Chapter 9

NINE

Cassia

There's no real reaction from the crowd. No gasps. No shouting. But that doesn't stop my heart from pounding so hard that it sounds like drums in my head. I'm standing here surrounded by fae, feeling naked without my mask. A liar, pretending to be something I'm not, with my life on the line.

But the drunks just stare at me, grinning. A few look confused, like, "I don't remember her in one of our orgies." Not at all like they think I'm a fraud.

Which means I'm probably in the clear. Right?

Breathe, I think. Just breathe. You're safe.

No one knows who I am. Even if they've seen me before, they wouldn't have looked at my face well enough to really remember me because no one pays attention to the help.

Being seen as no better than a trashcan suddenly has a huge upside!

When no one calls for my head, my pulse starts to return to normal. Soon, I'll give them my name. It'll still mean nothing to them. And it probably won't be until tomorrow, when they're sober, that they'll start to look into the family connections for one Cassia Wither.

"This is Cassia Wither," Prince Sulien says, speaking before I have the chance. "She will be your new queen." His tone is one of pride as he takes my hand and lifts it a little.

And, I swear, the man is as good of an actor as he is hot. There's just something about him. About how warm his touch is. How cold his disposition is. It's like he was born to play a role… not be a person, which is almost sad. But at least his words tell me what part I should be playing in this little game of ours.

He wants to keep rolling with this, even if the spell screwed everything up. I can do this. I can roll with this, for now.

"Cassia?" Prince Cobar's voice draws my gaze as he smiles at me. "I like it."

"It's as beautiful as the woman herself," Prince Forrest says, his thumb brushing over his bottom lip, like he's reminding me of our kiss.

I tear my gaze from him, my cheeks burning, and my gaze meets Prince Zane's. He's studying me, but when he sees that I've noticed, he murmurs, "It suits you, my queen."

My cheeks feel even hotter. What now? Everyone has seen me. They'll remember me. Is it too late to turn back now? I think it might be, but my mind can't quite wrap around what will happen from here.

People murmur all around us. It's almost comical. They're still trying to find their mate, moving around, touching each other, kissing each other, and yet, they're trying to keep an eye on us at the same time. I guess it's not every day all four princes match with one woman, but they seem confused about what's more important: their mate or me.

It's your mate. Idiots. Focus on each other, not me.

"The last time a female mate was shared with all the princes, our lands went to war," I hear someone say, and I tense, looking at Sulien.

He gives a subtle nod, but nothing else. So it's true? This means even more trouble than I thought! Heck, I should have paid more attention when my grandma was teaching me history, but it was always my least favorite subject. Like, if I don't care what the fae are doing right now, I certainly don't care what they did a hundred years ago.

"Does this mean–?" I start to ask Sulien, but he shakes his head.

I guess my questions about the fact that this is really possible, mating with four princes, will have to wait until later. And my many questions about what the hell that life looks like. Right now, we just need to get out of here.

"What court or house is she from?" another person asks.

I stiffen. Did Sulien think of this? What do I say? I should probably pick one of the more mysterious houses, the ones who appear at the Solstices and otherwise avoid the courts, like the House of Death and Sorrow. No one would wonder why they haven't seen me before tonight, because I wouldn't have been old enough for the past Solstices, and wouldn't have come for other social events.

I'm about to start pulling an answer out of my ass when my gaze meets that of Lady Fucking Takara, the bitch who accused me of stealing. She's wearing an auburn dress, her long hair weaved into an intricate hairdo on top of her delicate head. For a second I don't think she recognizes me, and then her eyes widen.

Damn it.

"She's a human maid!" Lady Takara screams, her voice filled with shock and disgust.

No one pays her any attention. They still talk amongst themselves about how all four princes matched with one woman. Which, I guess, isn't a surprise, given how drunk and distracted most of the fae are.

But she tries again, "She's just a maid! A human maid, and a thief!" Her voice rises as she tries to get them to listen to her, and this time she seems to get through the cloud of their drunkenness.

Eyes move from her to me, and it grows quieter.

My heartbeat pounds through my chest. This is it. Everyone knows. Now there will be questions, and they'll figure out that I'm not who I'm pretending to be. The spell will be revealed, and I'll lose my head.

