by Sarina Dorie
“No. It would hurt you. And your penis might fall off.”
“No, it wouldn’t. Who told you that? Did that horrible Thatch tell you that?”
I didn’t deign to answer that one.
We danced for half an hour. I was hot and thirsty, but I knew I couldn’t drink any water here. Resting wasn’t much better. I had to sit at a banquet table as Fae waved delicious-smelling food under my nose. Everything was so beautiful. My mouth watered. By that point, I just had three more hours.
Just three more hours.
The banquet-table temptation was followed with more questions. I found it harder to make my mouth work with my thirst. After an eternity of questions, I leaned toward Elric. “Is there anything I can drink anywhere here?”
Elric begged we take leave so he could escort me to the powder room. He turned down Quenylda’s offer to walk me there. It wasn’t the powder room he took me to but his private room.
The quiet stillness was a welcome respite. I was permitted to use the water closet, which gave me a chance to make sure the vial Thatch had given me was still hidden in my underwear. It would have been über awkward if it had fallen out while I was dancing and someone tripped over it.
Elric’s valet set out a tray with a bottled water and some mini packages of Oreos.
“Yay! Cookies!”
“Something small to stave off the temptation of Fae food.”
I had enough magic that I might have gotten away with using a small spell to detect Fae-grown food that would have kept me there forever, but the plastic was enough of an indication that no Fae would have touched it. That, and I didn’t want to waste the little magic I had on something like this. I trusted Elric to keep me safe from food that would harm me.
I bit into the cookie. It was just what I needed.
Elric grinned, watching me. “You should go back to the ball just like that with black teeth. It would be hysterical.”
I giggled. “Can’t we just stay here the rest of the night?”
He traced the line of my collarbone, his finger hooking under my necklace. “If we did, we’d have to give my family a valid reason for hiding. We’d need to be busy making love or conspiring to take over small nations. They wouldn’t settle for the reason being bottled water and Oreos.”
I tore open another package. “How many minutes do I have?”
“There’s no rush. But don’t forget, every moment we spend up here we can’t be down at the ball proving to my father that you have fulfilled this bargain.” He raised an eyebrow. “The choice is yours.”
The Oreo I’d bitten into didn’t taste quite as wonderful anymore. I swallowed it and washed it down with water. Elric found me a toothbrush, and I scrubbed the black crumbs out of my teeth.
He tucked my hand into the crook of his arm before we headed back to the ball. He studied me, his eyes momentarily unfocused. “The wards . . . they’re his doing, aren’t they?”
Even if Elric’s eyes hadn’t shifted to stormy gray, I would have known whom he meant.
“Yes,” I looked down, hating the disappointment I saw in his eyes.
“It’s working. They don’t know what they’re looking at when they try to penetrate your fortress of magic.”
I nodded.
“If I didn’t hate him, I would thank him for the favor to you.” He patted my hand reassuringly.
The ball was worse torture the second time around. The questions were relentless. Partygoers openly stared and whispered. Elric remained at my side the entire time until the king insisted I dance with him. I tried to politely refuse and make excuses. Elric tried to refuse on my behalf, but King Viridios was sovereign of the Silver Court and a man used to getting his way.
It was a kind of line dance with switches in partner and multiple bows and twirls. Elric had given me a list of dances to study ahead of time. It was one thing to read directions on paper. It was another to dance out the steps in a ballgown and corset while trying to breathe at the same time. I tried to keep track of where Elric was in the room at all times, but the spins made me dizzy and disoriented me. I caught my foot in the hem of my dress multiple times.
“Have you need of my assistance?” King Viridios asked with a wicked smile. “I can always make this easier for you if you wish. It’s nothing for the lord of muses to take up residence under an artist’s skin and inspire dance in her feet.”
“That’s kind of you, but no. I prefer to dance poorly so that I can learn from my mistakes and improve the good old-fashioned way.”
When the dance was finished, the king walked me to the edge of the crowd and left me at a banquet table. Feeling lost, I scanned the crowd for Elric.
A woman hooked her arm through mine. It was Princess Quenylda.
“Come along, love. Prince Elric is searching for you. We don’t want him to worry, do we now?”
“That’s . . . considerate of you.” I didn’t trust her for a second. I searched the crowd, spotting Elric weaving through the dancers to get to us.
Quenylda smiled, her lips growing larger and then smaller as magic distorted the air around her. “I hope you don’t mind. There is someone I would like you to meet . . . if Elric hasn’t already introduced you, and you aren’t already acquainted, that is.”
From the mischief in the shifting colors of her eyes, I had a bad feeling.
Please don’t be the Raven Queen, I prayed, because really, that was the most horrible thing I could imagine these people would do right now.
As it was, my imagination wasn’t as creative as theirs.
An old woman sat in a wooden chair, a lacy cream dress almost obscuring the wheels of the chair. Her gray hair was piled on top of her head, so lustrous and full it looked more like a wig than the actual hair of a woman as withered as she was. It took me a moment to realize the old woman wasn’t Fae.
