27. Zoey

Zoey

Sophia chooses a deep green gown with gold embroidery along the neckline. It complements my eyes—which are hazel, unlike her and Victoria’s brown—and she swears Aerix will love it.

It’s slightly too big, but with a few pins, we’re able to make it work.

Obviously, I wear my hair down.

Sophia won’t tell me anything about the girl who owned the dress before me, who lived in this room. And, taking the hint, I don’t push.

In actuality, I’m not sure I want to know. Not yet.

The walk to the dining hall is silent, although every few steps, Victoria shoots me a glare that could freeze hellfire.

“Here we are,” Sophia says as we approach a set of ornate double doors.

She pushes them open, revealing a dining hall with soaring ceilings, floating gold chandeliers, and six ornate round tables spread throughout the room, each one with three seats around it.

But it’s not the room that makes me stop dead in my tracks.

It’s who’s sitting at one of the tables.

“Matt?” The name tears from my throat as I stare at him, shocked.

Matt Larkin. Sapphire’s ex-boyfriend who tried to make her give up bartending to live with him. The one who proposed to her on New Year’s Eve—ten days ago—and then left her alone in the woods when she said no.

“Zoey?” He jumps up so fast his chair nearly topples over.

I race over to him, ignoring Sophia’s surprised gasp. “What are you—how did you—” The questions tumble out as I grab his arms, needing to confirm he’s real.

Needing to confirm that I’m not alone here anymore.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he says. “When you and Sapphire disappeared...” Pain flashes across his face. “They tried to find you. But they couldn’t. They kept questioning me. I think they thought…”

“They?” I ask.

“The police.”

Right. Of course the police were involved. I assumed as much.

“But how did you get here?” I motion around the dining hall, in the Night Court, in an entirely different realm . “What happened?”

“No one could find you two,” he says, and his eyes go distant, as if he’s experiencing the pain all over again. “They were trying to pin it on me. I know they were. They were trying to find evidence to make it look like I dragged both of you into the woods and killed you or something. So, I got in my car and kept driving, as north as I could get. But the roads were icy. I thought I saw something in the woods—a light, or... I don’t know. Lost control of the car. Went right off into a ravine.”

My heart pounds. “How did you survive?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “There was the impact, and then I woke up, and she was there.”

“One of the night fae?” I ask, since it would track with how I got here.

“Not just one of them,” His entire demeanor changes, his eyes taking on a dreamy, unfocused quality. “Ravenna. Queen Ravenna. She saved me, Zoey. She gave me the potion herself—the one that healed me. I’m alive because of her.”

The way he says her name—as if he worships her—makes my skin crawl.

“You’re on first name basis with the queen,” I say, having a sinking feeling where he’s going with this.

“You should see her,” he continues. “The way she moves… it’s like she’s an angel. And when she speaks, it’s like nothing else matters. Nothing but her.”

I watch him carefully, more on guard than ever. Because this isn’t the Matt I know. The ex-quarterback who’s been worn down by endless hours toiling away in the garage, who’s been desperate—and way too pushy—to keep his relationship with Sapphire going, even though we all knew it was falling apart.

“Matt,” I say slowly. “Are you okay?”

He blinks, focusing on me again. “Better than okay. After Sapphire said no to my proposal, I thought something broke in me. Forever. Then the police blamed me. And after the crash… I should have died. But Ravenna saved me. She loves me. I’m alive because of her.”

One of the other guys at his table snorts. “She said she loved me, too,” he says, looking at Matt like he wants to drive a fork into his eyeballs. “But then she forgot about me. Just like she’ll eventually forget about you.”

Matt’s expression darkens. “It’s not like that with us.”

“Sure, it’s not,” he says, quickly switching his focus to me. “Welcome to the Night Court. I’m Elijah.”

“Zoey,” I introduce myself, although I can barely focus on the exchange.

Because Matt’s here.

In the Night Court.

With me.

Out of all the things I was expecting, it certainly wasn’t this.

“Go to your table.” One of the fae women materializes beside us, her voice like ice. “Now.”

Matt sits back down and nods at me to comply as well.

Reluctantly, I let Sophia guide me back to the table where Victoria’s waiting for us.

I barely have a chance to get comfortable before the fae servants glide into the room with silver platters. The food looks incredible—roasted meats, fresh vegetables, fresh bread that makes my mouth water, and more. We’re even given wine.

After the past few days of barely eating, it’s like a feast from a fairy tale.

Which, I suppose, it kind of is.

Just not the kind with happy endings.

“Time for the run down on who’s who around here,” Sophia quietly says to me as we’re served. “You already know Matt and Elijah. The other one at the queen’s table is Henry. I think he’s flirted with every girl who comes through here.”

