The next few days were spent exploring the first level and the grounds of the palace. I found mostly palace staff rooms and other unexciting spaces on the former, though therewasa second library. It was small, its shelves packed messily with books that were coated in dust.
I wandered past the gardens and fish ponds, going right to the edge of the palm tree border that Kai warned me not to cross. What would he do if I were to disobey him? Would he even notice? I haven’t seen him—or the female that greeted him upon our arrival—at all. My restless energy only builds the longer I’m forced to wonder when I will get to work on what I came here to do.
At least there is Lana, an older female who works for the palace. Every day she brings me my meals accompanied with small tidbits of information about what is going on in the palace. She also brought me some more island-appropriate clothing, the thinner fabrics excellent at wicking away sweat caused by the humidity.
Today, I sit cross-legged on the bed, flipping to the last page of an account written by Councilman Godric and tapping my spelled pen on my own journal. Every Flame Ceremony and interaction he catalogs from the time has no mention of dwindling magic or anything out of the ordinary. They were still preparing for a visit from the fae rulers, which seems fitting to read about now thatIwas a visitor of sorts to the Shifter Kingdom.
Setting the ancient journal aside, the pages now all read, I reach for the next one when there is a knock at the door. Swinging it open, I meet Kai’s eyes over the threshold, my stomach stupidly dipping at the sight of him.
“Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” It’s nearly been aweeksince I arrived, and I’m eager to do something other than explore by myself. I hope the sentiment is relayed in my bitter tone.
Kai’s expression remains brooding as his arms fold over his broad chest. The laces of his dark green tunic are undone in the center, showing a hint of his chest beneath. My gaze roams over to the intricate dark lines of the tattoo on his arm, the upper portion hidden by the tunic’s sleeves.
“There is going to be a dinner tonight.”
We stare at each other as a few moments of silence pass before I arch a brow at him. “Dinnerissomething that usually occurs nightly. Is this one special, or are you just excited to tell me?”
His flat look of annoyance draws a dazzling smile of my own as I lean against the door frame and mimic his position. I ignore the way his eyes travel over my body, lingering before he lifts them to mine once more.
“I doubt you’ve ever experienced a dinner like this before. I’d advise you to be on your guard the entire night. The nobles all know you’re my guest here at the palace, but that won’t protect you from their advances. You should keep a low profile. You can tell them that you are from Honna, which is a small village on the other side of the island, if anyone asks.”
I twist a piece of hair around my finger, and Kai tracks the movement. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you are looking out for me right now.” When he stares at me like I’ve said nothing of importance, I shrug and flick my hair over my shoulder. “Either way, while I appreciate whatever this is,” I say, gesturing between us as I right myself and step back into the room, “I can take care of myself.”
And then I shut the door in his perfect face.
“Can you tell me what to expect for the celebration tonight, Lana?”
She hands me a bundle of lavender fabric before she huffs a breath and gestures for me to head to the bathroom to change. I watch as she rummages around in a bag she brought, pulling out brushes and serums and cosmetics.
“I am capable of getting dressed on my own.”
“The only thing you seemcapableof is making yourself late with your chatter.Move.” Her hands gesture once more for me to change, and I laugh as I heed her instruction. “The celebration is to honor the former king, Kai’s father. It’s his birthday. Though, between you and me, the male had nothing about him worth honoring.”
I’m taken aback by her frankness as I change into the outfit she’s given me. The top is in a halter style with the straps tying at the base of my neck and then dangling sheer fabric down my back. The skirt is long, going down to my ankles, with a slit that goes all the way up and stops a few inches beneath my hip.
“Should you speak of the former king that way? What if I tell someone what you’ve said,” I quip when I finish dressing. The skirt moves easily as I walk, the warm and sticky air of the room brushing against the bare skin shown off at my midriff.
Lana mumbles something under her breath before turning to me as I walk back in. “Aye,you clean up well. He won’t know what to do with you.”
“Who?”
She gestures for me to sit in the vanity chair tucked into one of the corners of my room. “First, I am not worried about you telling anyone. I am beloved around here, so no one will believe you.” Her accent thickens as she speaks while her fingers gently comb through my hair. “And I am talking about His Majesty of course.”
I scoff, the noise exaggerated as I look at her through the reflection of the oval-shaped mirror. “Lana, I am not here for the king, nor do I care what he thinks of how I look.”
She lets out a string of tuts, grabbing a comb and sectioning off my hair. “I can tell there is something between you two.”
I move to turn and look at her, but she lightly smacks my shoulder so that I am forced to face forward again. Pulling my hair into two braids on either side at the top of my head, Lanacontinues the plaits back a few inches before she ties them off. The rest is left unbound and flowing down my back.
“You can’t possibly tell there is something between us when I have not spent more than two minutes in the company of the king since arriving.” Lana overturns one of the bottles of serums onto her palms, its fragrance delicate. Rubbing them together first, she then runs her hands through my curls, making them shine. Though I try to bite it back, my curiosity wins, and I add on, “Besides, he is already with someone.”
“No, he isn’t,” she answers immediately, her lip twitching with amusement. My fingers dig into the fabric at my knees as she moves from my hair to my face, highlighting my cheeks with a lovely scented oil and adding a crimson-colored stain to my lips.
“He is. I saw them when I first arrived here,” I comment, wrinkling my nose.
“You saw his sister, Jahlee. There. You are finished.” She backs away from the vanity while I study myself. My hair looks richer in its color, my skin glowing as if I’ve spent a summer beneath the island sun.
Annoyingly, my thoughts draw once more to Kai. “He has a sister?”
