I shook my head. I wasn’t in the mood for dancing, or watching others dance, or whatever this fae wanted from me. Before I could walk away, his hand was on my back, forcing me to stay beside him. He turned me around until I looked out over the people dancing below. “Look. Then look again.”
My heart was racing. I didn’t know what game he was playing, I just knew I needed to be anywhere but right beside him. I needed time alone to assess my next move. As I searched for a way to take my leave, my eyes landed on a red dress in the middle of the dance floor below. And a pale lilac dress beside it. The girls from the front of the line.
For half a second, I was relieved for them and the knot in my stomach loosened. The girls were safe, and they had made it to the party. Granted, the prince was up here, but maybe they’d find their way up soon. Or perhaps he’d go down there.
Then the fae’s words echoed in my head.
Look again.
The girls were dancing, certainly. Their feet moved so fast I could barely see them. Their skin shone with sweat and the smiles I thought I’d seen on their faces weren’t smiles at all. They were grimaces. “They’re enchanted.” My voice fell flat.
“That’s what the king does to humans who come here to ask for favors tonight. Just imagine what he would do to fae who should know better.” He threw me a smile. “But, of course, you knew that.”
My breath came so fast the scene in front of me wavered. “I need to sit down.”
The man smiled, the movement of his cheeks moving his understated black mask. “You need to do nothing of the sort. Can’t you see the king is still watching you after the scene you made at his feet. The only thing you need to do right now is act like you’re having the time of your life.” He wrapped a hand around my arm and pulled me back to the dance floor, where he took my right hand in his left and placed his other hand firmly on the small of my back, leaving me with no option but to lay my left hand on his shoulder.
He was tall. I had to reach up to find his shoulder. He was a strong lead, spinning me left then right and leaving me with little chance of making the wrong step in this dance I’d never seen before but which everyone else on the dance floor knew perfectly.
“Why are you helping me?” I also wanted to know who he was and what he wanted from me in return, but couldn’t bring myself to ask.
“Because it would ruin my night to watch the king tear a pretty lady apart limb by limb.” He spun me in a fast circle and all I could do was hold him tight.
“I don’t believe you,” I hissed when we stopped spinning.
He lifted one shoulder. “That’s your choice, but I tell the truth. How long have you been gone?” He asked it like he knew me.
My heart fell. “Who says I’ve been gone at all?” Was it that obvious I didn’t know how to act here in the Unseelie Court?
A smile played at the edge of his full lips and behind his mask, his brown eyes danced. “No one currently living in Faery would ask the king for a favor on All Hallows Eve. He doesn’t do that any longer.”
“Clearly.” My tone was dry, and I worked hard to keep the dismay from my face. There was truth in his words. It was why no one else had approached the king, why he wasn’t listening to person after person ask him to grant them a favor.
He spun me around again. “Plus, I’ve never met you before, and you seem unwilling to let go and have a good time. So you mustn’t be from around here.”
His tone was light, and despite myself, some of my tension eased and a smile played on my lips. I let it stay, hoping the smile would make him think I was enjoying myself. Dancing in the arms of a handsome fae wasn’t the worst way to spend an evening. “And you know everyone that ever set foot in the Unseelie Kingdom?”
“Of course not.” He grinned. “But I never forget a pretty face.”
I snorted at his mediocre attempt at flattery.
“You don’t like compliments, lady?” He looked down at me as we moved around the dance floor. “Or is it just that you didn’t like that one?”
The smile I was trying to keep a hold on threatened to explode. I hadn’t expected to dance at the masquerade. I certainly hadn’t expected to smile while I was here. Yet this man had somehow achieved both in a matter of minutes. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that women like to feel special? They don’t like it when you roll out compliments you’ve used a hundred times before.”
“Ouch.” He drew in a loud breath as if I’d truly injured him. “It sounded like I’d used that one before, did it? Well, I’ll be sure to use something less common the next time I compliment you.”