None of the Fae here, even the ones who gave off the impression they were old, had liver spots or such a profusion of wrinkles. This woman’s body was emaciated with age, and she shook as she fidgeted with her lace dress. She was either a Witchkin or a Morty. I couldn’t tell which.
A small sasquatch stood behind the woman’s wheelchair. He was only my height, so that must have meant he was still a child. The sasquatch stared at the tantalizing foods at a table nearby.
“Constance, so nice to see you this evening,” Quenylda said, a hand raised in salutation. A green emerald the size of a small egg glittered on her ring finger. “Have you met Miss Lawrence, Elric’s . . . mistress.”
I glared at her. I understood this was another one of their games. If I corrected her and denied I was Elric’s mistress, they might use that as evidence that I didn’t love him.
“Mistress is such an antiquated term,” I said. “In this era we call people partners.”
Quenylda giggled. “I beg your pardon, Clarissa. You are Elric’s partner in his crimes and in his bed. May I call you by your given name, or is that too familiar?”
She chattered away, drawing my attention from the old woman. I didn’t fail to notice the troubled expression on Constance’s face.
“Do you mean to say my Elric has taken another lover?” Constance asked.
A chill settled over me.
My Elric, she’d called him. Another lover? I glanced around the room, not seeing Elric. Constance looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
“How do you . . . know Elric?” I asked. Already I was dreading the answer. “Is he your . . . um. . . .”
Constance removed a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. “Prince Elric is my husband.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
The Thirty-Sixth Wife
I stared openmouthed at Constance. Elric had an elderly wife he’d failed to tell me about? Maybe this was some kind of audience plant, and Quenylda was playing a trick on me to assess my reaction.
Every face in the crowd jeered at us, smiles full of amusement. I tried to keep in mind that
everything the Fae did was to entertain themselves. Tonight I was their Katniss Everdeen trying to survive the Hunger Games. I needed to stay calm.
I tried to embrace my inner Thatch and make my face expressionless. It was what he did to try to keep from wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Right now I had a lot of emotions going every which way.
A sob bubbled up out of Constance. “I knew it would happen sooner or later. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
“There, there,” Quenylda said. “Elric likes to collect antiques. He isn’t going to get rid of you any time soon. He’s fond of new and old things.”
Constance shook. “I thought he would at least tell me he was replacing me.”
Someone grabbed my arm, and Elric tugged me away from his sister. From the pained expression on his face, as he looked from me to Constance, I could see it was true.
This was his wife.
Even so, I wanted him to deny it. Elric had told me he had no secrets. He’d always been so open and honest. He was considerate and generous and patient. He’d said he loved me.
I now wondered what else he’d lied about.
My heart felt as though it had been torn from my chest and stomped on. Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to allow myself to cry. I would not give these asshole Fae one more thing to laugh at me about.
Elric put his palms up. “Let me explain.”
Constance wailed. “I want to go home! I hate these balls. It’s always the same. They find some way to torment me.”
I truly felt bad for the elderly woman. What a horrible way to find out your husband was cheating on you. Quenylda grinned at me.
Elric crouched before the woman, taking one of her hands in his. “Of course, love. I’ll take you home. You don’t have to stay here.” He shot a venomous glance over his shoulder at his sister before he kissed his wife’s weathered hand. “You shouldn’t have to leave the comfort of your room for this.”
Constance turned her face away from him. She shook more fiercely than ever.
“Don’t cry, love. Let me explain. Whatever Quenylda said, you know she was just being cruel, don’t you?”
“I only spoke the truth,” his sister said sweetly.
Watching Elric with the old woman felt voyeuristic. I loathed these Fae for putting something so intimate on display. I despised Quenylda. I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for Elric either.
I backed away from them.
“Tut-tut, dear brother. Your mistress is about to get away.”
Elric turned to me. “I can explain. Just give me a moment with Constance. Please.” He looked to me with such desperation in his eyes, I almost felt sorry for him. “I didn’t want her to find out this way.”
“And me? How did you want me to find out?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“After your bargain was complete and you had proven your love for me, then I intended to tell you. But I didn’t want this little detail to come between us.”
“This little detail?” Constance asked, sobbing into her handkerchief.
Elric turned back to her. I slipped away before he could object. My eyesight blurred, and I stumbled into leering partygoers. I lifted the hem of my skirt so I wouldn’t trip as I was wont to do and held my chin high as I headed for the door.
I couldn’t leave. I wouldn’t be permitted to go unless I proved to the king I loved Elric. That seemed more impossible than ever. I stood on the stairs of the entryway to the ballroom, an imperious footman pretending not to notice me.
It wasn’t safe to find a room to be alone and cry. Thatch had always been clear how dangerous it was to be cornered by a Fae while alone. If I left the ball, that meant someone might take that as an invitation to hunt me down and attack me with magic. I didn’t think I would be able to find Elric’s room in the twisting passages. If only I had Vega, my trusty familiar.
Instead I was alone.
I descended the stairs to the bottom, collapsed onto the steps, and cried.
A few minutes later, a hand touched my shoulder. “You must feel cheated,” Elric said. “You thought you were giving your heart to someone unmarried, and now you’ve found out the truth.”
