Chapter 29 Dressed for War
DRESSED FOR WAR
The door banged open.
I sat up as Thessia and Elwen sailed into my bedroom. I’d barely rubbed the sleep from my eyes before Elwen yanked the blankets off my feet.
“We need to move.”
I winced as cold bit my toes. “What?”
“It’ll take hours to prepare,” she muttered, splitting the curtains. “You can’t go until you’re ready.”
I swept my legs over the bed. “I didn’t realize I needed so much work.”
Thessia handed me a steaming towel, and I pressed it to my face.
Elwen paced. “They will be watching everything. How you’re dressed, whether you speak. It’ll all be analyzed.”
“Because I’m human?”
“Because you’re his.” She stopped. “Kairos is walking into a room full of people who think he’s a monster. They’re terrified he’ll slaughter their courts next. And now he’s bringing a war prize from the massacre to a summit.”
My stomach twisted.
“Caelir especially will use it against him,” Elwen continued. “They already side with Skaldir. Every weakness they can find, they’ll exploit.”
“What about the other realms?”
“Thalir won’t care. They mate with your kind freely.” She waved dismissively. “Lunir is indifferent on most things, but Caelir…they pride themselves on pure bloodlines. They see humans as little better than animals.”
“So Kairos’s attachment to me makes him look weak.”
“Yes. It confirms that he’s lost control, and that he’s no longer fit to rule.” Elwen resumed pacing. “We cannot survive a multi-realm war. Kairos has to be very careful.”
“What does he need from this summit?” I asked.
“At minimum? Keep Lunir neutral. If the queen joins Skaldir against us, we’re surrounded. Best case? Show them he’s a king, not a conqueror, so they don’t feel threatened.” She rubbed her head.
I balled my fists.
“And here’s the worst part.” Elwen yanked on her hair. “You two will need to be convincing. The other courts will pick that apart in seconds.”
“How?”
She faced me. “They need to believe you’re lovers, or at least that he’s obsessed with you. If they sense any hesitation, they’ll start asking questions.”
“Okay,” I breathed. “I can do that.”
“I told him not to do this,” Elwen ground out. “It’s political suicide. It’ll undermine everything we’ve worked for, but he doesn’t care. He’s making himself vulnerable for you. Do you understand that?”
I swallowed hard. “No.”
“Well, now you do.” She took a breath. “If we’re doing this idiotic thing, we’re doing it right. You need to look valuable, but not important enough to warrant attention.”
“Like a trophy,” I muttered.
“Exactly.” She gestured to Thessia. “Which is why we’re spending all morning to turn you into the most exquisite prize he’s ever claimed.”
I patted my cheeks, then put the towel aside. I forced down a poached egg, too queasy to finish my breakfast. How was I supposed to act convincing when there was so much distance between us?
Elwen marched me to the hot springs. I insisted on bathing alone. I couldn’t risk them glimpsing the deal and calling the whole trip off. Once I toweled myself, Elwen hauled me to the bedroom.
I sat where I was told. A fae with sea-glass eyes buffed my nails until they gleamed. Thessia sectioned my hair and braided tight coils, her hands flying as she wove in silver pins.
“Try not to talk,” Elwen said. “Actually, don’t speak unless spoken to, and if anyone questions why he brought you, smile.”
“What if I have to tell him something?”
“Wait until you’re alone.” Elwen turned toward Thessia, who held a dress. “Let’s get this on.”
They pulled it over my head.
The delicate texture whispered over me. Midnight faded into a soft wine at the hem, like an evening dissolving into dusk. The bodice hugged my chest, and the skirt rippled in weightless sheets.
“Wow,” I muttered. “It’s lovely, but the neckline is…strategic.”
Elwen arched a brow. “You mean low.”
“Yes. I look like one of Madam Cass’s girls.”
“Madam Cass?”
“She’s a brothel owner in Skalgard.”
“Well, she must have excellent taste. This is the hide of a kelpie, a beast from our lakes. Hard to kill. Waterproof.”
“Handy.”
“Yes, and when you walk into that summit, they’ll see a pretty girl who belongs to Kairos. That’s what we want.”
I bit on my lip. “How many days will we be gone?”
“A few, at least. Depends on how long negotiations run for.”
This will be excruciating.
The door swung open and Kairos strode inside, lethally beautiful in his black tunic trimmed with red. The collar was cut wide, exposing the ink curling down his throat. His mantle had been replaced with a sleek fabric draping over a shoulder, a predator dressed for court.
His eyes found me, and he stopped mid-stride. Gods. He still looked at me like that, even though he didn’t trust me.
Elwen swept past him, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Bring her back in one piece.”
Then she was gone, Thessia in her wake.
