A footman appeared with a wine carafe and filled first Teryani’s then Ella’s goblets. When he approached me, I shook my head and said, “No, thanks.” Folas and Lyklor declined as well.
When the first course arrived, I noticed that Lyklor was repeatedly the last to be served. Seeming to feel my gaze, Lyklor looked up and met my stare. My heart jolted at being caught gawking at him, but he showed no signs of emotion other than a slow simmering yet contained anger.
“I came to Ravensburg castle to get away from my cousins and meet my sister,” Lyklor said.
Teryani picked up her wine goblet, not so much as looking in Lyklor’s direction as she took a small sip and set it back down.
“That must have been surprising learning you had an entirely different set of siblings,” I offered. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt bad for Lyklor. Maybe it was a youngest sibling thing. I always hated how my father dismissed me, saying I was too young to be of any help or too young to understand.
Grrr. It made my blood boil remembering that condescending, dismissive voice. Adults were the ones who didn’t get it, thinking age was all it took to make them know better than everyone else.
I recognized the anger in Lyklor’s stiff posture and hard, shimmering eyes. Those eyes latched on to mine, and I felt that weird somersaulty thing again.
“You’re an elf, aren’t you?” he asked.
I lifted my chest, feeling my defenses rising. “What of it?” I snapped, expecting some kind of jibe.
He merely pursed his lips and said, “Just clarifying.”
Clarifying what? I wondered, but he said no more.
“Don’t waste your breath attempting civilized conversation with him,” Teryani said, lifting her dinner knife and pointing it at Lyklor. “When you are raised by wolves, you become one of the animals.”
Or maybe he’d pierced his tongue to protect himself from Albedo and Malon—unless they’d ganged up on Lyklor and forced the piercing on him. I shuddered, remembering the way Malon had stabbed Ryo with the horn. I had no trouble picturing him as the horrible bully picking on a younger sibling or cousin. Maybe this is exactly what they wanted, for everyone to mistrust and dismiss Lyklor, even if he could share insights into what the black-haired brothers were up to.
Beside me, Folas took up his knife and fork and glowered across the table as though Lyklor was indeed a rabid beast who might pounce at any moment.
Lyklor said nothing, no word of protest, no defense, nor return insult. His expression turned hard as oak, solidifying the rest of his body, which didn’t move the slightest as he sat, not eating a single morsel from his plate.
The atmosphere didn’t inspire me to eat, but I was famished from the long day of travel. Bit by bit, I finished my dinner, with the exception of a raspberry-and-white-chocolate scone served with lemon-and-ginger tea at the end. When no one was looking, I slipped the scone onto the linen napkin on my lap and wrapped it. Lyklor was sure to be hungry later. If he were anything like me, he’d be too proud to make a request of the kitchen. I didn’t doubt for a second that all of his actions were reported back to the queen. She behaved as though she was his warden rather than his sister.
When dinner concluded, I left the wrapped scone on my seat, pushing it out-of-sight beneath the table to retrieve later. Hopefully the servants were not in the habit of dusting off the seats after every meal.
Teryani led us into a sumptuous parlor filled with bedlike sofas low to the floor. Beautiful notes plucked from a harp greeted our entrance as a Fae with long white-and-light-purple hair played from a corner of the room.
Teryani slipped out of her ivory flats and lowered herself onto one of the large sofas, tucking in her bare feet. Ella did the same, taking a spot beside her.
I glanced at Folas and nearly burst out laughing when I saw the grimace he fought to contain. I swore we had a moment right then. This wasn’t how I wanted to spend the rest of the evening either.
“Go on. Take a seat,” Teryani said impatiently.
Ugh. There wasn’t a normal chair to be seen, and I wasn’t the lounging type. Was this an order I had to obey?
I looked at Folas again. The grimace was gone, replaced with his uptight, no-nonsense, severe royal guard look. He sat on the edge of a cream settee, looking totally ridiculous, and glared at me in silent command.
