Chapter 9
“I’m getting anxious, Cassie,” Tessa murmurs, clutching her stomach beside me in a quiet corner of the library. “The first trial is in three days, and we still have no idea what it is.”
Only she and Lucas still talk to me—though Lucas, as you can imagine, wasn’t exactly thrilled when he found out what my job was.
The others keep their distance. Daisy doesn’t hide the hatred in her eyes every time I walk into a room. Oliver said he didn’t want to get involved—he’s wary of Kieran. And Jordan never liked Kieran to begin with, so he steers clear of me.
As for Leon—well, the man barely speaks. He only helps Oliver in the garden and sits in silence amongst flowers.
We have stared at our creepy letters—the ones that are supposed to be our clues—until they’re crumpled, soaked in sweat, and probably a few of Tessa’s tears. If anything, they gave us more questions than answers.
“Kieran really didn’t tell you anything?”
“For a hundredth time, no,” I grumble, flopping my head onto the pile of books.
Working for Kieran is … well, calling it “interesting” would be an understatement of the century.
I am now part of the trusted inner circle, ever since Kieran officially swore me in that night—much to Felix’s delight.
They speak freely around me now, which makes me think breaking the promise would either kill me, or earn me a lifetime in magical jail.
Either that, or they’ll kill me and then lock my soul in the magical jail.
The only meeting that I’m not allowed to sit in is the meeting about the trials. Aurora lives for the moment she gets to kick me out of that room.
It’s fine, really.
I don’t want to be in the same room with her, anyway.
“I still don’t understand what the deal is between you and him,” Tessa says, closing the book she hasn’t managed to get past the first page of.
Yeah, well, everyone wonders.
Get in line.
“Pretty sure he’s just toying with me,” I drawl, flipping aimlessly through the pages of my own book. “To them, we’re exotic, and you know—they’re interested in trying the fruit they rarely have … just like how Virgil’s been eyeing you every time he walks past.”
Tessa’s face turns the same shade as the autumn leaves outside.
Please. Did she really think I didn’t notice her and the Night Blade Commander exchanging suspicious, loaded glances?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tessa opens her book again, turning the pages like she already knows every word.
“Hey, I get it.” I grin. “He’s hot. All of them are. And we both might die in a few days—might as well have fun before we go.”
“Is that what you plan to do with Kieran?”
I’ve considered it since we first got here.
Do I want to win? Sure.
Do I think I will? Not a chance.
And if I die—me, and this ghost of a girl I’ve been dragging around for two months—without at least one last wild, most-likely-regrettable night with the hottest Fae I’ve ever seen … you can bet your ass I’ll throw myself head-first into the thorn-lined walls of Hell the second I arrive.
Declan would never find out, because he’s lying comfortably on a cloud bed in heaven.
“Maybe if I’m drunk enough,” I lie, sipping my tea.
I’d undress the mystery that is Kieran in a heartbeat—probably surrendering what’s left of my humanity in the process.
Now, if by some massively stupid stroke of luck, I win the trials and wish for Declan back—well, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it. I’ll give it my best, but I’m ninety-nine percent certain the bridge doesn’t even need building. I won’t survive long enough to reach it.
Before we can continue our shameless conversation, something slams into a bookcase on the other side of the room, knocking a book onto the floor with a heavy thud.
Tessa and I glance at each other.
The movement doesn’t stop.
Another slam.
Followed by a moan—and the unmistakably filthy sound of kissing.
Oh, Gods.
Quiet as a mouse, Tessa springs on her feet, tiptoeing towards the noise for a peek at whoever’s going at it in the library at nine in the evening.
She runs back a second later, jaw dropped and eyes wide.
“It’s Daisy!”
“What!?” I whisper-shout. “And who!?”
“Pretty sure he’s one of Atticus’s guards. I’ve seen him train with Lucas a few times.”
“Oh, my Gods,” I slap a hand over my mouth. “She saw us when we came in, right? She knows we’re here.”
“Maybe she just doesn’t care.” Tessa giggles.
The moans are getting louder.
I wince, covering my ears.
“That bitch is a fucking hypocrite.”
“Yes.” Tessa smirks. “But she couldn’t get the King, so she settled for a guard instead.”
