by T. K. Perry
“How come you can order people to the dungeon?” Clodi asked softly, staring at the floor to give Lexi privacy. “Are you going to send me to the dungeon if I keep asking you questions?” Clodi played with a button on her shirt, nervously unbuttoning and rebuttoning it in quick succession. “Is that where Psyche went?”
Lexi released a weak laugh as she slipped on Tiger’s old clothes, comforted by the feel of them, despite Talan’s scent. “No.”
“No, you’re not going to send me to the dungeon? Or no, Psyche’s not there?”
“No to both,” Lexi sighed, sinking onto a stool as she met Clodi’s troubled gaze.
A heavy thump overhead made them both start, then a tight smile curved Lexi’s mouth.
“Sounds like they got him,” Clodi tittered, her fingers going back to worrying her button. “You don’t have to answer my questions. But do I have to obey you?”
“Are you good with secrets, Clodi?”
“Uh, sort of. My brother stole a bunny once, and I kept the secret for four hours until my mom asked me why my shirt was wet and I blurted out ‘bunny pee.’” Clodi looked apologetic. “I never mean to tell.”
Lexi stifled a laugh. “I’m friends with the Governor,” she explained. “He’s worried about me, so he gave me guards and lets me boss them around.”
“You must be really good friends.”
No! she thought as she nodded in agreement. “I’ve known him since we were both children.” I met him once when we were both children, she corrected silently.
“Oh,” Clodi said nodding, “that makes sense.” Clodi’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she grimaced. “Will it be really bad if I accidently tell someone?”
“It will be better if you don’t, but if you accidently let it slip, just let me know who you tell.”
Clodi gave a great sigh of relief. “Okay, I can do that. Whew! What a wake up! I’m not tired at all now. I’m ready to milk the cows and feed the chickens!” Clodi announced as she clapped her hands together with a big smile. “Too bad the life servants ate the last of them fifty years ago. I learned that on the tour. The guide told us some really interesting stories, too. Did you know the real reason the king from a hundred years ago turned this place into the Mating Mountain?”
“Besides morality and convenience?” Lexi asked, only half listening.
“Tinus –he’s the guide– says that’s just the lie they tell everybody in school now. The real reason was because the king’s only child fell in love with a stable boy and mated with him. The king was so angry that he burned down the stable, disowned his daughter, and abandoned the mountain castle to build the new one. He made this place the Mating Mountain to keep the nobles and the commoners separate, so they wouldn’t mate with each other.”
Clodi had her full attention now, and it was with difficulty that Lexi kept the shock from her face. “That can’t be true,” she finally said.
Clodi shrugged. “Tinus says it is. He says he’s a descendant of the princess and the stable boy.”
Lexi let out a relieved laugh. “Now I’m certain it isn’t true.”
Clodi looked disappointed for a moment, then her face brightened. “Well, he also said the band only stops for meals and bathroom breaks, and I’m pretty sure that’s true. Want to go dancing?”
Lexi nodded as she stood, still eager to find Tiger and put her nightmarish fears to rest.
“Yes!” Clodi said happily, then glanced at Lexi’s clothes. “Could I maybe wear the yellow dress now that you’re not?”
Lexi frowned apologetically, “I’m sorry Clodi, I got it muddy; but it’s yours as soon as it’s clean.”
“That’s okay,” Clodi said cheerfully, opening the door. “We look just alike right now anyway. Are those your brother’s clothes?”
Lexi smiled as she passed through the door. “They’re Tiger’s.”
Clodi’s dark eyebrows rose high, wrinkling the perfect skin of her forehead as she closed the door behind them. “Wes’ cousin? How old was he when he wore those? Twelve?”
Lexi laughed as she gave the hallway a quick anxious glance, pleased to find it empty. “Sixteen. Right before a big growth spurt.”
“I guess! He and Wes are like giants.” A distracted smile flitted across Clodi’s mouth as they walked. “I saw another giant on the tour last night. He was cute.” Clodi blushed deeply.
Lexi smiled. “What’s his name?”
