Chapter 50
CHAPTER FIFTY
RAE
Daria fusses over me as the afternoon deepens into evening. I think I see Remi flying past my window, but he doesn’t linger. I want to talk to him, ask him… if he’s my brother.
I’m scared to ask, in case it’s not true.
Or in case it’s true, and tonight I’ll lose not only Jai, but also Remi.
The less you have to lose, the easier it is to let go, right? It’s not fear that prevents me from asking Remi the question. Certainly not.
Okay, I’m such a bad liar.
In my black, dragonscale gown, dripping black jewels, I turn away from the window and all thoughts of Remi. If my brother was killed and turned into a small dragon, well… that still calls for revenge.
Is he happy? In dragon or spirit form, wherever he is? I have wondered about it, just as I have wondered about my parents and Jai.
“You’re all set, my lady.” Daria gives the skirt of my gown an unnecessary tug and presses something hard into my hand. “This you can hide in your bosom. It’s sheathed. It’s the best I could do on such short notice.”
A small, slender dagger, from the feel of it, encased as promised in leather.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Be careful,” she says, her gaze shifting to the door. “Nobody has ever been able to put even a scratch on him in all this time.”
She doesn’t have to say his title or name. We both know she means the king. And I know. Hoping to kill him with this nonmagical blade is madness.
Is this the right moment to trust in the prophecy? Trust I’m the one supposed to kill him?
If the mark worked both ways, I could plunge this dagger into my own heart and take his life together with mine, but he barely feels my wounds, if at all. If the bond was completed, if he took my mark… would it work, then?
Would the king accept my mark?
What if I asked for it in front of everyone? Would he still back away?
Claim him, and then slay us both.
Armed with the small dagger safely tucked between my breasts and so many dark thoughts, I exit my room.
I find Jai waiting outside, dressed in a sleek black suit with a long overcoat, a simple gray shirt stretched over his muscular chest.
He looks tired. Pensive.
Gorgeous.
He grabs my hands, pulls me to him—then pushes me back to the wall, caging me with his muscular arms. His head dips, his mouth finding mine.
I kiss him back, winding my arms around his neck, luxuriating in his deep, smoky taste.
“Got rid of my usual bodyguards?” I smile at him when we break up for air, though I’m secretly relieved. “Where are Arkin and Tru?”
His broad shoulders stiffen. “I don’t have anything to do with Tru and Arkin anymore. Tru admitted that he tried to kill you.”
The admission is a punch to my chest. Still, I manage a nod. “So you found out…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tru is your friend. He thought I meant to kill you.”
“Nobody touches you,” he snarls, his voice a deep rumble in his chest. “I’d have killed him if Arkin hadn’t shown up. I can’t fucking believe Tru went behind my back to end you. And Arkin took his side? I can’t trust them anymore.”
I hesitate. “You need allies, Jai. Don’t cut them out of your life.”
He gives a bitter laugh. “What life I have left.”
“You have all your life before you,” I tell him.
“Nobody. Touches. You.” The snarl is back, twisting his beautiful mouth. The rage in his dark eyes soothes the ache in my chest. “Never again.”
The king wanted me to refuse him and hurt him. But I couldn’t. Tru managed what I couldn’t do. He hurt him where it mattered. Without any friends, any supporters, he’s all alone in the palace.
Just like I am.
And perhaps it doesn’t matter. After all, unless I manage to kill the king tonight—and die in the process, but I try not to dwell on that part—we still need to survive the third trial and there’s no telling if we’ll succeed.
The roof terrace is illuminated with glittering lanterns. The glowing column of the Pillar beyond that turns the sea milky.
As we exit the stairs and step out, I quickly realize that only Jai and I are dressed in black. Everyone else is wearing light, bright colors, colors of the day and dawn.
It feels appropriate that we are dark as the night.
