Flames in the Night
I didn’t sleep a wink that night, the night before the ball. My nerves had me wired.
And so, the day of the ball was here.
After I paced back and forth in my cell for what felt like hours, Round and Dumb came back to take me to get cleaned up and dressed, the steps beginning to feel routine.
Except this time, they would bring me to a ball where Varyn waited.
The knots in my stomach didn’t ease the entire time the maidens were washing me. As they scrubbed at my body, the memories of his skin on mine in the library came crashing in, making me recoil.
They painted my face with makeup, blackening my eyes, reddening my cheeks, and covering my scars. Those would have been far too ugly for a royal ball. It was jarring to see myself without them.
By the time the guards came back to escort me to the ballroom, my heart was racing so fast it felt as if it would beat right out of my chest.
My breath hitched when we approached the king and queen, standing behind the closed doors to the already noisy ballroom, where I would have to face the prince.
They were dressed in similar attire as the day of the speech, except the queen looked far more lavish tonight, with her intricate hairstyle and gleaming jewels at her neck, ears, and wrists. Formal, but flashy.
They had dressed me in nearly the same purple dress I’d worn to the dinner of betrayal, except this one was green.
“Remember my promise, Naci, and know that I will keep it if you say even one word out of line. You are happy, you are treated well, you support the crown, and you are firmly opposed to the rebellion. Do you understand me?”
The threat was obvious all over the king’s face and in the tension of his shoulders.
I recalled him saying that the rebellion was dead, so it seemed odd that he needed so desperately for me to publicly denounce it and tell the rebels to stand down. It made me wonder if they were a bigger threat than he wanted anyone to know. I’d contemplate that more later.
I swallowed and said yes to the king, glancing at the queen to find a tight smile on her face behind her husband.
“Keep a level head. I know you’re going to be angry when you see him, but don’t lose your cool. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“No promises, Noxie.”
And then the doors opened to a sea of elegantly dressed fae in gowns and masks, already spinning around the dance floor. Everywhere I looked, things were glittering and shining.
Just before the king and queen entered, arm in arm in front of me, I felt an arm loop around mine, and the beast in my chest woke with a blazing start.
Varyn.
He stood in my blind spot, but I knew it was him.
The bodice of my dress suddenly felt too tight, my cheeks too hot.
“Hello, Naci.”
“Your Highness.” I said it with none of the warmth and teasing that I used to.
“Can I escort you to the ball?”
“I don’t have a choice, as you’re well aware. I’m just a mortal, for you to do with as you please, right? So why even ask?” I hoped my words stung him somewhere deep inside. I had said them with as much venom as I could muster.
“Naci, I—”
“I want no excuses. In fact, I would rather we didn’t speak at all.”
I was trying so hard not to let my hurt seep through the mask of strength I had put on. I could not let him see me weak.
“As you wish,” was all he said, defeated.
Good.
We walked slowly behind the king and queen, the crowd parting for us, each fae bowing as they moved away.
The walk to our table at the far end of the gigantic room lasted a lifetime.
I could feel the weight of at least two hundred stares.
Whispers of “traitor’s daughter” reached my ears, but I refused to cower or falter.
I kept my eyes firmly ahead, my chin held high. They could scar me, but they could not break me.
All around me, I saw white walls with gold filigree all the way to the high, domed ceiling.
The floor was nearly the same white marble as the rest of the castle, except this marble had slate gray streaks running through it at random.
It reminded me of a spiderweb, and I was firmly caught in it, waiting to be devoured.
We finally reached the royal table, which sat atop a dais, with seven chairs on one side facing away from us and another four facing us and the room.
Two of the ones facing us were made to look like thrones, for the king and queen.
The other two were for Varyn and me. Which meant the other seven were for the royal court.
From the crowd, the court members approached, each lining up behind their chairs and waiting for the king to be seated. Once he sat, so did the rest of us. And dinner began.
I looked at the royal court members one by one, mentally listing who each was based on the order the queen had tried to walk me through on the way back to my cell last night from dinner.
High Priest Malchior. He was old and creepy and looked like shadows lived beneath his sallow skin. Luckily, he was farthest from me.