I plopped down onto the settee nearest the door. Once seated, I noticed Lyklor hadn’t followed us in. No fair!
I glanced at Teryani, but she didn’t seem to care, her focus turning to Ella. She took a piece of the blonde’s hair and twirled it around her finger.
Servants padded quietly into the parlor carrying copper bowls that smoked with incense and set them around the room before retreating as silently as they had come.
I slouched into the settee, already bored out of my mind while Folas sat upright, his fingers tightly clasped.
“Relax, Folas,” Teryani said. “Your energy is polluting the room.” She lifted her hand, and two petite females drifted into the parlor. I thought they were twins at first with their matching short light blue hair that hung slightly longer at the sides. Their light blue eyebrows matched their hair and accented exotic pinkish-purple irises. Rows of pearl earrings pierced their lobes and thick blue and silver collars encased their necks attached to flimsy bikini tops. They were bare down to their navels where a tiny wrap skirt hung low over their hips. The tie of the skirts draped between their bare legs. They walked in barefoot with silver anklets.
I looked them over as they approached Folas. One was an inch taller with an oval face; the shorter one had a heart-shaped face and bow-shaped lips.
Folas eyed the approaching females wearily. Soon, they were blocking him from my line of sight, coaxing him to lay back. One removed his boots and began massaging his feet, while the other positioned herself at his back and massaged his shoulders.
Double ugh. I was so glad Lyklor hadn’t joined us in the massage parlor.
Biding my time, my thoughts drifted from the room like smoke from the incense, puzzling over Lyklor. At some point, Folas gave in to the lure of the females and stretched out over the settee, allowing the females to touch him wherever they pleased.
Ew. I had to get out of there.
I found my opportunity when Teryani and Ella began making out.
With slow, careful movements, I stood and slipped away before anyone noticed. My first stop was the dining room, now cleared of plates and the candles extinguished. I called forth one small flame over my finger to guide me to my earlier spot, where I was happy to find my scone untouched on my seat.
Not wanting to waste time searching the entire castle, I stopped a lean footman with high cheekbones and slicked-back hair with two messy strands over his forehead to ask where I might find Lyklor. Right away, he was able to report that Lyklor was currently in the castle’s library, and he even escorted me along the fastest route. He nodded and smiled at other servants we passed and it struck me that all of Teryani’s staff looked like they could be runway models on Earth.
When we reached the library’s open door, the footman stopped. “Can I help you with anything else?”
“No, thanks,” I said.
As I entered the library, I could have sworn I saw the footman remain in place, hovering near the door. I turned and closed it firmly behind me.
“Don’t bother,” came the familiar rough voice, his syllables like gravel. “They’ll think something indecent is taking place if you keep the door shut.”
“Well, they ought to check the parlor. There’s all kinds of debauchery unfolding, and the door’s wide open.”
I expected him to laugh or snort, but Lyklor merely looked up from a leatherbound book he was reading in a crimson chair beside a lit candelabra. He managed to look stiff in the cushy chair, his legs spread several feet apart and back straight as though he was on trial.
“Is there something you wanted?” he asked coldly.
I tried to ignore his tone even as it knifed
me in the gut. This was a Fae who had lived his life with his defenses up. I was sure of it. I wanted to crack through them, let him know he had a friend. He was Aerith’s long-lost brother-in-law. A cruel joke had been played on him, and I couldn’t imagine growing up with a monster like Malon.
Teryani had called him an animal, but to me he looked like a survivor. Would it kill her to show her blood brother a little kindness?
“I brought you this,” I said, walking up to Lyklor, holding out the wrapped scone.
With an unfriendly huff, he closed his book and set it on the end table beside the candles then stood. “Open it,” he said in a commanding voice. I uncovered the scone. Lyklor scowled into my hands then looked up and glared at me. “Come to feed the animal scraps from the table, have you?” The chill of his words sank deep into my bones.
“This isn’t a scrap. It’s a really tasty-looking scone,” I said defensively.
