“Thank you,” I said, taking his hand to step down.
“Master Moongold awaits you in the courtyard,” the servant announced. “I will escort you there, Miss Keasandoral.”
As I stepped up the stone stairs, two servants came forward to take my trunk from the carriage.
The late-afternoon air was temperate. I’d arrived in a pale gray gown with pretty cream crochet layers around the torso and hem. Aquamarine beads circled my wrist, and a knitted turquoise cardigan covered my slender arms.
I craned my neck to look at the high ceilings, wide staircases, and maze of halls as I was led through the manor. I’d grown up on a large estate, but nothing of this magnitude. My heart flapped against my ribcage like a wild bird trying to escape a gilded cage. This was all too much. Too grand. I wanted a hideaway, not a large, open expanse in which I felt exposed.
My palms were sweating by the time I was shown to a pristine courtyard where Helio sat on a tabletop, laughing with three males. Bronze skin covered a taut, muscular chest, and a head of thick brown hair curled at the edges. Green eyes glittered like jewels when he saw me. At once, he got to his feet, standing on the bench to announce, “My golden arrow has arrived at last!” With that he jumped down. In five steps he’d reached me, picked me up, and spun me around until I was smiling. He was over the top. Yet he managed to amuse me.
Setting me down, Helio kissed my lips before jutting his chin at the three males seated on the bench, drinking what appeared to be port from silver goblets. “You remember my friends: Taine, Vocla, and Arli.”
“Hello,” I said politely.
“Uh-oh, no more mischief now that the missus is here,” one of them said. Another giggled.
“Pishposh,” Helio said. “Fraya isn’t one of my parents’ highfalutin friends. She’s here to have fun.”
Helio’s friends gave me a dubious look, one I returned before turning my attention back to Helio.
I cleared my throat. “Speaking of your parents, will I be meeting them soon?”
One of the males snorted.
“I sent them away for the week.” A wide smile spread over Helio’s cheeks. I blinked. We were engaged, and I was going to have his baby. I’d expected to meet his parents. “Come. Sit, my lady. Have some port.”
I let Helio guide me to the table and took a seat, shaking my head as a goblet was pushed in front of me.
“I’m parched from the journey. Could I have some water?”
“Fetch my fiancée a glass of lemonade,” Helio said to one of his attendants. “Be quick about it.” He hoisted himself on top of the table beside me and grinned. “You can meet my folks later. I wanted you to see and explore all the splendors of Amberhill uninhibited. I know how keen you are to get away from parental guidance.” Helio winked.
Yeah, I vaguely recalled sharing something to that effect. I also remembered drunkenly telling him I wanted to have fun. Didn’t I deserve a little fun after everything I’d been through?
All that felt like another chapter of my life, come and gone.
After I drank a glass of sweet lemonade, Helio took me on a tour of the estate, providing humorous commentary all the while. I was happy his friends stayed behind in the courtyard to share another bottle of port.
“Hall of pomp and portraits.” Helio stretched out his arm, indicating the oil paintings lining the corridor. Bronze-skinned elves posed from high-backed chairs, in front of mantels, and above fresh kills laid at their booted feet.
I looked each one over as I passed. “And where are you, Lord Helio?” I teased.
“Alas, I have done nothing of significance to be deemed worthy of the hall—from the mouth of my own dear father.” He pressed his hands over his heart and chuckled. “You belong in a portrait more than I do, future Lady Moongold. I shall have one commissioned after we’ve wed.” He grinned proudly.
I clenched my teeth in an attempt to hold on to my smile.
I should tell him about the child. We were alone. But every time I looked into Helio’s bright face, I chickened out. He was an indulgent son. He wanted to have fun, not be told he was going to be a father.
Giving him the week to enjoy himself seemed like the wise course of action. Dropping the baby bomb on him from the start would distract him from the fun he’d planned.
That evening, I waved off wine at dinner, claiming travel fatigue once more. I’d have to get more creative the following day. After all the guests arrived in two days, it would be easier to pretend to drink while discreetly dumping out the contents of my wine glass.
