Chapter 18
RHI
Nick ushers me inside and wordlessly escorts me back to my room. Sand trails in our wake, but Nick pays no attention, or cares, I decide, that he is depositing half the beach on the castle floor.
I cast furtive glances at him during our walk back, but he barely looks at me.
Instead, he stares straight ahead, a solemn expression on his face.
If it weren’t for his palm at the small of my back and the gentle sway of his thumb across the base of my spine, I would think he regretted touching me at all.
My gut churns with what I assume is the real reason for his silence and abrupt stoicism after our coupling: I almost said his name.
Well, Nick’s name, not Raphael’s, and I know he likely believes I was thinking of this phantom lover, as he likes to call him. The fucking kicker is Nick, Raphael, whatever he wants to call himself, is the only man who consumes my thoughts.
But there is no way to tell him that.
We pause before my room, and I stare up at him, unsure of what to say that might assuage this awkward tension between us.
“There is a ball tomorrow evening. I expect you to attend.” His words are clipped and somewhat harsh.
“As you wish,” I reply with equal bite and an audible eye roll.
His lips twitch before he nods and turns on his heel, disappearing around the corner.
Disappointment floods me that he decided not to continue our fun from the beach, or at least have dinner with me.
My stomach rumbles to remind me it’s been hours since I’ve eaten, and I open the door to find Aurelia already bustling around my room.
“You’re back!” she exclaims.
Mira emerges from the bathing chamber in the far right corner of the room, her face scrunched in disapproval. “What were you thinking, running off like that? You nearly got us sacked! It was a good thing the King was satisfied when we told him where you were…”
I tune out her tirade. So, that’s how he found me, which means he was looking for me. Warmth spreads from my chest and trickles down to my toes.
He has to be remembering. That’s the only reason he must be so intent on keeping me close. His brain must finally be getting on board with what his body already knows, already feels. A smile lights up my face.
Mira is still yapping as I pass her, but I’m oblivious to her words.
Aurelia follows me into the bathing chamber, and I strip the gown from my body, letting out a pleasurable sigh as the tepid water envelopes my body.
Mira enters, still prattling on, so I sink below the water, hoping to stay submerged until I no longer hear her muffled voice, but when I surface, she carries on.
Aurelia steps behind me, bottle in hand. A few moments pass before the smell of jasmine permeates the air, and her fingers kneed my scalp. I groan, closing my eyes until a string of words from Mira’s mouth wrench them open.
“The King has sent dinner since he will spend the evening with his betrothed.”
The familiar sensation of splintering pain engulfs my chest as my heart shatters. My head whips towards her, so quick, Aurelia drops her hands from my head.
“H-he’s what?”
Mira furrows her brows, the crack in my voice no doubt confusing her. “He is spending the evening with…”
Her voice trails, mouth parting on a soft gasp as a single tear rolls down my cheek. I wipe it away with the back of my hand.
“Please leave,” I whisper.
“My Lady, I—”
“Please. Go. Both of you.” I bring my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them.
A rush of air behind me lets me know Aurelia has risen and is following Mira, who has already disappeared. Aurelia pauses by the door, though I don’t meet her gaze.
“She meant nothing by it, My Lady. It is custom in this kingdom to keep the King’s mistress aware of his comings and goings.”
I silently nod, pressing my lips together as more tears fall down my face, and I sink back down beneath the water.
The falling tears feel ludicrous, since I knew he would visit her bed. Still, our prior meetings gave me the impression he was remembering—he’d said his own name earlier, for fuck’s sake—and I’d hoped Nick would lose the desire to lie with her the longer he and I spent time together.
But it’s as Aurelia said: I am the King’s mistress, and Isadora is going to be his wife.
When the tepid burning in my lungs explodes into a raging inferno, I burst through the surface.
Water spurts from my mouth as I erupt into a coughing fit, wiping it from my eyes.
The hour glass etched into my right wrist grabs my attention, and the tears continue to fall as I realize the sand has evened out between the top and bottom.
I’m running out of time, both to reclaim Nick’s memories and to get us home.
Initially, I had resigned myself to staying if I couldn’t bring us back but I was able to restore Nick’s memories.
But now? I’m not sure I can remain here, remain sane, if he marries her.
If a Demon in this realm doesn’t kill me, the breaking of my heart will.
I rinse the soap from my hair and rise from the tub.
Grabbing a nearby towel sitting upon a stool, I dry off before wrapping it around me and wringing out my hair.