“Tull,” she said softly, then her smile faded. “But his wings are broken. He said it was an accident, but I think he was lying. He scratched his eyebrow with his thumbnail and looked at the floor when he said it. My brother pulls his nose and looks at the floor when he lies. My Daddy says men usually do something funny like that when they fib. He says to always watch their eyes when you ask them a question. If they look away, they’re probably lying.”
Lexi made a polite noise of interest, but looked away uncomfortably and made a mental note to maintain eye contact the next time she lied.
“I don’t lie,” Clodi announced. “I don’t know why everybody else does. Lying is bad. But I don’t think Tull is bad. Do you think there are good reasons to lie?”
“I suppose there could be,” Lexi said vaguely, relieved to hear the music up ahead. Only a single couple stood outside the doors to the display hall, and the hall itself was only sparsely populated. Lexi scanned the small crowd eagerly, searching for big black and yellow wings, cringing when she saw the man who looked like her mother. He was talking to the same two girls he had been with before, a wide grin on his broad mouth. Lexi looked quickly away when he caught her staring, then pulled Clodi to the opposite end of the room.
“Oh! There’s Psyche and Damus! And the other brother...I forgot his name. Do you want to meet them? Oh wait, you said you and Psyche weren’t getting along. You probably don’t want to talk to her. I’ll just pop over there quick and say hi. Will you be okay by yourself?”
Psyche glared at Lexi and her mouth twisted maliciously as she spoke to her brothers. Whatever she said prompted both brothers to turn and stare at Lexi. The brother with the violet-blue wings turned back around quickly, but the one with silvery-blue wings gave her a slow grin and a nod.
“No, I’ll talk to her,” Lexi said, eager to find out if Psyche was keeping her secret.
“Maybe you two can make up, and she can move back in,” Clodi suggested as they weaved through the crowd.
Lexi took a deep breath and blew it back out again without answering.
“Hi, I’m Damus,” the brother with the silvery-blue wings said, still grinning.
"Hi again, Damus," Clodi chirped. "And Psyche, and..." Clodi looked at the brother whose name she had forgotten and blushed.
"Everes," the forgotten brother mumbled.
"Oh yes! Sorry, Everes! I'm terrible with names!" Clodi apologized.
“This is Raven Fritillary,” Psyche said, giving the name sarcastic emphasis.
Lexi’s eyes narrowed as she met Psyche’s, her expression a clear warning.
Psyche’s little pink mouth folded into a tight line. “These are my brothers,” she said irritably.
Damus laughed out loud. “Psyche, I think your manners are actually improving.” He jumped a little when Psyche elbowed him in the ribs, then continued laughing.
“Everes,” Psyche said, a cunning glint in her eyes, “you should dance with Raven.”
The man with the violet-blue wings colored and rocked back on his heels before offering his arm. Lexi hesitated almost imperceptibly before taking it and letting him lead her away to a clear spot on the floor. He set one hand gently on her waist, then held out the other, waiting for her to take it.
Lexi examined his thick thatch of dark hair and matching brows that framed his dark blue eyes, a perfect complement to the sky-colored underside of his wings. Lexi took his callus-roughened hand, noting the slight blush that still colored his cheeks. The softest hint of a spicy scent hovered around him, getting stronger as he whirled her about th
e floor.
“Fly?” he asked, meeting her eyes and making Lexi’s stomach do a funny little flip.
Lexi glanced up at the whirling dancers above them and swallowed. “I get dizzy.”
Everes nodded and gently drew her closer, sliding his hand around her waist before lifting her off the ground. Despite being the same height, Lexi found it difficult to keep even with him in the air. Her larger wings pulled her higher with each beat, and when she beat them slower, she began to descend. With an amused smile, Everes brought their joined hands to his shoulder, then released her hand to hold her waist with both of his. Lexi awkwardly held his shoulders until a quick, dizzying glance at the other dancers made her realize her hands belonged around his neck. She had clung to Nireus' neck out of necessity during her first dance; she had not realized it was the fashion. With a subtle blush, she slid her fingers under Everes' dark fringe of curls until her hands met behind his neck. Only married couples ever danced at the palace; her mother declared that even learning to partner dance before then was unseemly. Lexi had secretly watched a dance before, but the couples had not held each other like this. Wrapping her arms around anyone's neck felt decidedly intimate, and his hands gripping her waist were even more so. Everes flew in slow, lazy circles despite the upbeat song, and when it ended she felt only slightly dizzy.