“You lied to me.”
“I withheld the truth. I omitted details. Had the circumstances been different, I would have told you about Constance, but I couldn’t risk this detail making it harder for you to fulfill your contract.” He rubbed my back, his fingers kneading muscles tight with tension. “You made it quite clear to me early on how important monogamy is to you. For what it’s worth, I have only been intimate with you and no one else since you made that known.
“But the fact remains that I am still married. I take that commitment seriously, even if the Fae system looks at a union between a Fae and Witchkin as not legally binding. I will not divorce or disown Constance. I intend to provide and care for her until she dies of natural causes despite what my family or you have to say about it.” He lifted his chin, a spark of anger in his eyes as if he thought I would ask him to do otherwise.
“I wouldn’t ask you to divorce her,” I said.
“Good.”
I could see Elric wanted to do good, even if he had fumbled it up. He wasn’t fickle, and he stood his ground about what he believed in. He cared about Constance enough that he wouldn’t allow me or anyone else to cut him off from her. She came first. I could see that when his wicked sister had put him in the position to choose who to comfort first, he had gone to her. I admired that in him. It told me he would be faithful and loyal to me if I was an elderly woman who was no longer “useful.”
It didn’t make the hurt ache any less, though.
I leaned my head against his chest. “It isn’t fair.”
“No, this world isn’t.” He kissed my forehead.
We sat like that on the steps, his arms wrapped around me, infusing me with warmth. The heartache slowly dissipated. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent, tonight the scent of jasmine and sunlight. His fingers massaged my neck and shoulders. I wanted to remain like that forever.
Eventually a servant came to fetch us. “Your Highness, I beg you’ll forgive the intrusion, but midnight draws nigh, and His Royal Majesty requests your presence.”
“Yes, of course. We’ll be there in but a moment.” Elric helped me to my feet. “Are you ready to face our fate?”
“My fate,” I said, all warmth leaving me.
“Our fate. I will be in this with you. I won’t let him take you. If he rules you don’t love me, I shall insist we take a formal vote.” He bit his lip. “You do still love me, do you not?”
I opened my mouth to say yes, but he shook his head and cut me off. “It wouldn’t matter. Even if you didn’t, I would insist you did.”
“I do love you.”
He brought my hand to his lips. “Of course you do.”
My knees turned to jelly as I ascended the stairs to the ballroom and traveled another flight down. Elric held my elbow, a steady anchor at my side.
“You can do this,” he whispered. “You’re brave and strong. And your love is true. They will see that.”
The partygoers watched us pass them as we made our way to the dais. King Viridios’s bees swarmed around the royalty seated on the dais, settling onto him and melding into his clothes once again.
I expected the king to point out all my deficits and reasons I couldn’t love Elric. Instead he turned to his wife. “What is the verdict? Do you think she loves him?”
The queen tilted her head to the side, studying me. “I think Miss Lawrence was appropriately devastated when Quenylda told her of his Witchkin wife. I would wager her level of grief was equivalent to that of losing someone she loved.”
So that’s how they measure love? Through loss? Through grief? I hated these people. They didn’t understand what love was, but it was unlikely I could educate them otherwise. This was the jury who would measure my heart.
“Do you still love my son,
despite his marital status?” King Viridios asked.
I lifted my chin. “Yes.”
“How did she do on the other tests?” He leaned forward.
“Very well. Ask her any question,” Queen Anwynn said. “There isn’t one she has failed to answer to my satisfaction.”
King Viridios’s eyes shifted from blue to gold in the light. “What would you do to prove your love for my son?”
I crossed my arms. “You mean, like stay with him even though he’s married?” I didn’t manage to keep the bitterness from my tone.
The court laughed, the sound high and grating in my ears. The princesses on their thrones conspired in whispers. They were identical, with their silvery-blond hair and exaggerated beauty. I could only tell Quenylda from the rest because of the giant emerald ring she wore. The stone shimmered like the gems on the amulet Elric had given me.
King Viridios asked. “Would you kill for him?”
The court silenced. In the king’s palm he held out a dagger, jewels crusting the hilt. It had appeared out of nowhere.
“I have had to kill to defend myself and my loved ones against danger before,” I said.
“And if Elric asked you to kill his enemy to prove your love for him, would you do it?”
I glanced at Elric, trying to gauge whether they wanted me to kill someone specific. If this was a true test, they would probably set me up to kill someone I cared about like my mom or Josie or . . . Thatch. It wouldn’t surprise me if they somehow involved him in this. Elric’s expression was grim. I had never seen him so serious.
“I don’t believe Elric would ask me to kill anyone without good reason.”
“He has good reason to kill Felix Thatch, does he not?”
Fuckeroni! Of course they would go there.
“No, I don’t think he does,” I said.
“This other man has dishonored you. He has attacked my son without provocation on multiple occasions. There are witnesses—the captain of the guard. Do you deny they have dueled on multiple occasions, only stopping when you intervened each time?”
I turned to Elric, unable to keep the anger from my voice. “Do you want me to kill Thatch to prove my love to you?”