I then pad into the bedroom, noting dinner consisting of some sort of beef with a curious red vegetable and bread spread out on the table by my window, but my appetite has waned considerably.
Slipping into the nightgown Mira must have laid out for me before she left, I’m about to disappear beneath the covers for the evening when I spot a rolled up piece of parchment lying by the bedroom door.
Treading lightly, I pick it up between my thumb and forefinger, curious as to how it slipped beneath the door when it certainly wouldn’t fit rolled up in this manner. An obsidian seal bearing the Crest of Hell—Nick’s Crest—remains unblemished, so I am doubly intrigued how it ended up in my room.
I press the seal between my thumbs, breaking it open and rolling the parchment downward. Elegant cursive graces the page, but I can hardly miss the larger print of cursive taking up residence at the top of the page.
Lord Baal, Demon of Debauchery, is commanded by the King to invite
The King’s Royal Mistress
To celebrate the announcement of the marriage of
His Royal Highness, King Raphael Morningstar
To Isadora Argos
At 8:00 pm, Grand Ballroom
I don’t bother to read the rest. I crumple the invitation in my hand, letting it fall to the floor the same time I do.
Flames dance in my eyes as I stare blankly into the fireplace, feeling the familiar burn at the back of my throat and the swirling of my acid in my stomach.
Tears again spring forth and pour from my eyes.
You knew this was coming, a soft voice scolds. Did I? Or did I put too much faith into our soulmate bond, into the notion of fairytales, to think I could actually bring him back to me?
It was working. You know it was, another voice argues.
It certainly seemed like he was remembering, but then why the sudden urge to announce his marriage? And why send me an invitation?
Something is amiss, something I can’t put my finger on.
My first inclination is to find Nick and tell him to shove this invitation up his ass, but then, I think better of it.
I recall our previous encounters, remembering his body language, how he seemed particularly tiffed when it came to me, the moments when he seemed spurred into my arms.
And they all boil down to jealousy. Jealousy, because his body is reacting when his brain won’t. His body knows it doesn’t want anyone else touching me, claiming me, even when his brain remains unaware.
So, I will go to this ball tomorrow night, and I will make him so jealous, he is going to be fucking blinded by it.
The following day, I avoid Nick entirely.
Well, to the best of my ability, anyway. It turns out, the King can come into anyone’s room whenever he pleases, even if one feigns a headache. So, I pretended to be asleep when he arrived and listened with a vise grip on my heart at the concern in his voice as he softly asked, “Is she ill?”
“She complained of a headache, nothing more,” Aurelia repeats the lie I fed her.
“If anything changes, let me know immediately.”
I can’t hear their response, which I assume is an acquiescence, but I certainly don’t want him to be aware of my attendance this evening. That’s why it isn’t until a quarter to eight in the evening, fifteen minutes before the start of the ball, that I announce my miraculous recovery.
“But we haven’t time to prepare you!” Mira protests. “And no time to inform His Majesty—”
“You don’t need to inform him,” I say. “I’ll attend just as he asked and let him know there is no one to blame for his ignorance of my status except for me.”
Mira presses her lips together, her dark eyes wild with indignance, but she silently heads towards the closet and starts rifling through the gowns.
I take my seat at the vanity, Aurelia all too happy to start combing and plaiting my hair.
“I’d like to leave it down this evening.”
Her blue eyes widen in the mirror’s reflective surface, but she nods, continuing to comb my hair until it shines like stardust, the ends curling softly beneath my breasts. I let Mira line my eyes with a kohl pencil and spread the same scarlet hue on my lips.
The dress Mira chose for me is a rich silver, strapless, with a fuller skirt than I prefer interspersed with diamonds and pearls.
But I hold my tongue, deciding the dress I wear is the least important part of this evening.
Aurelia holds out a pair of gloves in a more muted silver than the color of the dress and places them on my arms. I take a cursory glance in the mirror, and while the dress may not be a favorite of the ones I have worn, I can’t deny that the silver hues coupled with the diamonds and pearls lend an unearthly elegance, as though I am some celestial creature born from the heavens rather than a bloodthirsty monster.
The two women escort me to the Grand Hall as they did when I first arrived, though this time, there are no gawking passersby. Everyone is already in attendance, including, hopefully, Nick.
Aurelia and Mira quietly retreat as I stand before the two imposing doors.
This is it. I have resigned to make Nick remember by whatever means necessary, even if I have to dance with every Demon in his Court, forcing him to rip the hearts from those who feign loyalty to him.
Inhaling a deep breath, I nod to the guards and glide through once the doors open.
This ends tonight.