Chapter 25
twenty-five
They took me outside to the gardens, the same ones I’d been to the night before. This time the guards stayed extra close, and I just knew that if I asked them to give me some privacy again, they would not be so quick to agree.
It was okay, though. I’d seen Rune, had spoken to him, had kissed him. I knew where we stood now, and I was calm.
Fuck, I was so much calmer than I had been yesterday, and not even half as afraid. Nothing had changed between us—last night proved it. And as long as we were on the same page about that, we would figure out the rest.
The gardens looked even more magical in daylight, the colors more vivid, the air lighter, the stone benches and statues and pathways so much more beautiful than they had been the night before.
Or maybe it was just me. My good mood could not be denied.
I figured that when I saw the pale, cotton-candy pink dress Poppy had laid out for me to wear, and I didn’t mind it one bit.
In fact, when I put it on and the soft cotton and silk caressed my skin, it felt great.
This one was long, fell all the way down to my ankles, with the straps tied into bows atop my shoulders.
It also had a built-in corset, so my waist looked tiny in comparison to the flare that started at my hips when Poppy tied it over the small of my back.
It would be easy to do everything, even run in it, especially with the new white shoes she offered me because apparently the ones I’d worn the night before were used enough.
True, they were dirty and muddy from the way I’d run across that field to get to Rune, but a good wash would have made them look brand new. Poppy wouldn’t even let me finish speaking, though, and I didn’t try a second time.
Besides, shoes didn’t really matter.
For a little while, I inspected the gardens, touched the soft velvety petals on the flowers just like the night before, and the gorgeous colorful leaves at their sides.
The sun was in the sky, and it was getting really hot out here without a shade, so I turned to the soldiers who, again, stayed just three feet behind me now, and said, “Where is he? Where’s Lyall? How much longer will I have to wait?”
I was already a little pissed off—why would he call me out here if he didn’t plan on showing up?—so when the guards only continued to look ahead without bothering to even acknowledge I’d spoken, my anger increased instantly.
I was going to ask them again, though, demand that they take me back to the room, at least—when I noticed a figure in the distance standing all alone near a large pillar of the palace’s ground floor.
He wore red and gold—and a smile on his face that I saw in my mind even though he was too far from me still.
The prince was there already, and he was watching me, God knew for how long.
Words died on my tongue. Suddenly I felt self-conscious again, and I was already thinking back to what I’d done since I came down here, like I was some kind of criminal.
Lyall saw that I was looking at him, so he moved away from the pillar he’d been leaning against and slowly began to walk toward me.
He moved like his feet didn’t even touch the ground, merely slid over the cobbles.
Head up and shoulders back, and that smile was still on his face that I saw clearer and clearer as he approached.
Easy to imagine how powerful he was—even the way he moved his arms, the confidence with which he existed, walked like he owned this entire world screamed it at anybody watching.
His eyes were on mine, and his gaze was so intense that I almost blushed.
But before I did, I looked away, turned to the other side to get myself together, and…
Rune.
The shock that went through me shook me to my core.
Rune was coming from the other side of the palace, his unblinking eyes on me, his lips a perfect straight line. No sign of any kind of amusement or a good feeling anywhere on his face as he strode over to me, his every step precise.
My knees shook. Something about being looked at by Rune like that.
And something about being looked at by Lyall like that…
For a moment there, I felt like a helpless little prey trapped between two predators. They were coming for me from both sides, and I knew that no amount of running was going to save me. I was done for.
Then the prince spoke.
“I always said that these gardens would forever remain the most beautiful thing inside these walls.” He stopped near the guards, smiled widely, bowed his head. “I stand corrected.”
The guards bowed their heads, too, as he slowly came closer, his hand out to reach for mine. I automatically put mine over it without even thinking, until he brought it up to his lips and kissed my knuckles.
Fuck, it’s so hot out here…
Especially when Rune stopped at my other side, and his shadow fell over me, and it touched me as if it was his hand.
Our eyes locked for a short second, and I saw all the colors in them, the silver maps around his iris—the way he wanted to set something on fire right now.
Preferably Lyall.
I pulled my hand all the way behind my back, as if to hide it. As if I’d done something wrong.
“Good morning,” I said out of sheer awkwardness, and that pissed me off, too.
Why the hell was I feeling like a damn criminal when I’d done nothing wrong?!
“Good morning,” Rune said, his voice low, that rough whisper my ears adored, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention.
Goddamn you, Mr. Moody.
“Good morning, Nilah. I hope you slept well,” Lyall said, then nodded at Rune. “And you, my friend.”
“I did. Not sure why I’m here, though,” Rune said, his attention on the prince for a moment, which gave me a chance to breathe, to calm my mind, to get myself under control.
It worked.
“Can’t I simply want to see a friend?” Lyall laughed, and it sounded like fucking birds chirping .
“Certainly, but you so rarely have the time,” Rune said, unbothered.
No more murderous look in his eyes now. He’d composed himself, and I had done the same.
“True, true—unfortunately. But pretending to be dead frees up time on one’s agenda, believe it or not,” Lyall said with a mischievous grin that brightened up his already bright face. “And I wanted to invite the two of you for a hand at my favorite game.”
I looked at Rune again— a game? What kind of a game did these people play? Because I was not going to learn how to play chess. I’d tried once. It wasn’t for me.
But Rune was still looking at Lyall when he said, “I have work to do, as I’m sure you know.” It was a simple statement, and the prince didn’t even flinch.
“And I, as your prince, am giving you the day off.” He put his hand over Rune’s shoulder. “Nilah came all the way here to awaken me, and I thought she’d feel better in your company, since you already know each other. It’s the least we can do for her, don’t you think?”
