48. A Cat Among The Fairies
48
A Cat Among The Fairies
Idris
L ate.
Aliza was supposed to be at the ball by now, but she was late. Though Anwir had informed me that she had decided to attend, doubt had crept in as every glance up at the steps confirmed that she had yet to arrive.
The grand old manor house perched atop a gentle hill, surrounded by a raised patio fenced in carved stone. The walls plunged away to the gardens where the ball was hosted, with an ornate stone staircase connecting the two levels. Steps that had remained stubbornly empty since the last guest had descended an hour ago. I might have resorted to searching the crowds, in case she had somehow avoided my notice, if not for the fact that Anwir would sooner die than allow Aliza a discreet arrival. There would be fanfare, demanding all eyes on him and his queen, even though she wasn’t his.
She wasn’t mine either. I’d seen to that.
Even if she did attend, there was no reason for me to hope for a reconciliation. The week since I’d delivered my note to her room might as well have been an eternity. An empty, agonising eternity. My words that day had made it clear that I was a hopeless fool, that I’d made a mistake, and that I loved her, but would it be enough to undo the damage I’d caused?
Unlikely. It was pointless to hope.
If she appeared tonight, it didn’t mean she forgave me. It didn’t mean I was worthy of her.
That didn’t stop me from throwing another glance at the balcony which overlooked the vast gardens of Ceirios Manor, the royal residence of Tir o Gwanwyn.
“Relax, would you?” Anwir snarled through teeth bared in a smile. “Sage assured me they would both be in attendance. Try not to sour the mood.”
As much as it pained me to admit it, my brother was right. A waste of resources it might be, but tonight was a celebration. Tir o Gwanwyn and its people were free at last. The twilit grounds were swamped with people of every rank, highborn and low, young and old. Many had come from Tir o Gaeaf for the battle and remained afterward. Families and friends, who had been separated by borders when Maelgwyn seized power, laughed and danced together for the first time in centuries, safe in the knowledge that the reinforced, powerful wards protecting Gaeaf now extended over Gwanwyn. The past week had been full of happy reunions.
I sipped the barely touched wine I’d been nursing for the past hour and forced myself to smile blandly as yet another wave of well-wishers surged forward to replace the last ones, eager for the chance to thank their rightful king for their freedom.
Anwir, trussed up and crowned for the occasion, greeted them all with his signature warmth and charm, as had ever been his talent. His humility was as fake as the rest of it; the bastard loved having his ego massaged, and tonight had been an endless tirade of fawning. At least he would be in a pleasant mood for a day or two. The same could not be said of me.
Luckily, few people cared as much for a second prince, and my participation in Anwir’s meet and greet was reduced to a few smiles and thank yous. Less fortunately, I had fought heroically enough in the battle of Tir o Gwanwyn to earn some praise of my own. If I hadn’t, I might have been able to sneak away and sulk in peace.
If Aliza was here, the dancing would have begun and nobody would have a glance to spare for me. I’d be free to stew in the shadows, seething and despairing in silence as the woman I loved danced with my twin.
At least she’d be here. I would ask for nothing more.
A figure appearing at the top of the steps had my heart leaping, but it was only the new High Priestess. Only her. No sign of Aliza. As quickly as it had jumped, my heart plummeted. They had both been at Nairsgarth. Surely it made sense for them to arrive together?
She wasn’t coming.
Heaviness settled on my shoulders, and my head became a weight I wasn’t sure I could hold. Why was I here? Why had I pinned all my hopes on this evening?
I took a step back, intent on sneaking away and finding solitude, but Sage searched the crowd, her expression pale and tight, until she found Anwir. Something in the set of her face had me hesitating.
Upon spotting my brother, she set off at once, taking the stairs at a trot, and disappeared into the crowd of fae, who all dwarfed the witches mingling among them. Why was Sage in such a hurry? While I expected her to look as though she had a broom handle shoved permanently up her backside, I had not anticipated the tension I’d glimpsed.
Anwir was oblivious, too caught up in the string of adoration his latest attendants bestowed upon him, but I followed the flicker of the crowd as they parted to allow someone small and unseen to pass.