Lanterns lit the grounds for Helio’s evening garden party the night his guests arrived. Small round puff pastries were served from silver trays, and wine goblets were refilled before they were half emptied. A harpist plucked her strings and sang beside a fountain.
I wore a wispy beige-skirted gown with a tight bronze top. Gladiator sandals laced up my legs to my knees.
It was a gathering of over thirty elves all in their twentieth decades, mingling, laughing, and drinking. I could get lost in the easy comfort of strangers. No one here looked at me with pity. They were after their own entertainment and pleasure. Some of the company paired off to sneak behind hedgerows before returning with rumpled hair and puffy lips.
I stood near the harpist, feeling a fleeting sense of tranquility.
Helio drank in a semicircle of his friends. He tilted his head back, emptied his goblet, and held it to a passing footman. Noticing me, his eyes gleamed. He walked over with a slight stumble. Reaching me, he gave a bow, hiccupping as he straightened. “You, Lady Moongold, are a vision of beauty in the dark. Will you take a stroll with me?”
Usually his antics made me grin, but calling me “Lady Moongold” before we were married felt like a finger poking at my patience.
“I think you have me mistaken with someone else. I am Miss Keasandoral,” I chided.
I expected Helio to chuckle. Instead, he narrowed his eyes. “Are you not already mine, Fraya? Did you not say yes to my proposal?” There was a dangerous edge to his words.
My lips parted in surprise. A queasy sensation swirled through my stomach. “I did,” I said carefully.
Helio smiled. “And you do me great honor,” he said with flourish.
I almost felt like I’d imagined his displeasure seconds before.
When Helio offered me his arm, I took it, feeling a sickness churning through me with each step toward the hedges.
“I am sorry I’ve neglected you these past nights. My friends have been rather demanding.” He chuckled as he led me into the neatly trimmed maze.
“You are a good friend,” I said, managing to sound sincere and untroubled. “You will have plenty of time to spend with me.”
Helio stopped and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “How lucky I am to have such a beautiful and understanding female for my bride. I’d marry you this very night if there was someone to perform the ceremony.”
My blood ran cold at those words, and a shiver ran through me as Helio’s face lit up.
“That’s it!” He snapped his fingers. “What a grand surprise it will be for all of our friends when we exchange vows at the end of the week.”
A cold sweat broke out beneath my arms. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. My throat had tightened. My mouth hung open. Helio noticed none of this. He spoke at the sky, his eyes on the stars.
“I’ll send for someone tomorrow. We must be discreet. Not a word or a hint. I can’t wait to see my friends’ faces when the final party turns into a wedding celebration.” He laughed. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my parents as my wedded wife.”
“But, my parents.” I barely managed those words.
Helio rolled his eyes. “You said it yourself. Your parents are smothering you. You’re not a child anymore, Fraya. It’s time to live life on your terms. Think of the stir we’ll cause. It’s going to be epic.” Helio had this way of appearing to glow when something got him excited. I’d found it alluring when we first met. Now, h
e came off as an angry spark waiting to electrocute me on contact.
The tightness in my throat felt like fingers choking out oxygen.
I’d shut off my feelings after losing Conall and, with them, my instincts. They rushed back now.
Pitberries!
What in the seven hells had I gotten myself into? I did not want to marry Helio Moongold.
His proposal had seemed like another one of his silly antics at the time. Agreeing felt like accepting a glass of bubbly wine I could sip, then hand back when I’d had my fill.
Sensing my hesitation, Helio’s eyes fell from the sky to my face, bringing a coldness with them that left goose bumps over my arms. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you, my beloved?”
His tone held an unspoken threat. When I didn’t answer, he wrapped his fingers around my wrist and squeezed.
I yanked my hand away, mind racing. I could punch him and make a run for it, causing a scene, risking entrapment by his friends and staff. I wouldn’t put anything past Helio in that moment. I’d grossly underestimated him. The other option was to play along for a couple more hours and make a run for it the next day.