I almost laugh, clapping a hand over my mouth to muffle it. Then, I hear the moans again.
Fuck me.
“I’m done. Let’s get out of here.” I start gathering my things. I’ve been scarred enough for the night.
Lucky for us, Daisy and the guard are tangled up in each other enough that we manage to slip out without seeing anything that will probably haunt me for the rest of the night. The second the library door swings shut behind us, Tessa and I look at each other—before bursting out laughing.
“Gods, that was—” she starts, shaking her head. “I don’t even know what that was.”
“It’s a little hot tonight.” I chuckle, fanning my face with a hand.
“Because it’s a full moon,” a voice says behind us. We turn to see Lucas, looking obscenely good in the Court’s midnight-blue uniform. “Atticus warned me earlier. I swear every Fae is fucking tonight.”
“What?” I wheeze. “You’re telling me Fae get extra horny when the moon’s full?”
“Either that, or I’m just super hot today.” He grins, glancing down at his uniform. “You wouldn’t believe how many Fae invited me to their beds on the way over here—female and male.”
“Oh, dear Gods.” Tessa can’t stop laughing.
“And you said no?”
“Did you think I was going to sleep with just anyone?” Lucas arches a brow. “I’m waiting for an invite from the right one. Ask me again when Aurora walks by—no offense, Cass.”
“Oh, no worries. I hate her but wouldn’t say no to that either.” It’s a love-hate situation.
“Hate to disappoint you, but she’s probably in Kieran’s bed tonight.” My amusement dips a little.
Over the past week and a half, I’ve learned so much about the court and its people.
For example, Aurora and Atticus are siblings. Should have seen that coming, really. They’ve got the same eye colour, same out-of-this-world kind of beauty, and same radiating grace that practically spills from both of them.
And another fun fact: Aurora is Kieran’s ex.
Apparently, they were together for a decade. That sounds like a lifetime for humans. Most of us would have gotten married and had kids by then.
But for Fae? That probably felt like a month.
I can’t stop wondering how good they must’ve looked together. How many fancy dances there were. How he took her hand in his. How many nights they spent side by side.
I bet they made the stars burst every time they took each other to bed.
Then again, Leon refuses to talk about anything.
Even if they broke up over a year ago, who’s to say they haven’t had a few meaningless nights since?
“That’s fine, as long as you’re not in his.” Lucas narrows his eyes at me, playing the overprotective guardian angel role yet again. “Plus, this isn’t the only full moon we’ll get. Who knows, I might get lucky next time.”
“Or we’ll die in the next three days.”
“Shit,” he mutters. “Is it bad that I sometimes forget what the hell we’re actually doing here? I didn’t expect them to feed us and give us jobs—or invite us to what I can only assume is an orgy.”
“I know what you mean,” I murmur.
Because what cruel joke is this?
I’m laughing—with the people I swore I wouldn’t care about.
But maybe this is how they get us, tricking us into thinking it’s not so bad here—then they’ll start taking it all away.
Taking everyone away.
One by one.
On second thought …
“You should probably say yes to the next Fae who invites you to bed, Lucas.” I sigh. “Then, after you’re done with her, go find another one. Fucking your way through this shit isn’t a bad idea.”
Lucas looks mildly terrified but still laughs. “True.”
I glance at Tessa. “And you should probably take a long walk until the Night Blade Commander notices you.”
Tessa presses her lips into a thin line.
“And what are you going to do?” Lucas asks.
“Why?” I give him a half-smile. “Worried I’m going to cheat on your dead best friend?”
Lucas flinches. He runs a hand over his face. “You can do whatever you want, but I’d appreciate not hearing about it.”
I grin and simply say. “Goodnight then, Lucas—and have fun.”
With that, I wink at Tessa, then I turn and walk away.
Lucas didn’t lie when he said every Fae is fucking tonight. It takes less than fifteen minutes to walk back to my room from the library—but in that short time, two males smile at me, one bumps into me on purpose, and another literally stops me mid-step.
When I stare at him, he just says, “Have you tried a Fae’s cock yet?”
“I beg your pardon?”
What happened to romance and actual courting?
“I’m just saying—you could try one tonight.”
And here I thought humans were the worst at this.