“You all right?” he asked when they landed, keeping one steadying hand on her waist as they drew apart.
“Yes, thank you.” Lexi accepted the hand that slipped from her waist, and let him lead her back.
“My turn!” Damus announced as he came towards them grinning. Taking her hand from his brother, he led her back out before she could protest. “After the silent Everes, I imagine you could use some conversation.”
Lexi gave him a polite smile, silently comparing him to his brother. Damus' hair and solid jaw matched his brother’s, but his watery blue eyes, broad nose, and larger mouth set him apart.
“And I am very eager to talk to the woman who can best my sister,” Damus said, his sweet and spicy scent filling the air as they began to dance.
Lexi lifted a single eyebrow as she met his gaze.
Damus grinned. “From her cryptic comments earlier, I can only assume that she meant to blackmail you. And from her very sour temper and new room assignment, I can only assume she failed. I’m very impressed.”
Lexi left her face carefully blank as he spun her up into the air, going round a little too quickly. “You assume quite a bit.”
Damus chortled delightedly. “Yes I do, but I don’t think I’m wrong.” He peered at her curiously with an enormous grin. “I find myself so completely intrigued by you that I can hardly bear it.”
“How painful for you,” Lexi said, her face still pleasantly blank.
Damus grinned widely. “So tell me about your family and where you grew up.”
Lexi straightened her shoulders, her head lolling a bit to one side from her dizziness. “I’m an only child from a horse ranch in Sumpter,” she lied, remembering to meet his eyes part way through her sentence.
“What’s Sumpter like?”
“Small, dull. Where are you from?”
Damus’ blue eyes sparkled to match his delighted grin. “You’re very good,” he praised.
“My dancing?” Lexi asked innocently, as the song came to an end.
Damus laughed. “That, too. Dance with me again?”
Lexi shook her head. “I’m going to sit this one out.”
“Later, then?” Damus pressed as they landed.
“Perhaps.” Lexi released his hand and stumbled dizzily to the water table. The life servant there handed her a cup of questionable cleanliness, but she took it anyway, the cool water soothing her stomach as she clutched the table.
“Hi,” an unfamiliar voice said, leaning close behind her.
Lexi jumped, spilling her water.
“Sorry,” the voice said, chuckling.
Lexi folded her wings and spun around, her mouth dropping open when she saw who it was.
The man with her mother’s wings gave her a wide grin. “Long-lost cousin, I presume?”
Lexi closed her mouth quickly, suitable lies flitting across her mind before she forced herself to laugh. “I don’t think so.”
His eyes narrowed in a familiar way. “Really? Because you look just like my sister, and,” he paused, leaning towards her neck and inhaling before she could push him away, “you smell like nothing. So you have to be Aunt Ami’s daughter.”
“Hey, back off,” Damus called, emerging from the crowd to stand protectively in front of Lexi.
“Relax, Damus. No need to mark your territory. She’s my cousin.”
Damus lifted his dark, unruly brows as he stood aside to look at Lexi. “Is that so?”
Lexi shook her head dismissively. “He’s confused me for someone else.”
Her cousin shot out his hand and caught Lexi’s, brought it up to his nose, and inhaled deeply before she could yank it away. “No scent,” he declared with a challenging air.
Lexi’s jaw tightened as she leaned toward her cousin and inhaled deeply. “Dirty horse stalls,” she lied.
Damus laughed and clapped her cousin’s shoulder with an audible smack. “Leave her alone, Ryp."
Ryp’s face froze into a chilly mask exactly like her mother's, and Lexi couldn't help but shiver. When Damus took her hand and pulled her away, she followed him gratefully until he stopped next to Psyche.
“That was very interesting,” Damus said, a suppressed grin lighting his eyes.
“What was?” Psyche demanded crossly.
“Ryp Leafwing thinks...” Damus began.