“I always imagined my father giving me away,” I said. “But you are right. No one would see it coming at the end of the week.”
And he’d never see me fleeing Goldendale until it was too late. Thank goodness I hadn’t confided in him about the child. He could never know. Maybe it was time to take a nice long trip with Auntie Mel to Faerie. Lark would welcome my stay at Dahlquist for however long I wanted, especially after he learned of the circumstances. I’d have to keep him from ripping Helio a new one. That thought was enough to make me smile convincingly.
“Exactly!” Helio exclaimed in triumph. “We will be the talk of the realm.”
He’d be the talk alright. As the groom whose bride shot out of Goldendale faster than a flying arrow before he could make her the next lady of Amberhill.
“Enjoy your remaining days as a bachelor.” I gave him a conspiratorial wink before taking his arm and steering him back to the party, already planning my morning getaway.
Helio would stay up drinking with his friends and sleep in. By the time he rose, I’d be halfway to Pinemist on horseback.
My grin was still eating up my face when we returned to the throng. The harpist had gone, her pretty strings replaced by the raucous laughter of elves deep in their cups.
“There you are,” Helio’s friend Taine said. He handed a goblet to Helio, which made me smile.
Yes, get good and drunk, “my love.”
I was about to leave the males when I felt a dark gaze cut through the courtyard. Stepping in between two lanterns, Alok Elmray emerged like a shadow stretching over me to blot out the moon. It felt like a hallucination. My heart leaped into my throat before sinking down where it hardened to stone against my chest. I’d never wanted to see him again, but now that he was here, I couldn’t look away.
The fifteen-year-old boy with the blue highlights had grown into a broad-shouldered, muscular man with long layers of black hair that feathered down his torso. The years had added bulk to his body and lengthened his height. He stood beside a striking female with shiny black hair, a navy silk gown, and full lips.
Pain lanced through me and twisted inside my gut. I told myself it was disgust, not jealousy of the dark beauty pressed against Alok’s shoulder.
“What is a Fae doing here?” I hissed.
Helio took a long drink before answering. “Those are my esteemed guests: Prince Alok and Princess Reyna.”
Alok was married? My knees threatened to buckle. I wanted to die. It wasn’t the first time. Somehow, this felt worse, which was a truth that sickened me to my core.
“I don’t want them here. Send them away.”
I didn’t care that I planned on leaving. I didn’t want Alok thinking he’d chased me away. And I didn’t want to spend a second longer than I had to in the company of him and his mate. The last time I’d seen him, he’d vowed to make me his one day. He’d told me the Fae couldn’t lie. But that was seven years ago. I should have felt relieved that he’d found some other female to marry him. Instead, a surge of betrayal rose through my body as though on a tide that rushed over me before crashing down.
Was his mate an elf? Is that why he was here in my freaking realm?
Is this why there’d been no sign of him in Faerie? Had he been courting elves? Faithless bastard!
Helio swallowed more wine and chuckled. “You can’t expect me to toss out Fae royalty, my gold beam.”
“Alok Elmray is as noble as the worms beneath my feet,” I snarled.
Taine snorted. “Aren’t your uncles faeries? I’d think you’d be more tolerant.”
Helio nodded. “You must learn to be a gracious host.” As if to demonstrate, he walked straight toward the despicable male. “Prince Alok and Princess Reyna, so happy you could join us.”
I rushed forward, wanting to scream obscenities and give Alok a good shove against the chest.
“This is my lovely fiancée, Fraya. She is likewise thrilled by your arrival. Please, enjoy yourselves.”
My mouth gaped open as Helio spun away, lifting his goblet as he headed back to his friend. Males were all a bunch of bastards. I folded my arms and glared at Alok. He glanced at his mate, who regarded me warily. I hated how attractive she was with her onyx hair, soft lips, and curves. It would have been much easier to despise her if she’d glared at me or lifted her nose instead of looking oddly afraid.
“Give us a moment.” The way Alok’s voice softened when he addressed her made me want to gouge out my eardrums.