The witch reappeared close to where Anwir and I stood in the middle of the gleaming tile dancefloor. My brother finally noticed her. His posture softened, his eyes widening as he stared over the shoulder of the female he’d been conversing with. The shift in him might have been imperceptible to anyone else, but I was his twin. We’d known each other from the moment we had sparked into existence. Nobody in the world knew him better than I, and vice versa.
I spared another look at the witch. She was undoubtedly a beauty, and tonight she had swapped dowdy robes for a rather pretty green gown. A tiara of roughly cut opaque crystals the colour of milk perched atop her loose hair.
“Excuse me.” Anwir blinked free of his daze and turned his smile on his guest. “The High Priestess of Nairsgarth has just arrived. I must greet her, but it has been lovely speaking with you.”
The female looked slightly disappointed, but Anwir, having excused himself, didn’t have another glance to spare for her. Sage made a beeline for him and curtsied. I couldn’t catch their muttered conversation, but Anwir’s face paled.
My skin chilled at the sight. Had something happened to Aliza?
Scenarios, each worse than the last, swooped through my mind. Had removing the witches from Nairsgarth left the castle weak to attack? Had Maelgwyn retaliated over the loss of Tir o Gwanwyn? Had we traded this dragonshit bit of land for Aliza ? What if he had her? What if he…
A vision of Aliza’s scorched and blistered body plastered itself over my eyes, and I screwed them shut, stumbling back a step. I couldn’t save her again. I’d already used Rhodd Anfarwol. If the worst had happened, I’d be powerless. I’d have failed her, the same way I failed everyone.
“Your Highness? Are you well?”
The voice belonged to the female Anwir had abandoned. I opened my eyes. She stared at me with concern, her hand hovering near my arm as though she’d intended to steady me but thought better of it. I didn’t have time for her. My brother and the witch had not immediately rushed into action, which had to be good news, but Anwir did not resume his earlier jovial mood. He returned to my side.
“She’s here. Aliza. She has brought… guests.”
My tidal wave of relief washed away, leaving my insides twisted like snakes. Guests? Who? Another male? My jaw clenched hard enough that I was surprised my teeth didn’t shatter.
“There is likely to be panic,” Anwir continued to mutter. “Maintain calm. Pretend it was all part of the plan. It’s too late to back out now. I will not have her make a fool of me.”
I opened my mouth to ask what, exactly, was happening, but whatever words I’d summoned died in my throat as Aliza finally appeared at the top of the stairs.
Her hair .
It was a rainbow again. It hung in thick, loose waves around her shoulders, a beautiful, outrageous spill of pastels. She had never been afraid to be different, and I loved her for it. I loved everything about her, from her colourful head to the tantalising curves she’d swathed in a fitted, glittering gown of mauve, and everything that body held. Her . The brave, funny, caring woman who owned every piece of my ruined heart.
Static tingles popped and fizzed over every inch of my skin, not unlike the effect of fairy wine on the tongue. Aliza didn’t need the poison of alcohol to sway me. I’d been an idiot to think I could fight this. There was no reality in which I could have existed alongside her and done anything but adore her. It was inevitable, and I was hers. I would forever be hers.
A male appeared at her side.
No, not a male. A monster.
My blood froze solid as one vampire stared down at the assembled, watching crowd, then another. And another. Within seconds, the balcony swarmed with them as they surrounded Aliza, and yet, they made no move to attack.
The pleasant music faded to an untimely halt and a hushed chill crawled through the crowd like a poisonous wave, spreading from those nearest the steps. The crowd condensed, pressing closer in their efforts to back away.
Aliza’s eyes, as blue as jewels, met mine, and her lips, painted a vibrant pink, twitched, but then she dipped her head and stared at her feet as she carefully navigated the stairs. The vampires followed and the crowd parted in anticipation of their descent, leaving a clear path across the dancefloor directly to Anwir. And me.
Remembering my brother’s words, I fought to keep my face neutral, as though a horde of bloodsucking vermin descending upon us had always been part of the plan. A spot of light entertainment. To my surprise, it wasn’t the vampires that made it difficult to maintain my composure. It was Aliza.
