Chapter 14
T he dragonstone gown glittered in the candlelight.
The stones pulsed over my lap and legs as I sat before the mirror in my chamber.
The soft strains of stringed instruments drifted from somewhere in the fortress.
Outside, the sun had just slipped below the horizon.
It was almost time for the ball to begin.
“This style suits you,” Delphine said, pinning a jeweled comb in my hair.
Decorated with small rubies, it held one side of the long strands away from my face.
The rest spilled down my back in loose waves.
“Such a pretty color.” As she smoothed her fingers over the shining mass, flyaway pieces lay down like enemy knights falling under a sword.
I met her gaze in the mirror. “I always longed for pale hair like yours.” An unfortunate experiment with lemon juice had convinced me to abandon that quest. It’s like you washed it with rust! my mother had exclaimed. It would serve you right if I refused to fix it.
She’d opened her herb cabinet even as she’d delivered the threat.
Delphine shook her head. “Oh no, Your Highness, this black is gorgeous.” She drew a glossy length over my shoulder. “It’s like a raven’s wing. And so striking with your eyes.”
They did appear brighter, but that was probably due to the dark paint she’d smeared over my eyelids. “You don’t think it’s too much?” I asked. “I don’t want to draw attention.”
Delphine’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I don’t think it’s the paint, Your Highness.” She tilted her head abruptly, her smile fading. “I’m needed elsewhere. Prince Lorcan will arrive shortly, and he’ll escort you to the ballroom. Can I get you anything before I go?”
My stomach flipped like I rode atop a wagon bumping over a sudden hill.
“I have everything I need. How many guests are attending the ball?” Would I be expected to dance?
I hadn’t given it much thought. Returning from the Everless, I’d waited for guards to spring from the forest and accuse me of conspiring against Rasimir.
When it didn’t happen, I focused on playing the role Vander and Lorcan had given me.
Wiping all expression from my face, I’d trailed the men into the Drakhold, my nerves fraying with every step.
But no one stopped us, and no shouts went up.
So far, so good. But pretending loyalty to my father was one thing. Dancing was something else entirely.
“Not to worry, Princess,” Delphine said, bustling around me as she put away hairbrushes and little pots of paint. “I believe it’s a small group.” Curtsying, she left.
The chamber was quiet without her, the only sounds the muffled music and the occasional crackle of the banked fire. The mirror reflected a large vase of fresh flowers on the table behind me.
Red drew my gaze, and I smoothed a hand down the dragonstones scattered over my bodice. They would have looked pretty in green.
Even as I thought it, change swept down the dress. In a wave, each stone’s center changed from red to emerald.
Awe shivered through me. Standing, I turned sideways and examined my reflection in the mirror. Green burned in the center of every stone, each pulse like an emerald heartbeat. The red comb glittered in my hair, the color a sharp contrast to the green.
Pressing a hand to my stomach, I looked down at the layers of silky skirts spreading around my ankles. “Please—” I clamped my mouth shut, my eyes going to the nearest flower arrangement.
In Nocta, everyone whispers.
In a swirl of silky black skirts, I went to the balcony and opened the doors.
Stars twinkled in the violet sky. The mountains in the distance resembled jagged teeth.
A full moon bathed the courtyard’s statues in a silver glow.
At this height, the forest was like a thick, green carpet, the scent of pine competing with Nocta’s sweet, mysterious aroma.
Curling my fingers around the railing, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I love the green, but I think it’s safer to stick with red.
My heart thumping, I opened my eyes. Red filled my vision, and relief sagged in my chest.
Dragons were telepaths, Vander’s deep voice said in my memory.
Lorcan’s snarl followed swiftly on its heels. I cut the beast’s beating heart from its chest, split it open, and plucked the jewel from the bloody, steaming meat.
I touched one throbbing red stone, disgust replacing my awe. Like everything else in Nocta, the dragonstones were beauty spoiled by horror.
Lorcan would probably claim that Rasimir had ordered him to kill a dragon. He’d say he carried out such a heinous act to secure a place at the king’s side. Vander would undoubtedly back him up. They didn’t hate each other. Quite the opposite.