He doesn’t look half bad, probably a bit drunk—but with that ego, I’d bet the only thing he’s going to satisfy tonight is himself. He looks like the kind of popular boy in school who gets a girl on pure looks and can’t give her an orgasm to save his life.
“No, thank you.” If I do try one, it won’t be yours.
I start to walk away, but the Fae gently pulls me back.
“Oh, come on. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
“I doubt that.” I exhale, twisting my arm, but he refuses to let go.
Is he seriously doing this?
“You don’t need to play hard to get, you know,” he slurs, leaning in closer. “Everyone does it. It’s not a big deal.”
“The big deal is I don’t want to do it with you,” I say, my voice low, hand slipping towards the dagger tucked beneath my coat. “Let me go. Now. Or I swear to Gods—”
“Is there a problem here?”
A voice cuts in, sharp, authoritative. The Fae immediately stiffens.
I know that voice all too well after spending every day with him for almost two weeks.
Kieran.
“I—I was just …” the Fae stutters, eyes darting around like he’s looking for a hole to vanish into, but all the other Fae nearby only lower their heads and walk on.
“You were just leaving,” Kieran says, his voice cold like ice. “Right about now.”
That’s all it takes. The Fae bolts like he’s been lit on fire.
I let out a long breath. No more evening walks on a full moon for me.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He doesn’t say a thing. Just offers me a hand.
Like every time, I take it.
The next thing I know, we’re in my room.
I’ve started to learn that if Kieran holds out his hand, it’s basically a warning before we vanish.
“Here I thought my room was warded against anyone coming in.”
It’s probably the wrong thing to say when Kieran is in my room on a night where everyone is horny, but I can’t help it.
He raises a brow. “I believe Aurora said the rooms were warded so your human contestants can’t get in.”
Well, shit.
They never said anything about Fae.
“Unbelievable.”
Kieran grins, his eyes darker than usual. There’s something different about him. I’m fairly convinced the moon’s got her claws in every single one of them tonight.
“You shouldn’t be out alone on a night like this,” he murmurs. “Full moons are—”
“When you guys are especially horny,” I cut in, crossing my arm. “Yeah, I heard.”
“To be fair, we are always horny, so you can imagine what a full moon does to us,” he adds, unbothered.
I lick my lips without thinking—and Kieran’s smile fades, his gaze dipping to my mouth, watching the way my tongue swirls on my bottom lip for a split second.
That’s how long it takes for my breath to go shallow.
“Kieran,” I breathe.
It comes out like a warning dipped in temptation.
He leans in, grinning. “Yes, Little Star?”
I blink, swallowing the lump in my very dry throat. Even the way he smells is different tonight—faintly like cedar and spiced wine and sin.
Like something I know I’ll regret in the morning but go right back to the next night.
“You should …” I pause, changing my mind for a second, but say it anyway. “You should probably leave.”
“You sure about that?”
I don’t answer.
I can’t quite cross that line just yet.
“You’re doing exactly the same thing as the Fae you just saved me from, you know.”
“No, because I actually know how to take no for an answer.” He huffs, his warm breath brushing my skin. “Though I feel you might be interested in something else.”
“Will you tell me about the trials if I jump into bed with you?”
Kieran laughs. “Nice try, Cassie.”
“Will you?” I arch a brow, daring him.
Kieran blinks, like he wasn’t expecting me to be serious. “You know I can’t do that.”
“So, you get sex, and I get what?”
“Orgasms.”
I snort. That confidence. That maddening grin of his.
“What? I only suggest a very effective way to take your mind off things.” He smiles, leaning cooly against the wall.
Even the simple gesture makes my face flush.
For fuck’s sake.
I seriously won’t survive this.
Not tonight.
“I’ll let you know when I actually need that.” I flick his arm, and Kieran sighs dramatically. I laugh. “Not tonight.”
Not yet.
“Fine.” He pushes off the wall, still smiling. “Other nights, then.”
“Oh, please.” I groan, pushing him towards the door before I change my mind.
“Ah, I could listen to you say ‘please’ all night long.”
Gods save me.
“Good night.” I bare my teeth at him, shoving him forward, then close the door and lock it behind him.
“Good night, Little Star.” His laugh echoes in the corridor like the devil itself.
And I linger, finding myself wanting to open the door and drag him back in.
The moon surely has an effect on us all.