“Let’s dance again, Damus,” Lexi interrupted, dragging him back to the dance floor as he chortled.
“So he is your cousin,” Damus said, still chuckling as they began to dance.
“Of course he isn’t; I can smell him.” Despite fluttering panic, Lexi's voice was calm.
Damus threw back his head and laughed.
Lexi bristled. "Did I say something amusing?”
“Yes!” Damus allowed himself another guffaw, then quelled his laughter as they lifted into the air. “Why don’t you want to claim your cousin?”
“He isn’t. I just don’t want to excite Psyche’s paranoid suspicions,” Lexi explained.
“So if she finds out that Ryp is your cousin, she’ll have something new to blackmail you?”
Lexi took a deep breath, then met his eyes. “What do you want, Damus?”
Damus grinned. “I’m not the blackmailing type.”
“You just entertain roommates while your sister attempts blackmail?”
“Ouch,” Damus complained with a wounded air. “She didn’t tell me what she was doing when she asked me to keep Clodi busy.”
“But you knew enough to guess?” Lexi prompted.
Damus grimaced. “Okay, maybe. Sorry about that. But I will make it up to you,” he assured her.
“How?”
“By keeping all your secrets, Your Highness.”
Lexi’s breath caught in her throat. “Did she tell you before or after she tried to blackmail me?”
Damus gave a little delighted chortle. “Neither. I’m a good guesser. I can’t believe I’m dancing with a princess!”
Lexi shushed him with a severe look, glancing around them to make sure he hadn’t been overheard.
“Sorry,” Damus apologized, still grinning. “I won’t tell anyone, and Everes and I can watch out for you when your guards aren’t around. He won’t ask questions; I think he’s smitten.”
Lexi blinked back a blush, the ghosting sensation of Everes’ hands on her waist distracting her for a moment. “I’m involved with someone.”
Damus nodded as if he had expected it. “I’ll tell him so you don’t break his heart.” A slow grin spread across his face as he led her back to the ground. “Wes’ cousin is giving us dirty looks. Want me to keep him away from you?”
Lexi followed his gaze to w
here Tiger stood glaring, but rather than dread the coming argument, a little bubble of joy closed off her throat at seeing him alive. “No,” she said, looking down to blink away the sudden tears. “Tiger’s my best friend.”
“Oh. So he’s the guy?” Damus asked as they landed.
Lexi shook her head. “No, but I do need to talk to him.” Lexi squeezed his hand before releasing it. “Thank you for keeping my secrets, Damus.”
Damus grinned and gave her a tiny bow before she hurried away.
“Lex,” Tiger growled as she approached.
Ignoring his anger, Lexi threw her arms around his neck as she felt the tears spill over.
“Okay,” Tiger said, bringing one hand beneath her wings to clasp her back as she continued her enthusiastic hug.
“I dreamed Wes choked you to death, and it seemed so real,” Lexi explained, trying to swallow down the lump in her throat. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Uh, let’s get you back to your room. People are staring.” He sidestepped awkwardly while gently trying to remove her arms.
“No, I don’t want the guards to see me like this,” she pled.
“Lex, let go so we can walk.”
“Okay,” Lexi sniffed, hiding her face in his shoulder as he took her arm and led her out into the hallway.
Stopping, he turned to face her. “Lex, it was just a dream. Calm down.”
Lexi shook her head miserably. “I flew up to your balcony to check on you. I thought you were hiding behind the door laughing at me, but it was Wes.”
Tiger sucked in a huge breath. “He was in the dungeon! How?”
Lexi stared at the floor. “I let him out.”
“You did what?!” Tiger paced back and forth, his fingers laced over his head as he pulled in deep breaths and tried to calm down. “What did he do?”
Lexi began to cry again. “He wouldn’t let go of me. I threatened him with the dungeon, but he just laughed and said he hadn’t done anything.” Lexi stopped and hid her face when Clodi came out into the hall.
“Are you crying?” Clodi asked, her brow bent in concern as she hurried to Lexi and hugged her. “What’s the matter?”
“Wes,” Lexi choked out, fighting to regain control of her emotions as she hid behind Clodi’s big cream-colored wings.