Lord Commander Draven. He sat across the table from the prince. He was young and handsome, and the two of them grinned at each other like old friends. I ignored the feeling in my stomach at the sight of that smile I had loved so…
Royal Chamberlain Vanthe. Just a smug male with a pointed face.
Court Mage Eirathe. No other word could describe her than badass. She had short blue hair, a glittering jewel on the side of her nose, and what looked like the tops of tattoos reaching above the neckline of her gown. She was formidable, sitting at the opposite end from the high priest.
Ambassador Zareth. He was the largest fae at the table with a sinister face. His dominating presence drew my attention, partly because he was so massive and partly because he was directly across from me.
Of course, the most intimidating one would be across from me.
And he smiled as if he knew what I was thinking.
Situated at the end, the entire table stretched out to my right. This meant I could see everyone. Keep my eye on everyone.
“Breathe. I’ve got a whole slew of escape plans in the making, just waiting for you to get through tonight.”
I didn’t realize I hadn’t been breathing. Exhaling slowly, I folded my hands in my lap and slipped into the puppet I had trained all week to be.
The rest of the court was unassuming and, well, as seemingly nonthreatening as any fae could be.
Dinner was served, and the court mostly talked amongst themselves, some occasionally speaking with the royals. Except Ambassador Zareth. He just quietly stared at me, taking slow sips of his wine.
“Zareth,” someone said from down the table, “I hear congratulations are in order.”
The male chuckled slightly, finally taking his eyes from me. “I believe so. Though His Majesty, of course, is to thank for my success overseas.”
I stopped mid-bite as a chill went through my body. I knew that voice; I had heard it twice, once from under the carriage ride into Dolvenar and again hiding in the storage room by the dungeons. He had talked about a celebration in his honor and plans for purging Vydran and Ashenholt of mortals…
Gods, this was him. This was the male. And if he had been successful overseas, he must have sealed an alliance with Fellendral and Vydran.
I realized I was staring a beat too late. He caught me.
“I don’t believe I’ve had the…pleasure of meeting your honored guest, Prince Varyn.”
The way he said “pleasure” brought the king’s threats to the top of my mind, making me resist a squirm.
“Naci Corren,” Varyn replied.
I didn’t like the flutters I felt at hearing him say my name.
“I see. Well, Naci, I see you, like me, don’t fancy the meal at the moment. Will you dance with me?” He stood, and so did I, on instinct.
I first looked to the queen down the table, who gave me the slightest nod, then to the king, who watched with amusement. Then my heart dipped at seeing Varyn beside me, not meeting my eye at all.
Slowly, my gaze made its way back to Zareth, and the smile on his face and the glint in his yellow eyes made me want to run.
But I wasn’t allowed to say no.
I smiled a small, obedient smile, gave a small curtsy, and said, “I would be honored, my lord.” I took his hand, and it felt like the devil’s in mine.
There was no one else on the dance floor.
Dancing wasn’t supposed to start until after dinner.
And everyone was still eating, including the guests.
His smile dared me to back down. He intended to humiliate me.
I wished I could grab him by the oiled blonde hair and slam his smug face into the tables we passed.
All eyes had found us, and I could feel the weight of every single stare.
When the orchestra, off to one side of the ballroom, saw us on the dance floor, they began a new song. One that sounded like my demise pulled across the stringed instruments.
Hand still held in his, he wrapped his other around my waist, making me recoil.
And then we danced. I concentrated on my steps, trying to drown out the dread that was building in my bones.
“Do you fear me, Naci?” He lowered his head and drew a deep breath in through his nose, barely an inch from my neck. “I can smell that you do.”
Gods, that was unsettling. Could all fae smell fear, or was that just part of his abilities?
“I’m not sure what you mean, my lord,” was all I could think to say.
“You look like you’d rather be enduring the king’s torture than my company right now.”
Then he spun me in circle after circle, lifting me into the air at the end and holding me there.
He just stared at me above him, and I got the ominous feeling that this male might be the nobleman the king referred to as the one who enjoys mortal ornaments.
Caedryn had told me then that I would have to be his whore if that’s what the male wanted.
I prayed that wasn’t true. Everything about the way the male was staring at me was wrong, hungry and hateful at the same time. He licked his sharp canines and raked his eyes down my body.
“I could undress you, right here, do as I please to you and no one would stop me. Did you know that?”