Chapter 29

F or a moment, all I felt was panic at being left alone. Eyes were on me everywhere I looked, and I started to move from the dancing area, headed for a shady spot near a wall where I could hopefully stay unnoticed whilst I worked out what the hell was wrong with me.

“My lady,” came Rangvald’s quiet voice, as soft fingers touched my arm.

I turned reluctantly. “Good evening.”

He eyed my glass. “You know, fae wine is a little strong for humans.”

Defiance got through before common sense, and I raised the glass to my lips and took a long swig. It tasted like strawberries, a delight I had only ever savored once before. “Lovely,” I said, locking my eyes on Rangvald and channeling as much ‘fuck off’ vibe as I could his way.

“May I have this dance?” He held out a hand. No scars or callouses, and perfectly manicured nails, I noted. This man was no fighter.

I didn’t want to dance with him. “Actually, I was looking for the—”

He cut me off. “One dance, my lady. I’ll make it worth your while.”

I frowned. “Worth my while?”

He proffered his hand again, and hesitantly, I took it. He stepped close to me, resting his other hand on my hip. I clamped my own over it and moved it up to my waist.

The hundreds of eyes on me hadn’t shifted, and I heard muttering under the soft notes of the piano tune playing.

“My lady, I think you should be aware of something.”

His breath was warm on my cheek, and I forced myself not to recoil. There was something about this male that made my skin crawl. Not outright cruelty, like Lord Orm gave off in spades, or twisted mania like the Queen possessed. Just something unnerving.

“There are probably lots of things I should be aware of, Rangvald,” I said as politely as I could manage.

He gave a soft chuckle as he moved me in a slow circle. “Let’s start with what you already know then. The Queen wishes you dead.”

“Yes, I think that’s pretty clear.”

“You are no ordinary human.”

“I am rune-marked,” I said slowly.

“Let me rephrase, then. You are no ordinary rune-marked.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Why do you say that?”

His dark eyes glinted. “Look at your hair. It is most unusual.”

I let out a discreet breath. “Indeed.”

“What does the Prince really want with you?”

Ah. Here was the real reason he was talking to me. Play the game, Reyna. “You heard him. To make a point to the Gold Court that he stole a valuable asset. And it seems he’s quite taken with my hair, too.”

The fae smiled at me, a cold expression that held no sincerity. “The Queen has a problem.” His voice had dipped low, almost too low for me to hear. “Her tastes are both insatiable and unpredictable.”

“Well, she’ll have to find a way to satisfy them without me. You heard the prince.”

“It is not you I am referring to. There is a reason we only have two shadow-spinners left at Court.”

My brows drew together. “She’s… she’s been killing your rune-marked?”

His expression stayed neutral as we continued our slow circle. “Not deliberately. But my lady, I need to know. Has the Prince found a way of helping us?” His eyes darted to the black rune on my hand, and understanding clicked into place.

He thought the Prince was trying to turn me into a shadow-spinner .

I eyed him, thinking fast. Rangvald was the Queen’s closest ally. And if he thought I could be useful to him and the Court, surely I had a better chance of surviving the Queen’s ‘insatiable and unpredictable tastes?

“I can’t tell you what the Prince is working on,” I said evasively.

Rangvald’s eyes sparked. “But he is working on something?”

“It is a conversation you should have with him.”

“I will, my lady. Thank you.” He dipped his head, then fixed his sights on something over my shoulder. “And thank you for the dance. It appears her highness requires me now.”

I turned and watched him stride toward the Queen, who was on the far side of the courtyard and had a woman bent double before her.

Turning away again before I could see any more, I found myself taking another glug of the delicious strawberry wine.

“You know you really should be careful with fae wine.” Voror’s voice sounded in my head, and it made me smile. At least I had one real ally here.

I glanced surreptitiously upward, looking for the owl, but could see nothing.

“I am a master of stealth. You will not spot me.”

Unable to answer and taking his words as a challenge, I moved to a vacant spot along the edge of the courtyard and leaned back against the smooth dark stone. Under the pretense of taking in the dancing lights and twinkling windows dotting the rising towers, I scanned the walls for any sign of the white owl.

