It didn’t keep her from airing her distaste. “That asshole is beyond unserious,” Kadeesha growled. The sheer brown gown matched her skin tone so perfectly that it would give the impression that she was mostly nude. He wasn’t in the room, but she heard his arrogant chuckle all the same.
Arrenia, still standing just inside the door to her bedroom, glowered. “His Grace’s formal title isApollyon king.You need to address him properly.” Her tone dripped disdain.
Kadeesha returned a honeyed smile. “I clocked your magic levels the moment you stepped into this room. Your power is decent, but nothing staggering. It for sure doesn’t compete with mine. So I’d watch my tongue, if I were you, or you might find it missing. Or, perhaps, you might stumble upon it being scorched from this earth along with the rest of your body. I may not be of this court, but Iaman archprincess and heir to the Aether Court. Don’t forget that,LadyArrenia.”
Kadeesha’s own cool words dropped her into the roiling memories of all that had transpired in the last handful of hours. Her whole life had changed in such a short amount of time. And one of the biggest changes was the falsehood she’d just declared to the Apollyon noblewoman. Because Kadeesha was no longer an archprincess or an heir. She’d been stripped of everything—she’d lost all titles, her homelands, and her court. She ground her teeth together to keep from showing any outward anguish. Yes, she’d been prepared for the latter two outcomes once she married Rishaud, but losing so much in this manner—in the explosion of violence that had ripped it from her—felt like striking her own chest, dead center, with an aether bomb.She swallowedagainst the near-overwhelming tide of grief that gnawed at her stomach and then smothered it. It wasn’t the time for weakness, for wallowing, or for sentimentality. Too much was on the line for her to do anything except operate with cold clarity from here on out. Her life, her mother’s life, her Nkita sisters’ lives, the very future of her court, perhaps the continued existence of her entire kingdom,everythingthat mattered depended on how she maneuvered going forward.
With her mind and emotions wiped of misery better left buried deep, Kadeesha focused back on her lady-in-waiting. The Apollyon noblewoman stood rigidly. Rage smoldered in her narrowed stare, and Kadeesha curiously wondered what she—or someone in her family—had done to piss off Malachizrien. It was the only reason Kadeesha could think of why a woman of such high birth would be assigned as her lady-in-waiting.If the woman’s mother was really who she said, then her family governed most of the southern Apollyon lands, where its mountainous border backed up to the Stone Dominion. This woman serving as the lady-in-waiting for the queen mother, that Kadeesha could see—that’d be an honor befitting the prestige of her family. But to be assigned to wait on an inferior Aether woman, that reeked of insult—and fuckery. Matter of fact …
Kadeesha bolted across the room. Lady Arrenia screeched as Kadeesha shoved her against the wall. She dug her elbow into the woman’s throat. She flailed, trying to break free, but Kadeesha was stronger. This was plainly a cosseted noblewoman through and through, yet that didn’t mean she wasn’t a threat.
“I hate spies when I’m not the one dispatching them,” Kadeesha hissed. “I am not so stupid as to utter a word around you I wouldn’t want Malachizrien to know, but the point remains the same. When you report back to your liege, please tell him Isaid that.” Kadeesha released the woman and stepped back. She bent over, clutching her throat with both hands. The wretched gown dropped to the floor beside her feet encased in jeweled sandals.
“You’re … you’re … Everything about your people is right!” Lady Arrenia heaved. “Your kind … are … monsters. The real … savages …”
Kadeesha waited until Lady Arrenia lifted her eyes, so the woman was staring Kadeesha in the face, when she said calmly, “Us southernfolk hold the same notion about Apollyons. So I guess it’s one thing you faefolk north of the Yunnas have in common with us who live on the other side.”
“My king … will … hear of this,” Lady Arrenia rasped. Kadeesha gave credit where it was due; she’d managed to right herself when she spoke this time.
Kadeesha raised a brow. “Didn’t you just hear me? Itoldyou to tell him everything.” She pointed to the door. “I can dress myself well enough for tonight. You may go.”