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard that I taste blood, feeling like a lifetime has passed since Takara's shout, even though I know it's probably only been a few seconds.

A man steps in front of her, the huge build of one of the Fall Fae. "Are you a fucking idiot? She wouldn't be mated with any of them if she was human. Have some respect for your new queen!" For a minute I think he's going to shove her, but another huge fae grabs him and steers him away from Lady Takara.

"These matches were strong. The matches never happen like that. They must be fated mates," a masked woman points out.

There's more murmuring, and I feel even more concerned when they talk about the powerful connection that is fated mates. Mates that are brought into this world to be with one another, body and soul. The kind of mates who can't live without one another.

I've heard about them. They're rare, but there are several pairs of them, even just in the Summer Court. I had no idea that their bonds looked bigger and brighter than the normal matches. I had no idea that's what the spell would make people think.

Where the hell did Prince Sulien get this spell?

I look at him, but his face is a mask of indifference. I get the sense he's putting on a show for the audience, but I need him to do or say something to tell me what to do. It's like he's feeding me to wolves and seems to be completely confident that I'll be fine.

Or he doesn't care.

My gut flips. The other princes are studying me, and I jerk my gaze away from them. I can still feel the heat of their gazes on me, but I'm worried that they'll be able to read through my lies like a book.

The second I can escape them, I need to.

Lord Cirrus, the very man himself, comes pushing through the crowd. He stands close enough to Lady Takara to protect her, but not so close as to let everyone in the room know that he's screwing her. He's big, brawny, and seems like he's not sure exactly what side he's on. Not that I blame him. You'd have to be an idiot, like Lady Takara, to risk pissing off all the royals.

Finally, Lord Cirrus speaks, "The elders simply need to be consulted."

Suddenly, Prince Cobar is laughing. "Do you think anyone is going to tell us who our mate is?" He looks incredulous, like he's watching a bunch of people act like idiots. Like the very idea that someone is questioning me as their mate is a joke .

Prince Zane stands beside him, his expression cold and angry. "Even the elders wouldn't be that foolish." His voice is as cold as his face, and he gives me a look. One that makes me shiver.

Prince Forrest squeezes between Zane and Cobar, but his gaze is fixed on me. "It's like some fae are looking for a fight tonight."

I take a step backward, toward the door. Tension sings through the room, and I get the feeling that things are about to go very south. But maybe I can still run for it during the fight? No, shit, they know who I am. There's no running now.

Prince Forrest cracks his knuckles in a very deliberate way. "You boys need to get warmed up?"

Fuck.

I turn to Prince Sulien and glare. It's only then that I realize he's staring at me, the strangest look of vulnerability on his face. It's like he's forgotten that he's in a room full of people and he feels… I don't know, but when his gaze catches mine, his expression goes back to one of indifference.

"Prince Sulien?" Prince Forrest says, standing up straighter. "You want to help us with these idiots?"

The quiet man continues regarding me for a second and then says, "Everyone, go back to the Solstice."

It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop when someone comes pushing through the crowd. I stiffen when I see the elder in his long auburn gown. He's an elder of the summer court, one who had stepped around me while I cleaned more than a few times. A fae so old that he actually looked old, which easily made him a few hundred years, I guessed. And someone must have called him to the Solstice because of me .

He approaches Prince Sulien and bows. "Your Highness. I heard I was needed."

Prince Sulien glances at Lady Takara in disgust and says, "You heard wrong."

The elder draws himself up taller. "Surely you can see that this needs to be sorted out, and we have the wisdom to do that." He gestures to the top of the stairs where three other elders stand. I imagined they'd look more serene and stoic based on past stories of them stepping in to advise the royalty in desperate times. Instead, their faces are etched with unease, like Prince Sulien is someone they don't even want to mess with, but they're going to, and it's not going to be fun.

I glance at Prince Sulien. He has to stop this. If they get involved, no doubt they'll see me for the fraud I am.

But Prince Sulien simply gives a little nod and says, "If you will."

If you will? Is he kidding me? Isn't he the prince? Can't he tell them what to do?

Damn it.