The female cast me one last look of unease before peeling away from Alok.
“Does your mate know that marrying you doesn’t make her an actual princess?” I demanded, tapping my foot.
Alok’s eyes expanded in his head. A second later, he laughed. My arms tightened, pressing my bosom up. His laugh was cut short as he gave my chest an appreciative glance. “Reyna is my sister.”
Relief came flooding in. Not that I had a smidge of interest in him. I’d forgotten he had a twin. I’d only known him as the adopted son of Lulu during the eight years he’d lived at Dahlquist Castle.
He leaned in close, flashing me a wicked grin. “Were you jealous, Fraya?”
“Of course not,” I snapped. “I was worried you’d tricked some unfortunate female into marrying you.”
“Tricked,” Alok repeated, his tone turning arctic. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say. All traces of his earlier smile left his lips. “You are the one who is engaged, and to the son of a high elf no less. Your parents must be pleased.”
My heart shriveled under his cool gaze. Better for him to despise than desire me, I tried to convince myself. I lifted my chin. “That’s right. I’m engaged to Helio Moongold. Knowing that, I hope you will leave the past where it belongs.”
A flare sparked in Alok’s eyes. It set my heart to racing. He was like the moon, and my body an ocean being pulled in by him. I leaned toward him as though tethered to the inky strands of his hair. The more I fought to push him away, the tighter I felt tangled in his presence.
Alok closed in and spoke in a low sensual voice at odds with his words. “Don’t worry, Fraya. I’ll stay clear of you. Our star burned out years ago.”
His harsh words smothered all the feelings that had flared up inside me upon seeing his face and hearing his voice after so long.
Then he walked away, leaving me standing alone in the dark.
CHAPTER THREE
Alok
I needed a drink. I needed twenty.
Fraya fucking Keasandoral was here at Amberhill, and she was marrying that jackass Helio Moongold. I would have thought she had better sense than that. Clearly, she had changed. Maybe she was acting out in some way after losing the love of her life. I’d heard the tragic tale of Fraya and Conall just like everyone else in the elven realm. The poor bastard had been killed by a stray arrow during an og
re attack at a tournament. From all the stories, Conall sounded like an honorable male, but that hadn’t made me hate him any less.
I grabbed two goblets from the nearest server, chugged the first one down, and started on the second.
Reyna rushed up to me and grabbed for the second glass. “Alok! We have to get out of here. What if Fraya reports us to her family?”
I took a step back, clutching the goblet as if it were an anchor. “We’ll leave in the morning.”
“Alok—”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of sticking around to cause trouble with Fraya. She made her bed. Let her sleep in it.” My upper lip curled.
Reyna pulled at her fingers, studying my face. “We’ll leave tomorrow?” she asked uncertainly.
“Do you think I want to stay and watch her throw her life away with that pompous fool?”
Reyna frowned.
What rotten luck. It wasn’t like there was another house party to substitute for the one at Amberhill. We didn’t have coins to spare on inns and meals. I’d been counting on feasting and drinking at our host’s expense.
But Fraya had promised herself to someone else. End of story. I’d rather freeze my ass off in Frostweather than watch her and Helio make moon eyes at one another.
I drank down the second glass and waved a footman over, snatching pastries off his tray. Might as well gorge myself while I could. Reyna looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
“You should eat,” I said. She chewed on her lower lip. Over my sister’s shoulder, I saw a white-haired female elf waving. “Your friend Blythe is here. You should spend time with her while you can.”
Being trapped at Hailshadow afforded us few friendships. I wanted to wring Fraya’s neck for ruining one of our precious few escapes.
Reyna turned. A smile spread over her cheeks as she waved back to her friend. When I started to turn away, her smile faded. “What are you going to do?” she asked.
“See if I can find anything more substantial to eat,” I responded before striding away. I didn’t stop until I’d reached a row of hedges. Blythe was nice, but I didn’t want to get sucked into the female’s chatter.
The Dark Pretender Page 2