The woman held her throat, glaring. Then she wisely fled the room.
Once Lady Arrenia was gone, Kadeesha stalked to the insufferable gown and snatched it up. She mentally prepared herself to put it on as well as advance through a beauty regimen that would leave her looking every inch like a king’s stunning war prize when Malachizrien paraded her as that exact thing during a court revel tonight. Kadeesha didn’t need Lady Arrenia to accomplish the task. Her mother had been a concubine since Kadeesha was born and centuries before. Yashira had taught her few things, leaving most of her education to royal tutors. But Yashira did devote some time to teaching Kadeesha the art of seduction, a useful tool Yashira had always insisted was asvaluable a weapon to have in her arsenal as Kadeesha’s aether fire and Zahzah were. If Malachizrien wanted her to play the part of the damsel who’d fallen into enemy hands and needed rescuing, she would and she’d do it well—it was a matter between mercy or death for the Aetherfolk she couldn’t whisk away to sanctuary. Because once Rishaud learned where Kadeesha was and he discovered her mother and Nkita were out of his reach, he was the type to still seek a target to spend his rage on, one that would further punish Kadeesha and the Aetherfolk for their princess screwing with his destiny. But she was gambling on his infamous wrath being tempered if whatever spies he had within the Apollyon Court reported back to him that Malachizrien was holding her as a captive.
At the very least, it should cause the other dominions to speak out against Rishaud punishing innocent Aetherfolk without true provocation. If there was one unifying tenet that the ever-quarreling southern monarchs collectively upheld, it was keeping to agreed-upon political decorum that ensured mutual preservation and avoided shared destruction. If the other courts allowed Rishaud’s savagery to run rampant among the Aetherfolk without righteous cause, then the logical conclusion was that he could easily execute the same actions within their kingdoms. She prayed to every Celestial that might deign to listen that for once they would grant her true favor and she wasn’t gambling wrong.
Then, there was the second reason that she’d lean into playing Malachizrien’s war prize before his court wholeheartedly: She wanted Rishaud as fiercely as he did; shewantedRishaud to come rescue her, so she could watch Malachizrien sever more limbs and cut Rishaud down piece by piece. She, herself, wanted to be close when it happened so she’d be within range to carveout his heart and then burn his body to ashes so nothing could regenerate from it. And she’d find a way to do the same to Malachizrien for his callous actions. Making sure she was granted proximity to achieve both meant she needed to use every lesson Yashira had imparted and seduce Malachizrien into keeping her close for the duration of her stay instead of placing her at arm’s length after tonight’s revel. After all of that, she’d go home, rebuild the Aether Court, attend her coronation as its queen, and become a monarch who would’ve never been so intimately involved with a despicable man like Rishaud in the first place. Unlike her father, she would’ve never cultivated such close ties that shoved her people within range of Rishaud’s venom. Yes—she, Rishaud, and Malachizrien all held blame for the massacre of Aether fae. So did the former Aether king.
KADEESHA HAD THOUGHTthe grand ballroom of the Aether Court palace was impressive with its deep violet-and-gold-veined floors, murals of past court monarchs bedecking the ceiling that had been painted by some of the most gifted artists faekind had ever known, and purple glass windows that rose from the floor to ceiling. Over her lifetime, she’d attended revelries in the rest of the Six Kingdoms too. The Fire Court palace had a grand ballroom ensconced in glimmering reds and oranges and yellows, with actual rubies embedded into its floors, ceiling, and walls. Being in the Water Court’s ballroom—as with all its palace rooms—was akin to floating underwater while surrounded by the many rich and vibrant colors of a coral reef. The Wind king’s entire palace floated in thesky, and its grand ballroom held majestic alabaster columns that rose so high they seemed to disappear into the heavens when you gazed up at them. The ballroom also had no walls. All that stood before wingless visitors from other courts and death was the good sense to watch your step when one neared the room’s perimeter. The Stone Court’s ballroom was built from rose quartz and had flowers in every hue imaginable twining across its ceiling and walls. Then there was the Hyperion ballroom that was painted in resplendent gold and white and displayed opulent furnishings and precious artifacts in every corner.