I smiled at the ground. Oh, he was smooth. Not that there would be a next time. Still, I let myself enjoy the feeling, knowing that tomorrow I’d return to being the girl with the ugly ears.
“And for the record,” he continued, watching me as he spoke, “my mother died years ago.”
I stopped dancing, but he pushed his hand into my back, urging me to continue. “I’m sorry.” I hadn’t known, but I felt like a heel for suggesting his mother should have taught him something she couldn’t possibly have.
He shrugged, his eyes settling on the prince, now dancing with a woman in a pale pink dress. “It’s okay. I got over it a long time ago.” The smile had left his voice, and he sounded distant.
I followed his gaze, desperate to change the topic of conversation. “Do you think he’ll find a bride tonight?”
“I think…” He paused, watching the grinning prince spin his partner in two quick circles. He certainly looked to be enjoying himself. “I think he’ll tell us all when he’s ready and not a moment before.” Copying the prince, he spun me in a circle before moving me diagonally across the dance floor, somehow avoiding a clash with the dancers coming toward us. “Tell me.” He leaned in to speak in my ear and a shiver ran up my spine. “What was so important you needed a favor from the king?”
I shook my head. There was no chance I was spilling that information. “It’s personal.”
That smile returned to his face, and the horror I’d felt about mentioning his mother eased. I wondered what he looked like beneath that black mask. His smile was certainly a thing to behold. “Maybe it’s something I could help with?”
I stared up into his waiting eyes. Brown with flecks of gold. This wasn’t even a consideration, and I should tell him so. Only one of the ruling royal family could heal Mother. Only they held strong enough magic. There were just two males in that family; one was sitting upon his throne and the other was dancing with a woman in pink. This man could not help me.
The top of his mask moved as if he were frowning. “Unless you’ve done something so bad, I’ll have no choice but to report you to the king?” He shook his head, his voice softening. “Can’t be that though, since you were going to the king yourself.”
“What does it matter?” Suddenly, I no longer wanted to be in this man’s arms, spinning across the dance floor in the Unseelie King’s ballroom. His question was like a bubble popping, reminding me I’d failed to get the thing I’d come to Faery for. I glanced at the door I’d entered the ballroom through, wondering if I could make a run for it and whether the dark haired fae would even allow it.
He lifted a shoulder. “Call me curious.” His eyes narrowed and, as if he’d noticed my own misgivings about this conversation, a hardness crept into his voice. “I could always force you to tell me.”
Magic. He could use magic to find out everything he wanted to know. Or I could offer him the very least detail and hope it was enough to sate his curiosity. I swallowed. “I know a human sick from fae magic. The human is important to me. I don’t want them to die.”
His eyes narrowed. “A boyfriend? Husband?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Nothing like that. More like a … father figure.” The lie was rough on my tongue, but it seemed safer that he learned as little as possible about me. I didn’t want him to track me down after this night.
He smiled
, though it didn’t seem as easy as it had before. “Okay, I get it. Not a boyfriend.”
“I hoped the king might save him. But now I know he won’t, there’s no point in staying.” I removed my hand from his shoulder. “Thank you for the dance, but it’s time I left.”
“Are you not enjoying yourself?” He was holding me as if we were still dancing, even though both our feet had stopped moving. Dancers moved past us in waves, circling around us as if we were an island.
I gave him a tight smile, the sound of Cymon’s body hitting the ground still loud in my ears. “How could anyone enjoy this?” Except, there were hundreds of fae here who were enjoying it. Admitting I didn’t want to be here might be as good as admitting I was human.
His eyes rounded, then he burst out laughing. The fae couple dancing beside us looked over and my dance partner spun me around, giving me no choice but to cling onto him. “A woman after my own heart.” He cast a quick glance in the king’s direction. “Just one more dance? Then we’ll call it even and you can run back to your human. Or wherever it was you came from.”
“Even?” What in the stars did he think I owed him for?
“For saving you from the wrath of King Aengus.”