Her eyes trained on mine as she hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, her hand brushing through the trailing flowers sprouting from an urn atop the bannister. As though sensing its fellow, my heart quickened its pace. Aliza gulped and began to walk, slow and uncertain. Her gown parted, revealing a long, tanned leg ending in a ridiculously high, glittery shoe. Every step she took closer to me pulled the bond tighter, until I pressed my hand to my sternum, massaging the insistent ache.
I barely noticed as the vampires broke away, drifting amongst the uneasy crowd. There was no space in my head for anything but Aliza.
My breath caught in my throat as, with the eyes of everyone on her, she stopped in front of me.
Not Anwir. Me .
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
Her glittering blue eyes flitted over my face before settling to hold my gaze. “Dancing with the male I love.”
Love? She loved me?
My heart stalled. It would take a bolt of lightning to restore it.
Without waiting for an answer I’d been rendered incapable of giving, Aliza lifted her palm. Mine rose to meet it without conscious thought, and at the touch of her skin, some of the regret that had haunted my every moment melted away like the thaw of spring’s glow. My fingers laced with hers, and the erratic thudding in my chest told me she was all the electricity I could ever need.
My twin’s rage simmered and roiled from him, hot enough to burn, but he waved a hand, and violins started up, melding with the plucking of harp strings. It was all part of the plan; that was what we had to pretend. Whatever scheme Aliza had cooked up, we were puppets dancing to her tune. I had learnt it long ago, and now, so had he. Blindly, I thrust my glass in my brother’s direction. It disappeared from my hand.
In front of Anwir’s entire court, I moved closer to the queen, my eyes locked on hers, and slid my free hand to her waist. My body purred. This was where we belonged. Together.
She loved me.
A smile, wide and unrestrained, broke over my face as I steered her into the first step. It had been forever since I’d danced, but the steps came as naturally as breathing had once done, before the ever-present pain of grief had lodged itself in my chest, from some long-forgotten recess of my mind. I’d had lessons in my youth, but I doubted they were responsible for the ease with which I moved.
With Aliza in my arms, I could have done anything. Would do anything. Whatever she asked of me.
Under the glow of the fairies drifting overhead, her eyes sparkled with flecks of rainbow light, crinkling at the corners as she returned my smile.
Mother above, she was beautiful. She put the skies to shame. She was better than any sunrise, and there I was, dancing with her, as though I was deserving of her attention.
The dance made good use of the floor, and bemused fae, witches and vampires alike were forced to make space and I swept her over the rose quartz tiles in a whirl of colour. The tune was somehow both haunting and playful, a perfect match for that glowing, demanding thing inside of me that had called me to her from the moment I’d opened my eyes to her lips on mine .
This was better than flying. My soaring heart put the altitudes I’d achieved with wings to shame. Nothing and nobody could compare.
When the music picked up pace, when I sent Aliza into a rapid series of spins before pulling her flush and revolving with her, our arms outstretched, there was no preventing the tears that pricked my eyes. I didn’t let them fall, but they existed, and they were pure happiness. Joy. Aliza was my joy.
The other instruments dropped away, leaving the violins crying out alone. I bent Aliza into a dip, my lips brushing her throat. She was wearing her A necklace. The urge to kiss it was almost overpowering, but instead, I pulled her upright as the tune faded into its last, long note.
“You came,” I whispered, for her ears only. Though she was warm and soft and real between my arms, I could hardly allow myself to believe it.
“Did you mean what you wrote?”
The fact that she could doubt me, that I’d given her reason to, crumbled another piece of my heart to dust, but that dust belonged to her. “Every word. I am yours, Aliza. Heart and soul.”
“And what you said the last time I saw you?”
I nodded without hesitation. What was freedom from the crown compared to the love of this woman? “I’ll do it. Anything you ask of me. Anything you want.”
“What if I asked you to kiss me, here, in front of everyone?”
What if?
I’d be sealing my fate under the gaze of thousands of witnesses. I’d be openly challenging my brother. Undoing the deal we’d struck before we knew any better. Accepting my destiny .
I’d once warred against the idea that my life was laid out before me, my every move predestined, leaving no room for choice, but I could never have chosen better than this. Destiny knew what it was doing.
I cupped Aliza’s exquisite face in my hands and kissed her.