He knocked it out of my hands.
“Hey!” I cried as it fell to the floor.
“Why are you here?” he demanded.
It took me a moment to pull my eyes off the scone with its scattered crumbs on the floor. My patience was about to run out. Sympathy only went so far, especially when the unnecessary waste of baked goods was involved.
“I would have eaten that,” I said, my eyes snapping up to meet Lyklor’s.
He folded his arms. “What are you and your guard doing here?”
Wow, he didn’t let up, did he?
“Aerith sent us. She wants you to come to Dahlquist castle.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
I folded my arms, mirroring his stance. “Isn’t it obvious? If something happens to Liri in the mortal world, then you’re the true heir to the throne.”
“I don’t give a damn about the throne.”
“You’re family.”
“Family,” he spit the word out bitterly.
I stood up taller. “You’ve never met Aerith before, so you don’t know how lucky you are to have her as family. Hopefully you’ll wise up once we get to Dahlquist.”
Lyklor huffed, but it was softer than before. He lowered his arms. “Teryani will never let me leave Ravensburg.” He turned away from me as he spoke. “I came seeking sanctuary. Instead, she provided me a prison. Even Albedo and Malon allowed me to come and go as I pleased.” My heart sank as he walked away from me toward the door. Upon reaching it, Lyklor turned halfway into the room, not looking at me as he said, “Go back to Dahlquist. Tell your sister that if Liri doesn’t return, she can keep the throne. I don’t care.” When I took a step toward him, he growled. “And you, Melarue, can stay away from me.”
Chapter Nineteen
Hensley
T
he walls in Jessica’s townhouse vibrated with techno music. She’d replaced candles with white string lights fastened across the ceiling and had a table laid out with fruits, vegetable trays, and bowls of chips and dip.
Tonight we were celebrating the successful run-through of our first dress rehearsal. It had been performed so beautifully that Mrs. Bryant was compelled to say we were ready for opening night but not to let it go to our heads.
Of course it went to our heads. This was our pre-show celebration.
I leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping on a cosmopolitan Jessica had shaken up and poured me. She was positively glowing as she handed out cosmos.
“The costumes and makeup were Oscar-worthy,” Dereck, one of the guys on set gushed.
Jessica laughed, her smile stretching to her eyes. She handed Ruby a cosmo.
Ruby thanked her and turned to Larry. “What did you think, Larry?” she asked. “You’ve been to every rehearsal, haven’t you? Did you approve of the sets and costumes?”
“I thought it was magnificent,” he said. “I have never seen such a marvelous production.”
He sounded so wowed, so sincere in his awe that we all laughed in appreciation.
“Watch out, Larry, or the theater bug just might bite you,” Ruby said. She lifted the martini glass to her lips and took a sip. “Oh wow. Delicious. You know how to mix a drink, Jess.” Ruby smacked her lips.
I took a sip from my glass, swallowed, and nodded. “It is really good,” I agreed. Turning to Larry, who stood beside me, I said, “Aren’t you having anything?”
He looked from my drink to my eyes. “I like to keep a clear head,” he said.
Ruby lowered her glass from her lips and groaned. “Come on, Larry.”
“Yeah, come on, Larry,” I echoed, shooting him a playful smile. “Here, try mine.”
When I held out my glass, he stared at it with a blank look. The longer he kept me waiting, the more awkward I felt. Finally, he reached for the stem of the glass, his long, slender fingers brushing against mine as he wrapped them around the cocktail. My heart skittered across my chest at the contact.
Larry took a long, slow sip, lifting his smooth neck as he did. I couldn’t look away as he swallowed and handed me back my drink.
“It’s . . . interesting,” Larry acknowledged.
I smiled and took another sip.
“Dance party!” someone yelled from the living room.
We shuffled to the opening between the kitchen and the living room, peering in to see the playpen being pulled apart section by section and set against the walls. As soon as a space was cleared, the cast and crew began dancing in the center of the room.