Henry shoots her a smirk, as if he knows she’s talking about him.

Victoria laughs, as if she and Sophia are in on some private joke.

Sophia blushes, straightens, and looks away from Henry. “The quiet ones at the end are Prince Malakai’s. Lacey, Katerina, and Brenda. They don’t spend time with anyone other than each other,” she continues. “And the king’s are the three pretty ones over there—Aurora, Genevieve, and Isla.”

“How old’s the little one?” I ask, referring to Isla, who looks like a tiny China doll.

“Thirteen, I think,” Sophia says. “She’s new. The same age I was when I was brought here.”

I look back and forth between Sophia and Isla in shock.

“I’m sorry,” I finally say, since I can’t imagine being thrown into something like this at such a young age.

“Don’t be.” She shakes it off and motions to a blond, lanky guy sitting alone. “That’s Nathaniel. Princess Mirena’s only pet. She doesn’t like to share. And those three at the far table are Princess Cierra’s—Jake, Tanya, and Sebastian.”

My attention catches on Jake. And it’s not just because he’s watching me with an intensity that makes my chest tighten.

It’s because he reminds me of Patrick. My ex-boyfriend. The one I’ve been hoping to get back together with for weeks now.

Maybe it’s the way he holds himself—that same quiet confidence Patrick had on the soccer field. Or maybe it’s the slight curl to his dark hair, just like Patrick would get after practice.

Patrick liked playing soccer with me during my short stint on the girls team at school. Then I dropped soccer for tennis, and that was it for him. Suddenly we didn’t have enough in common to be together anymore.

Jake offers me a small smile that’s so much like Patrick’s it makes my heart ache.

“Jake’s nice,” Sophia says, apparently noticing our little exchange. “One of the few here who hasn’t let this place change him too much.”

Victoria scoffs. “Give him time.”

I scowl at her, and one of the fae women—I suppose they’re sort of like our handlers, as awful as it is to think of it that way—clears her throat.

The message is clear: no more bickering

The conversation turns soft and demure—like when there’s tension while you’re dining with your family at a fancy restaurant, but you’re trying to not make a spectacle of yourself.

Jake’s gaze lingers on me throughout the meal. It’s different from the way the others look at me. There’s no hostility, no calculation. Just interest. Maybe even concern.

Matt refuses to look at me. Not even for a second.

When the plates are cleared, Jake makes his way over to our table, his eyes locked on mine the entire time. “Welcome to the Night Court,” he says when he reaches me. “I’m Jake.”

“Zoey,” I introduce myself, as if he didn’t already know that from that little confrontation with Matt and Elijah at the start at the meal.

“Nice to meet you, Zoey,” he says with a shy smile that warms my heart. “After dinner, I like to spend time in the courtyard until curfew—which is at dawn, by the way. Come join me out there after you change. If you want.”

“After I change?” I ask, confused.

“Out of your dinner dress…”

At that, I glance to Sophia. “We just put these on,” I tell her, motioning to our dresses. “Now we’re supposed to change?”

“Life at court.” She shrugs. “We go through a few dresses a day.”

“Lovely.” I huff, since changing in and out of fancy dresses is hardly how I like spending my time. Not when there are far more interesting things to do. Like tennis, and pottery, and horseback riding, and wood whittling, and cooking, and figuring out how to escape a palace ruled by fae-vampire hybrids with dark wings and hypnotizing eyes that dig into my soul.

“Zoey?” Jake asks, bringing my focus back to him, where he’s watching me with puppy dog eyes. “Hopefully I’ll see you later?”

“I’ll see if I can work you into my busy schedule,” I say, trying to keep it light, which earns me another smile from him.

“Looking forward to it,” he says, and as he walks away, I notice how gracefully he moves. Like an athlete.

Like Patrick.

It’s not just that he reminds me of Patrick, I realize. It’s that he reminds me of home.

But Jake’s not from my home. Not really—not from Presque Isle.

Matt is.

But when I look for him, he’s gone, along with most of the other humans.

Another one of the girls makes her way over to me and Sophia—Aurora. One of the king’s pets. She’s the most beautiful of all of us, but she barely looked up during dinner.

“Don’t get attached,” she warns when she’s next to me, barely above a whisper. “To Jake. To anyone. It only makes it harder when...” She trails off, but I know what she means.

When we’re sent to the barns. When we’re too old to be worth keeping. When we’re nothing but food to be shared amongst the nobles.

I look back at Jake one last time—at the way he carries himself with dignity, even in captivity.

How long can we hold on to who we were before this place?

Even scarier—will we recognize ourselves when it’s over?

If it’s ever over?