Both fae turned to look at me. Two faces, like two sides of the perfection coin.
I didn’t breathe for a good moment.
“Of course,” Rune then said. “I’ll be happy to join.”
Lyall patted him on the shoulder, then turned to me. “Nilah, please allow me to show you my favorite game in all the courts.”
He turned around, waved his hand back toward where he’d come from, to show me the horses behind the three guards that had most definitely not been there before.
Fucking hell, all those creatures and I’d been so caught up on Rune and Lyall that I hadn’t even seen them approaching !
But a quick look at Rune’s dark eyes, and I forced a smile on my lips.
It was going to be a long day.
Riding a horse brought back all kinds of memories, from awful to really nice ones— nice being that last time I slept in Rune’s arms. Nothing about it had changed, though.
The saddle was still too big for me, and the horse as well, though I’d started to normalize it, it seemed, because I couldn’t for the life of me think exactly how much smaller the horses back home were.
Still, they kept a very steady pace as we went, and I held onto the reins tightly, and I pretended that Rune was right next to me, not on Lyall’s other side. I pretended his hand was on mine and he was guiding me. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, Wildcat.
“Is the sun falling in your eyes?” Lyall said.
“No, no, it’s?—”
He didn’t even let me finish. “Please excuse this poor treatment. I promise you, it’s not always like this in my court.
Someone should have been holding up a sun shield for you, Nilah, but the number of people who know I am alive is very, very limited right now.
That’s why I have all this magic wrapped around us as well—I hope you don’t mind. ”
My court.
The words echoed in my head— my court, he said. Not my mother’s or even ours.
I looked at his profile as he rode ahead, our horses moving at the same pace. “This isn’t poor treatment, Lyall. It’s perfectly fine. I don’t need a sun shield.”
“But it is. I’ve had to relieve more than fifty percent of the palace staff.
It’s why it’s so empty around here at this time of day.
” He waved a hand around—and he was right.
I couldn’t really see anyone coming or going in the gardens as we went through, beyond the hedges and the fountains, toward the trees in the distance.
I risked a glance at Rune, but his eyes remained ahead. He said nothing, didn’t even make any kind of movement that I could tell, only sat there on the saddle while his horse walked ahead.
He looked so regal with his shoulders back and his chin up like that, his hair almost blue under the bright sunlight.
I forgot that he was of a royal bloodline, too, even if his father was fucked up in the head.
Rune was still a prince, banished or not—and you could see it when you stepped back a bit and looked at him from a distance. At least I did.
“What exactly are we going to play, Lyall? And where are we going?” I asked because if I tried to tell him again that having three chambermaids to even put my panties on was not poor treatment, I knew my words would fall on deaf ears.
Whatever these people considered normal, I was sure it would be way too much for me.
“The Illusion Game,” he said, turning to flash me a grin that I was sure had made panties drop before. “It’s my favorite. The playground is close, and dense with magic. I won’t need to keep us shielded at all while we’re there.”
Right. “What’s the Illusion Game?”
“It’s sort of a Seelie tradition, where nobles hunt magical illusions in a landscape. We usually make a big fuss over it twice a summer, and we cast bets and have feasts—but today, it’s just the three of us, I’m afraid. No audience. ”
“Oh,” I said, pretending it all made perfect sense to me. “So, how’s it played?”
“It’s a very difficult game with very simple rules: find the illusion, break its magic, and claim the token. Whoever claims the most tokens, wins, and the winner gets to ask for something from the other players. Anything they want.”
I raised a brow at him. “Anything at all? Like to agree to an unbinding, for example?”
“By Reme, no!” He let go of the reins and put a hand to his heart as he smiled. “You think me cruel, Nilah. I would never—but I do so appreciate that you think me the winner already.”
Oh, he had me there, and that mischievous grin showed me that he knew it.
“It will be fun, I promise you. We’re almost there,” he added.
Meanwhile, I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or pissed off, what to expect, or how this day was going to even end.
We didn’t speak at all the rest of the way, though, and I felt Rune’s eyes on me every now and again, but any time I looked at him, he’d be staring straight ahead.
It was very frustrating, and I soon realized I’d have actually appreciated someone holding up a sun shield for me after all. Oh well.
Luckily, the playground wasn’t far, and when we stopped in front of the doors, I forgot all about the heat.
Dark wood reinforced with metal painted golden.
The doors were possibly fifty feet tall, and a wall made of hedges the same height extended from them on either side.
To the left, the large colorful trees hid how far it went, and to the right, the hedges curved just ten feet away, so I had no idea what I was walking into .
Lyall dismounted his horse, and by the time he helped me off mine, too, Rune was by the doors, waiting. Hands in his pockets. Head down. Jaws clenching.
“Are you ready, Nilah?” Lyall asked, and he hadn’t stopped smiling for a second.
“I hope so,” I said when he put his hands on the doors and they flashed golden the next heartbeat. The wood moved on its own, swung backward like the doors were being pushed by some large and invisible hand.
I sucked in a breath when I saw the inside.
Grass so green and glossy it looked made up, not real. It was darker in there, the colors more vivid, less highlights, more shadows, and the air that blew out the doors as if it was happy to finally be free from that place was colder, heavier, and it tasted different on my tongue, too.
The guards who’d walked behind us had already tied the horses to tree trunks and branches nearby, and they didn’t look like they were coming through with us.
“Welcome to the playground of the Illusion Game,” Lyall said.
With a smile and a nod my way, he stepped to the other side without hesitation, leaving us to follow.