Sighing, he turned toward me. “I brought something for you.”
He dipped into the folds of his cloak, pulling out off-white gloves. Lizard-like skin. The scales shimmered, iridescence rippling across their surface. Smooth yet strong. The material was thick, but it moved easily.
I glanced up at him. “Dragon hide?”
“Yes,” Kairos muttered. “They’re yours.”
I held up the fabric. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Scales from a real dragon. This had belonged to a magical creature that used to fill the skies with flame.
I cradled it. “How—?”
“I had them made.”
“Kairos, these are…gorgeous.”
He grunted. “They should stop magic from channeling through you.”
I looked up, stunned. “You can’t seriously give these to me.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want. Put them on.”
I slid the first glove on, ignoring the stir in my gut. They reminded me of the things I loved—delicate embroidery, filigree jewelry, soft silks. Beautiful, but built for my hands.
Kairos took my bare hand. He slipped the second glove up my wrist, adjusting the fit. His thumb traced along my palm, testing the flexibility. Heat crawled up my neck as his hungry eyes lifted to mine.
He released me and stepped back.
“You’ll carry them at all times.”
I nodded and flexed my fingers, marveling at how the glove rippled like liquid. If these did what he claimed, breaking runes wouldn’t hurt me anymore. There wouldn’t be any barriers to what I could do. It meant more to me than I could explain.
He’d personally commissioned gloves for me. He thought I was desperate to see another male, and he was still protecting me.
If only I could tell him why I needed to see Vaeris. That it wasn’t about old feelings. My mouth opened to tell him about the deal, but the words died in my throat, choked by invisible threads.
Tears pricked my eyes. “They’re lovely. Thank you.”
“They’re just gloves. To keep you from dying when you inevitably do something reckless.”
Even if you’re running to him, his face seemed to say.
I fidgeted with the gloves.
“We need to leave.” He headed for the door.
I swallowed. “Right.”
Another beat of awful silence.
He gestured toward the hallway. “After you.”
I moved past him, and we shifted to avoid touching, creating an awkward shuffle near the doorframe.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“It’s fine.”
It absolutely was not.
He didn’t trust me, and now we were supposed to stroll into a summit and convince everyone we were lovers?
This would be a disaster.
In a small clearing, warriors checked saddles on creatures that seemed to exist between worlds.
They had the shape of horses, but their flesh was translucent, revealing glimpses of bone beneath skin that flickered between solid and spectral.
Elongated skulls, almost elegant, with eye sockets that held swirling pools of silver.
When they moved, their hooves barely touched the ground, leaving prints that faded within a few heartbeats. Steam rose from their nostrils, and their manes flowed like liquid starlight.
Kairos held the reins of the largest—a magnificent creature whose hide rippled between obsidian and copper. Its head turned, its milky gaze fixing on me.
Kairos faced me. “Ever ridden a horse?”
“No, but Rheya and I used to sneak into the royal stables to feed them carrots. We hated how the stable hands treated them.”
Kairos adjusted the strap on the saddle. “They’re loyal beasts, but they can be overprotective.”
“What is he?”
“A mairen. Half-spirit. Bred for battle. They bond to a single rider for life.”
“He seems sweet. What’s his name?”
Kairos fisted the reins. “Morvaen.”
I caressed its flank, and its skin shivered. “Nice to meet you, darling.”
The mairen’s thick lips curled over sharp teeth. I offered it my hand. Its armored snout nudged my knuckles. A gust of warm air blew on me as it exhaled, and the ears flicked forward.
I stroked the steel covering its nose. “I guess we’re friends now.”
Kairos stared at me. “Do animals usually like you?”
I glanced at him. “Only the difficult ones.”
He grunted. “Is that your idea of flirting?”
Were we? When had I started doing that with him?
Sighing, I crossed my arms. “We should practice before we arrive there. Especially you. No offense, but you give off as much warmth as a glacier.”
“Should we?” he said icily.
“Yes. Unless you want everyone to know we aren’t lovers.”
He glared at me. “Lovers.”
“I guess you haven’t had the opportunity in recent years. You probably don’t remember what to do with a girl who isn’t terrified of you.”
He stepped closer, backing me against the mairen. His hand slid up my throat, fingers pushing lightly until I tilted my head. His mouth lowered, lips grazing the spot beneath my ear—barely there, but devastating.
“Does it feel,” he murmured against my neck, “like I've forgotten?”
My pulse hammered beneath his palm. He had to know exactly what he was doing to me.
His teeth scraped along my throat, and my knees nearly buckled. Then he pulled back, scowling like I'd done something unforgivable. He turned away, jaw clenched, and I stayed where I was. Skin buzzing. Chest tight. Trying to remember how to breathe.