But could I really trust them? Gripping the railing, I stared over the trees. Vander was two hundred years old. Lorcan hadn’t shared his age, but he carried time in his eyes the same as Rasimir. During centuries of service, neither Vander nor Lorcan had managed to unseat my father.
On the contrary, they’d had plenty of opportunities to kill for him. Both men had lied to me. And they weren’t the only ones.
A lump rose in my throat. How could Mama have kept something so important from me?
And for what purpose? A breeze stirred, sending my skirts whispering around my legs.
Had my mother stood as I did now, the dragonstone dress against her skin and an assassin’s pledge in her heart?
My whole life, she’d warned me to stay away from the monsters who dwelled across the Feyline.
She’d neglected to tell me I was one of them.
But that wasn’t entirely true. She’d done her best to help me control the thirst—and all the other traits that marked me as a vampire. So why not be honest about her own blood?
The shadowed temple appeared in my mind, the throne in the center rising from the stone.
Are you a tool or a blade?
Maybe I’d been foolish to keep the dream to myself.
Or had it been a vision? If the woman in the temple was Marrigan, maybe she’d found a way to invade my dreams. Vander and Lorcan could have told me more about her…
and Mama. I needed to know more about my witch blood, and the knight and the prince were my only sources of knowledge.
But for some reason, I’d held my tongue.
The men had their secrets. For now, the woman in the temple was mine.
The breeze strengthened, ruffling the hair that lay over my shoulder. Leaves tumbled across the courtyard. I squeezed the railing, my pulse picking up. Something was happening…
Energy built, filling the air like clouds gathering before a storm.
The forest shimmered, and the maze took its place. My gasp was loud in my ears as I stared at the vast sea of hedges. The merman’s trident thrust toward the sky. Moonlight sparkled in the water that arced from his mouth and splashed into the fountain below.
My mind supplied me with visions of Vander and Lorcan arguing in front of it—of Vander attempting to leave, only for Lorcan to haul him back. Their roles had reversed today.
But their passion hadn’t dulled. And it was passion. In my head, Vander rolled his hips, one big hand clutching Lorcan’s coat. Lorcan spread his thighs in invitation. In…surrender.
And yet, Vander had kissed me…
“Lovely, isn’t it?”
I fumbled at the railing as Rasimir stepped beside me.
He was regal in black, his coat descending halfway down his thighs.
Crimson serpents were stitched down each sleeve.
He’d swapped his golden circlet for a black crown studded with rubies.
His hair was loose, the black waves falling just past his shoulders.
A fond smile curved his lips as he stared at the hedges.
“The forest is useful, but I prefer the maze. Such rich symbolism. It’s a place to lose ourselves.
Life throws so many twists and turns at us.
We think we crave a straight and easy path.
But do we, really?” He chuckled, the rumbling sound rich and deep.
“No one has ever built a straightforward hedge maze. That’s telling. ” He looked at me. “Don’t you think?”
I willed my features into neutrality. “Yes.”
Rasimir’s smile turned skeptical. “You’re my heir, Corinthe. With time, you could become an adviser. Kings don’t need advisers who tell them what they want to hear.”
With one word, I’d stumbled into danger. Now I knew why Vander and Lorcan spoke as little as possible. If I kept my mouth shut, maybe I’d stay out of trouble.
One hand on the railing, Rasimir swung his attention back to the maze.
“You remind me of her. Lilawen. She thought me cruel, too.” The rubies in his crown glinted as his tone turned thoughtful.
“The elves love to claim I pushed them from Nocta.” He turned to me again, a strange light in his eyes.
“Did your witch of a mother ever tell you that?”
The danger swelled, the world narrowing to the balcony and Rasimir’s green stare. I was trapped. Maybe he’d come in Lorcan’s place for a reason. He knew about the Everless, and now he was here to kill me.
I swallowed. “A lot of people in Ghedda tell that story.”
“Well, trust me, the witches played their part.” Rasimir’s mouth twisted as he faced the maze.
“The spellcasters aren’t so different from the elves they descend from.
But the family tree took a sharp turn after it split.
Rot set in. When I was a young man, the coven leaders didn’t hesitate to kill those who disagreed with them.
I may have cut the heads off those snakes, but I assure you, more have sprung up.
They prefer stealth now.” He looked at me, his eyes glittering in the darkness.
“These days, they send assassins instead of armies.”