growled his approval.
“He’s dressed her as his personal whore,” Eldrien said, his voice thick with disdain.
My hands clenched into fists at my sides. “You’d be wise to keep your attention on her purpose here this evening and not how she is dressed.”
He stepped in front of me, blocking my view. “ I , more than any, understand her purpose—and she is betrothed to me . You’d be wise to remember that.”
Rage surged in my veins, forcing me to walk away before I did something foolish. Something dangerous. With a deep breath to clear my head, I headed for the perimeter of the room, where I could better keep an eye on those in attendance, especially her intended target. And as I watched Vesstan up above, smiling down at Ariel from his gilded balcony, I knew that doing something foolish—something dangerous—was most likely inevitable.