Fairy lights hang between the pillars and over the balustrade. Colorful banners fly on tall poles, fluttering in the sea breeze. The sky seems full of fires and stars.
The fae nobles turn to stare at us, dressed as always in colorful silks that flutter in the breeze. They don’t laugh or whisper behind their hands like they used to.
The music stops. Silence spreads around us in ripples.
Even the so-called lumina or goblins, the lesser fairies the king lets loose during these balls slink away, hiding behind the potted plants and hedges, their tails swinging back and forth, their eyes glowing.
Jai’s gaze roams over the terrace but nobody seems able to look him in the eye, everyone looking away or bowing their heads. Glittering black moths flutter over his broad shoulders. One flies to me, landing on my arm, winking like a gem.
What are they seeing? What are they thinking? They watched us in the arena, saw us courting death time and again.
Some dead never leave…
A drak screeches high above, flying through the dark, and the crowd seems to wake up from its stupor. The music resumes, merry and quick-paced.
We walk among the fae and they flinch away from us, silent and staring.
Here and there, magic flares. A twig twines around a fae lady’s arm, blossoming.
A fae lord’s long hair turns to foliage.
Another turns a face that morphs into that of a bird.
It’s earth magic, the magic most fae carry inside them.
I force my gaze ahead, make myself show no reaction. We keep moving, our clothes rustling, the night whispering around us.
And then I see her.
Amaryll.
A tall figure steps out from behind her, and I recognize Tru.
Jai’s face settles into a dark scowl, but before he can speak, I step in front of him.
“Amaryll. I was glad to hear you survived, though nobody has told me how.”
“A drak swooped down and rescued me. A yellow drak. Said Athdara sent him.”
I glance back at Jai and he shrugs, smiling faintly.
He did this? Oh Gods… Even wounded and barely conscious, he asked the drak to drop him off on the palace terrace and then go find the other survivors.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Amaryll smooths her graceful hands over her yellow gown. Her dark curls glitter with yellow garnets and tourmaline. “Were you truly glad to see me alive? After I tried to get rid of you?”
“The fuck?” Jai’s smirk evaporates. “She did what? And I saved her life?”
Oh shit.
“It was the game,” I say smoothly, even as I recall Mera’s words of warning in my room earlier, about Amaryll wanting to win the third trial and become the king’s human queen. About the need to be wary of her.
“And Tru,” Jai says, speaking the name like a curse. He wraps an arm around me and hauls me back, against his tall, hard body. “What are you doing with her?”
“That is my business.” Tru’s voice is flinty.
“Is it, now? You like each other because you both tried to kill my mate, is that what this is about?” Jai’s voice is a constant low growl that I feel in my bones. “United in your cowardice, are you?”
“Jai,” I whisper, “she wants to get back to her daughter—”
“Don’t give excuses for people who value their lives over yours, makhair. You don’t owe them anything. They aren’t worth your time.”
“Come, Athdara.” Tru’s face is pale. “Lady Rae doesn’t hate me. She understands why I did it. Why won’t you give me another chance?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I mutter. “I may understand, but that doesn’t mean I forgive you or that I like you.”
“That’s right, Tru,” Jai says, “we don’t like you. We don’t trust you. Go have fun, fuck under the stars or whatever it is you have planned, and stay away from Rae. Do you hear me? Don’t ever come near her again.”
“You can’t make such decisions for me,” I say, torn.
“I won’t compromise on this, makhair.” He looks unrepentant. “Not where your safety is concerned.”
“Come,” Tru says, taking Amaryll’s arm, his face still white with strain. “Let’s go.”
“For what is worth,” she says quietly, “I’m also glad you made it, Rae.”
Feeling numb, I nod as they turn and go, vanishing in the crowd. I don’t know how to feel about all this. I want to tell Jai that it doesn’t matter, not if this is my last night with him. With everyone.
But he turns me in his arms and his eyes glow with the reflections of stars falling into dark water. “Let’s get something to drink.”