It was tempting. When I danced with him, I felt like a princess. I’d never felt special like that in my life. No one had ever given me that chance. I opened my mouth to agree to one final dance, but the gem in my pocket vibrated.
How was it time to leave already? It seemed as if I’d only been here a few minutes. I pulled from his grasp. “I’m sorry, I must go. Thank you for the dance. And for saving my life.”
His gaze went to the king and his face—what I could see of it—tightened. With flaring nostrils, he stared at the man before speaking quietly to me. “Just go with this, okay? It’s in your best interest. And don’t make a scene. The king is watching.” Before I could respond, he dropped his eyes to mine and cupped his hand to the side of my head, lacing his fingers in my hair.
For the smallest second, I stared back at him, unable to break his gaze. Then the gem vibrated again, pulling me to my senses. He looked like he was about to kiss me, and there was no way that was happening.
I shook off his grasp and ducked beneath his arm, my eyes on the exit to the tunnel. I didn’t care if the king was watching. I was leaving.
One of the rings on Dark Hair’s fingers caught on the ring in my fake ear. I tugged on it, hoping this delay wouldn’t stop me from getting away while Dark Hair stared at me with wide eyes. He shouldn’t be surprised at my rapid departure. If this was how he acted around all women he’d just met, he should expect the same reaction. I pulled again, freeing myself with a jolt.
Burning pain ripped through my ear, worse than the pain when the magic attached to me. I bit down on the scream that wanted to fly from my body, covered my ear with my hand, and ran. The exit wasn’t far, but there were fae in the way. I pushed past them or dodged around them, my heart thudding so loud it drowned out the music. My dance partner now knew exactly what I was. He would not let me leave, just as I would not sit around and wait for him to make me his slave.
I sprinted as fast as I could in my stupidly high heels, and I wasn’t nearly fast enough. I knocked some glasses from a tray carried by the same girl I’d seen when I first arrived. They fell to the floor with a crash. Every pair of eyes in the room swiveled to me, every mouth opened in surprise. I sprinted harder, expecting a hand to wrap around my arm and pull me to a stop any moment.
Even when I reached the tunnel, I couldn’t relax. The shiny packed earth was impossible to run on. I was too slow, and I had to get out of these shoes. I stopped, leaning against the stone wall as I slipped my shoes from my feet.
Footsteps echoed behind me.
I hooked the straps over my fingers and ran again. One shoe slipped from my grasp. For a second, I thought about stopping and picking it up, but there was no time.
“Wait!” My fae dance partner called, closer than I wanted him to be.
I sprinted faster, but I might as well have crawled for all the good it did me.
I couldn’t take another step toward home because he was suddenly standing in front of me.
FIVE
I don’t recall what happened after that. I think I tried to duck around him. Truly, the next thing I remember was sitting at the table in the main room of our cottage with a vial of turquoise liquid gripped in one shaking hand, my single remaining shoe in the other. In my rush to leave Faery, I’d forgotten all about Tobias. I hadn’t even tried to search for him. Selina would be so disappointed.
I placed the vial on the table so I could read the beautiful flowing hand of the note attached to it.
The perfect pick-me-up for injured
human friends. F.
Dark Hair believed his magic was strong enough to help me. How I hoped he was right, but I’d save my gratitude until Mother was up and about again.
“Bria?” Mother’s weak voice floated from her bedroom.
I pushed to my feet. The sun was brightening the eastern sky, and I hadn’t yet slept. My first patients would soon start banging down our door.
I padded into Mother’s room. She took in my elegant hair and stunning dress and pushed up onto her elbows. “Oh, Bria. No.” She shook her head. “Please tell me you haven’t been to Faery.”
I forced a smile onto my face. “I have the cure to your injury.” I held up the vial, tucking the note into my pocket. “You’ll feel better in no time.”
She dropped back onto her pillows. “You shouldn’t have done that for me. What did you promise the king in return?” Her voice was weak, but her eyes were concerned. Or perhaps scared.