All of which meant that Kadeesha shouldn’t be stunned by palatial ballrooms at this point. Yet she couldn’t help but gape at the space around her. The Apollyon grand ballroom dripped with elegance, extravagance, and wealth on a level she didn’t think she’d ever seen before. Like the thrones Malachizrien, his aunt, and cousin had sat upon in the throne room, the ballroom’s walls and floor consisted of slabs of smooth, polished onyx—the rare, precious, and highly coveted mineral found only within the Yunnas on the Apollyon side of the border. Embedded in the onyx were a dizzying number of chunks of diamonds—both rough and polished—yet another prized resource cradled only within the mountains that traversed Apollyon lands. The ceiling stretched high and the entire roof was an enormous skylight, offering a clear view of the cloudless night sky that, at the moment, looked like an artist had dipped a brush into paint that was the darkest black and painted the sky with meticulous strokes. Billions of stars twinkled against the lush black backdrop. And a full silvery moon shone bright, perched directly above the ballroom as if in a reminder to all who beheld it that the Apollyon Court was once known as the Moon Court at the dawn of faekind’s existence.
Remembering that bit of history led Kadeesha to think more about fae lore, specifically that Apollyon lands were the cradle of fae life, if some legends and ancient scrolls were to be believed. Those accountings even claimed that the fae who lived on both sides of the Yunnas had once been one united folk, one court, one society. And they’d all worshipped Nyaxia, the moon goddess, until Hyperios, the sun god, became jealous and decided he deserved worship too. Hyperios’s coveting that which was not his to begin with then spread among the rest of the Celestials, ruining any chance of the faefolk remaining unified. Kadeesha frowned, thinking of the primitive myth that most of the Six Kingdoms dismissed as Apollyon blethering. Truth or not, one thing was certain: Mostmen—of all varieties and life forms—were astoundingly arrogant assholes. Case in point, she was clothed in this dress that left her body mostly on display except for artfully sewn clusters of diamonds that somewhat covered the essential bits.
“You look perfect,” Malachizrien had told her when he’d shown up to escort her from her room. “Exactly as stunning as a princess I’d steal for a war prize after attacking her betrothed’s court.”
It hadn’t been a compliment, and they’d both known it. It had been a taunt, and balling her hands into fists had only barely stopped the aether fire from shooting out of Kadeesha’s fingers. She would deal with Malachizrien eventually. But not yet.
She repeated the vow inside her mind as Malachizrien’s arm tightened around her waist. His large hand palmed her hip, his thumb brushing over the dip in her flesh there possessively. Fire ignited at the spot, sending heat lashing along her body. She pressed her tongue against an upper canine with enough pressure to draw blood. She used the swift pain to temper theunwanted reaction to Malachizrien’s intimate touch. The goal was to seduce her enemy, not fall under his spell. The fact that she hadn’t yet doused such eager responses to Malachizrien made her despise him that much more. When this was all over, she’d take his thumb, which was a scalding brand against her skin, and display it in a velvet box on some mantel in her palace—it’d be a reminder to never again let a male play her as Malachizrien had,andit’d be a trophy that declared she had been the one to best him in the end. She chuckled low before she could stop it.
Standing beside her, still near the entrance of the ballroom they’d stepped through only moments ago, the northern king turned his focus from surveying the room to her. She was tall but he was a good head taller, impossibly tall. So he peered down at her through thick dark lashes that cast shadows on sharp cheekbones that made him appear equal parts brutal and beautiful. “What’s funny? It’s rude not to share,” he imparted, voice a suspicious rumble. Platinum and diamonds glimmered behind his full lips when he spoke. Kadeesha had noticed the same flash of jewels when he’d escorted her from her room a short while ago. Just as before, she locked down her expression, as well as other wretched stirrings, when she spied the extravagant adornment Malachizrien had donned for the revelries. Such accoutrements weren’t in fashion among any of the Six Kingdoms—wearing grilles as a status symbol was thought to be a gaudy custom that existed among Apollyon nobles. But every time Kadeesha caught sight of Malachizrien’s grille and how it only enhanced his near-ethereal beauty while bequeathing him even more of a lethal air—
She severed the treacherous thought.