Jessica grinned. “It all started with a dance. Isn’t that right, Larry?” She shot her brother a meaningful look, her brows arching.
He folded his arms over his chest.
Jessica shrugged before grabbing Dereck’s hand to pull him out of the kitchen and into the living room with her.
Ruby sucked down the remainder of her drink then set her glass on the counter. She eyed my cosmo mischievously before saying, “Swapping spit. You might as well kiss now.” I glared at her, but she was already fleeing the kitchen, hollering, “My husband’s not here yet. I’m a free woman. Who wants to dance?”
The volume of the music increased, thumping inside my head and chest.
I finished my drink, keeping my eyes trained on the dancing mass rather than looking at Larry. I couldn’t, not after Ruby had not so subtly teased us about kissing.
It was a relief when Caroline called me over to join her and a few other girls playing the roles of wives. I set my glass on the counter and hurried into the welcoming group of gyrating bodies. Ruby had gotten her hands on Paul, a tall, dark-haired cutie who played the forbidden lover of the king’s newest wife in the play.
I pulsed with the music, twisting my hips and dipping down, hands stretched above my head. The music and moves felt almost strange after the formal dance numbers we’d been practicing for weeks. It was liberating to freestyle it and let the music move me from one beat to the next.
Dereck and Justin caged Jessica in between them, a tangle of limbs that pulsed and rocked as one unit.
Kenneth pushed into the crowd and pulled Caroline against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulsed with him to the music. I kept dancing near the other girls, trying to lose myself in the moment. It seemed so effortless for everyone else. I was always holding on to my thoughts and emotions, endlessly analyzing words and expressions, replaying encounters and trying to figure out what they meant.
Lately it kept coming back to one niggling question.
Did Larry like me?
My body had aged during the five years I was in a coma, but apparently my mind hadn’t advanced from my teenage years. I was agonizing over this way too much. Maybe Larry liked me but wanted to concentrate on his academic studies. What was he studying, anyway? I thought I’d asked him before but couldn’t recall his answer. I think he’d said he was undecided. He seemed more interested in watching our rehearsals than studying. I couldn’t figure him out. He was always so distant, never really part of the group even though he spent so much time around us.
I imagined he’d disappe
ar upstairs like he usually did. What would he do if I followed him up? Kiss me? My pulse sped up as a mental image of Larry pulling me against him ran through my head.
My skin heated. I pulled off my sweater and tossed it onto one of the sectionals against the wall, feeling less constricted in my black cami.
The music pulsed and throbbed through me. I closed my eyes. Hands slid over my hips. A warm breath caressed my face.
“I’ve wanted you for so long,” I heard Larry saying in my head.
“Me too,” I answered breathlessly.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. I had hoped that one day he would notice me this way. Want me. I’d watched him from afar, pining after him for years.
Years?
I’d only known Larry a few weeks.
My eyes flew open.
Liquid silver pools shone back at me as Larry gazed into my face. He took my arms and wrapped them around his neck, bringing our bodies closer, molding us together when he pulled my pelvis against his.
Larry wasn’t a flirty kind of guy. He was much more dangerous. He made me feel like I was the center of his universe. Everything else was inconsequential. It was just Larry and I, grinding to the music.
Desire flamed to life, turning me into a human torch.
I wanted Larry to drag me upstairs and tear off the rest of my clothes. I wanted my skin on his, bare breasts pressed against his smooth, muscled chest. To pulse this way with him inside me.
I felt high on anticipation, as though he was a drug I couldn’t wait to inject.
I pressed against him and pulled myself to his lips, slightly opening mine. My eyes were half shut, leaning into a kiss, when the front door opened with a bang.
“Make way, people. It’s all coming off tonight!” Tyler hollered over the techno.
I blinked several times, coming out of my haze, and loosened my hold around Larry’s neck. He stared at me with bright eyes and a look of pure wonder, as though we were the only two people in the room.
Someone turned off the music. I took a step back, suddenly feeling exposed without the techno beat surrounding us.
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