I forced the smile wider, worry niggling in my gut about what exactly I might have to do because of the vial I now held in my hand. There was no way I was telling Mother I didn’t know if I’d agreed to anything. “Nothing. I didn’t speak to the king. I found someone else who believed he could help us.” I sat on the edge of her bed and held the vial to her lips. “Drink, Mother. This will fix you right up.” I hoped so, anyway.
Mother swallowed the liquid down, her eyelids growing heavy a moment later. I rose to leave, and her hand caught mine. She licked her lips twice, her words a quiet whisper when she got them out. “Thank you, Bria. I’m so proud of the woman you’re growing into.”
I patted her hand and waited until her breathing grew slow and even. As I walked from her room, already thinking about which patients might be back for a follow-up visit today, there was a tap at our back door. I opened it to find little Jonty Plimmer staring up at me. His face was taut with pain. He still held one arm pressed tight against his body, while the other arm clutched a wriggling chicken. “Did you mean it when you said I could come back any time?”
I looked over his shoulder for his mother. It was strange that he used our back door. Although it was only a matter of walking around the side of the cottage, most guests came straight off the road to the front door. I smiled down at him. “Of course. Are you having trouble with that arm?”
He nodded solemnly. “It hurts. I have to keep up with my chores, but I can’t use my hand and Mother won’t bring me to be fixed because…” He bit off his sentence, but I already knew what he was going to say.
“Because she doesn’t like me.”
Jonty looked at the ground, his head bobbing. “Can you help me?” He nodded at the chicken. “I can give you Becca as payment.”
“Becca?”
He beamed, his eyes meeting mine. “She’s mine. I raised her since she was born. She’s the best layer we have.” His face saddened as he realized what he was saying. He had to give away the animal he loved to make himself better. All because his mother wouldn’t give him any coin, or even her permission, to visit me.
I took Becca from his hand and put her in the empty coop beside the door. A laying hen would be divine. My mouth watered as I imagined the yoke of freshly poached eggs soaking into a slic
e of warm bread.
I crouched in front of him. “Here’s the thing. I can bind up your arm and put it in a splint which will stop it hurting so bad, and I can give you some dalliagrass to chew for the pain, and you’ll feel much better. But your mother will notice the splint and know you’ve been to see me. What do you think she’ll say?”
He ignored my question, listening to the point that mattered most to him. “You can take away the pain?”
I nodded. “Most of it. You still must be careful while it heals.”
He straightened. “Mother will be mighty angry. But it’ll be worth it. I can handle her.”
“And one more thing.” I smiled and directed him inside. “I can’t take Becca. She’d miss you too much.”
His face dropped. “But I have nothing else I can pay you with.”
Considering we sometimes only received a handful of seeds for the vegetable garden from patients needing far more care than Jonty, he wasn’t the only one. It would be nice if we were paid better for what we did, but Mother and I weren’t healers for the money. We did it because we wanted to help people. There was no way I would send Jonty away still in pain. “Do you know what? You’ve paid me enough just by showing me how brave you are, coming here today alone and offering Becca as payment.”
Mother didn’t get better that day. Or the next. A week later when she’d had only a mouthful of watery soup to eat all day, I was about to curse the unknown name of the dark-haired fae who’d tricked me into thinking he could help, when Selina rushed into our cottage.
“Have you heard?” She poked her head around the back door. Her lips were pressed tight, and there were creases around her eyes.
I looked up from the poultice I was making for the infected heel of a man waiting in Mother’s office. “Heard what?” I couldn’t even make myself sound interested. Yesterday, Selina’s mother had come over, sat me down and told me the thing I knew, but was doing my best to ignore. The wound on Mother’s bicep was worse than ever, the broken skin now so large it covered her from shoulder to elbow and looked like something was eating her from the inside out. Mother didn’t have much longer to live. Ever since, I’d felt as if a little of myself was about to die, too, and even working with Mother’s patients didn’t bring me any joy.
Kingdom of Yesterday's Lies (Royals of Faery Book 1) Page 5