Kadeesha sneered instead, brandishing an attitude like battlearmor. “I was just thinking about how I never thanked you for delivering such a dazzling gown for me to wear. Please, forgive my manners. I’ll be sure to extend the proper gratitude owed to a king.” She didn’t bother to make it sound like anything except a veiled promise of retribution for the scrap of fabric.
Malachizrien shrugged and pulled her closer into his side, ignoring the threat. He was clothed in an opulent black silk jacket with onyx buttons that matched the jewels in his ornate crown. A black fur pelt hung from his wide shoulders, while onyx stones glinted in both of his earlobes and a necklace that was a thick gold rope chain lay against his hulking chest. The other males around were dressed similarly in subtly hued silks, jewels glinting in their ears, grilles decorating their teeth, and heavy gold chains around their necks. The women of the court weren’t to be outdone in extravagance either. Their ornate gowns ran the gamut from darker neutral tones to rich, vibrant hues; colorful jewels glimmered at their fingers, wrists, ears, and throats; and many wore grilles of their own. But only Malachizrien wore the onyx stones among his jeweled adornments, a distinction that was clearly by design. Kadeesha mused whether it was some long-standing court custom or a decree handed down by Malachizrien simply because he was an arrogant ass.
Speaking of which … Malachizrien dragged his nose along the column of her throat in a lazy, slow fashion, as if he had all the time in the world because the world moved on his time. Kadeesha stiffened … all the while hating the way sparks danced along every inch of skin that he touched. And elsewhere too. Shebadlyneeded to sever the damnable lingering attraction on her part; she refused to let this male think she was enjoying the ruse he’d locked her into by any means. Yes, she wanted to seduce him, but, as Yashira had taught her, that often didn’t meanbeing pliable. Beyond that, it was a matter of principle. Yes, they’d fucked. All night. Yes, it had been delicious. Rapturous, even. But that had been under entirely different circumstances and free of coercion. A better male, an actually decent male, would’ve healed Samira without Malachizrien’s conniving bargain. Which almost made her laugh again, though this time she suppressed it. But the cause remained in her mind: that most fae males were the exact opposite of decent, and Malachizrien was purely heinous. He’d stood by and watched dozens of innocent people be slain when he clearly could’ve intervened and neutralized Rishaud’s soldiers up-front. But he detested the Aether Court as much as he did the Hyperion Court. He bore a grudge against all southernfolk.
The Six Kingdomsdidassassinate his parents. And they sought to assassinate him as a young boy too.
Kadeesha slapped away that bit of annoying history that a tiny voice reminded her of. It made little difference. It didn’t change the fact of his own crimes. It had only been the Six Kingdoms’ monarchs who’d conspired to murder him and his parents; nobody else had deserved to pay penance. She twisted in Malachizrien’s hold so she faced him. When she planted her hands on his powerful chest, feeling the hard planes of his pectorals beneath her palms, it was akin to touching stone. “Stop,” she hissed. She squirmed, trying to shift her neck away from Malachizrien’s full lips that were now laying a string of kisses against her skin. It left her lightheaded and feeling as if the floor had been yanked out from under her.
Malachizrien pulled his lips away from her neck and brought them to her ear. “This is the game you agreed to, Princess.”
She bit her bottom lip. Took a moment to collect herself because Malachizrien’s satin-smooth lips brushing against thecurve of her ear was as disorienting as him trailing kisses along her neck. “It is,” she ground out. “Just … don’t dothatparticular thing, is all I meant. It’s … unnerving. Switch tactics.” She’d explained herself with a mostly even tone and with her pride mainly intact.