After a moment, I thought I saw the tiniest flutter of white on a dark window-ledge thirty feet up on my right. I grinned.

“You only found me because I gave you a clue. I felt sorry for your pathetic human eyes.”

I shook my head and rolled my pathetic human eyes , wishing I could retort.

“Mazrith has left, somewhat early.” Frima was walking toward me, skirt swishing. “He said you should get some rest, as you’ll be working all day tomorrow.”

“Gladly,” I said.

She looked at my glass. “You’ll sleep well if you finish that. Though Odin knows what kind of dreams you’ll have.”

“Nightmares?” I asked, then cursed myself for how fearful the blurted word had sounded.

Frima smiled. “Oh no. Fae wine is an aphrodisiac.” She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at the packed courtyard. “Most of the Court will be up til dawn fucking.”

“Oh.” I felt heat prickle my cheeks.

Frima cocked her head. “With a mouth like yours, I didn’t have you down as a prude.”

“I’m not a prude,” I said, shaking my head. “I just don’t feel the need to talk about it.”

“Right. You lived with an old man and a girl you treat like a child,” she said, nodding. “That’s why you don’t want to talk about it.”

I shook my head again. “Can we go?”

“Sure. You going to bring the wine with you?”

I followed Frima through the courtyard, aware of all the eyes on me. I pushed my shoulders back and held my chin high, letting the dress do the work it had clearly been designed to do.

I wondered if the seamstress had designed it, or if someone had told her what to do. Certainly not Mazrith, judging from his reaction to it.

Our conversation hurtled through my head in snatches, the intensity of the dance making it hard to recall all of it in order.

“I am no hero.”

That was what he had said.

I knew that. Of course, I knew that. But could there be any chance he wasn’t the villain either?

After just a few days in the Shadow Court I knew he was starkly different from his stepmother.

But was a few days enough to dispel decades of rumors? They said he forced his enemies to kill their own families, then rot with the bodies. Countless humans and enemy fae had died at his hand. He had kidnapped me . Threatened to cut Kara’s throat.

In what world did he not play the villain?

We started up the staircase and I tried to pay more attention to the route. Not that I figured I’d get another chance to escape, but it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.

“What time is it?” I asked Frima.

“Two hours after midnight. Maz asked for your breakfast to be given at seven.”

I groaned. I had five hours to get some sleep, and my head felt like a hundred loud and needy dogs were rampaging through it.

Frima chuckled. “Drink the rest of the wine. You’re human, it’ll knock you out cold.”

“You think I want to be that vulnerable in this place?”

She gave me a look. “Your room is locked by magic. And if Maz was going to pay you a visit, he’d want you conscious.”

“I’ll fight you.”

“I’ll wait.”

The words swam back to me, along the way he’d released his grip on me the second I’d told him to.

Fates, the Prince was almost as accursedly confusing as those infernal statues.

We reached the raven room, and Frima paused at the door. “The thralls are all busy downstairs, so no maid.”

“Fine,” I said, desperate to be alone and not caring one jot that Brynja wasn’t there. I pulled the ruby ring from my finger, setting it down on the nightstand. It was a relief to take it off.

Frima looked pointedly at my dress. “You, erm, need a hand getting out of that thing?” My eyes narrowed suspiciously, and she put a hand on her hip, rolling her eyes. “Look, I get it.”

“Get what?”

“I’d be doing pretty much everything you are, in your situation.”

I said nothing, totally unwilling to trust her.

“I’m a lot older than you, Reyna.” Her voice softened. “I know something of love. And hate.”

I didn’t want a speech from her. I had enough to sieve through in my brain, and I didn’t believe for one second that could ever be an ally of mine when she was so close to the Prince. “I’m tired.”

“And angry, and confused, no doubt.”

“This isn’t going to work,” I said.

She removed her eyemask. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

“I’m not sure. Either find out what Maz is using me for, because he’s not told you, or get me on your side, so I’m easier to control.”

To my surprise, she smiled. “Maybe Maz isn’t as batshit crazy as I thought he was.”

“So I’m right?”

“No. I’m just offering to undo the collar on that dress for you. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Horseshit.”

“Suit yourself.” She gave a shrug, then stepped back into the corridor, closing the door softly behind her.