“Where are we going?” I grumble, cranky as all hell, tugging the high-waisted pants over my hips.
“It’s a surprise.” Ilsa claps her teeny hands together beside an impatient-looking Cece.
Without warning, Sorscha and Marideth strip my nightgown over my head. I grab my bare breasts, shooting a glance at Kai, who’s not even pretending to look away.
“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more beautiful,” he croons, grinning wide as the Cheshire Cat as he teases the feather over his full lips.
“Do you mind?” I snap at him, still clutching my bare chest. In one languid movement, he sits up, bats those heavy lashes, and leans his pretty head on his hand with an exasperated sigh.
“Ignore him.” Marideth rolls her eyes, tugging a matching cap-sleeved cropped top over my head.
Sorscha passes me the cloak as Zadyn reappears far less naked, to the great disappointment of every female in the room. The door cracks open, and Jace pops his head in, his familiar face sending a shock wave of electric current through me.
Every damn time, I curse myself.
“If we’re going, it has to be now,” he says, golden eyes snagging on me before quickly looking away.
"We’re ready." Sorscha tugs me toward the door, and we follow Jace down the hallway. He listens at a spot on the wall, knocks twice, and shoves it open to reveal a dark secret chamber. My friends file into the hidden corridor, brimming with excitement. Darkness envelops the passageway, and I cling to Zadyn, relying on his superior fae eyesight. Using the wall as a guide, we descend four flights of stairs deep beneath the castle. Excited whispers echo off the stone walls as we move further from the grounds.
A ladder waits at the tunnel's end, along with a small door overhead. Kai and Dover reach up to push it open, moonlight flooding in as they climb out. They help us onto soft, slightly overgrown grass.
We stand at the top of a large grassy hill, peering down at a sparkling city of winding roads, glittering waterways, and rows and rows of pearlescent stone buildings. Bathed in brilliant moonlight, it waits below like a gem nestled inside the valley.
“Iaspus. City of Diamond,” Kai announces from my side, hands stuffed casually into his pockets, marveling down at the magnificent city awaiting us.
“Wow,” I breathe in awe. Sorscha, Cece, and Ilsa breeze past, holding hands as they bound downhill, feet scrambling to catch up to the steep decline. Their voices disrupt the quiet stillness of the night.
“Come on!”
With a wink and a nudge to the ribs, Kai takes off after them, and I follow suit. A wild sense of freedom fills my chest as we careen down the hill, arms outstretched to the clear expanse, laughter filling the air.
Breathless and windblown, we arrive beneath the towering diamond encrusted archway that marks the entrance into Iaspus. A childlike wonder overtakes me as we walk through the city, my arm linked through Mar’s. We reach a busy intersection that leads us to a place they call the Markade.
Even at midnight, the Markade is bustling and alive, the streets crowded with fae. The cobblestone pathways are lined with white tents as far as the eye can see. Dozens of street vendors and tradesmen are posted up, selling goods of every kind, silks and fabrics, and confections that I’ve never heard of or seen before. Music drifts through the night air on a soft breeze, along with the intoxicating scent of exotic food.
At the edge of the street, we round an alleyway and step inside a building with an unmarked door. We are instantly met with lively music and the thick smell of beer. The old-fashioned pub is a revelry of spritely, expressive guests, clinking glasses, and merrymaking. They dance on top of thebar and the wooden tables, kicking up their skirts and stomping their feet in time to the trio of fiddles playing in the corner.
Kai leads us through the tightly packed crowd to the worn wooden bar and signals for a round. A stunning brunette in a barmaid’s outfit saunters over to us, shaking her head disdainfully at Kai.
“Marayah, my angel,” he croons, leaning across the bar with a naughty smile plastered on his face.
“You’ve got some nerve showing your face here,Prince.” The statuesque female wipes her hands aggressively on a bar rag and tosses it over her shoulder, eyeing him with suspicion. She stands there sturdily, fists pressed into the groove of her waist, clearly immune to Kai’s charm.
“Don’t be cross with me, my sweet.” His pointer finger flicks out to tilt her delicate chin upward. “I do apologize for not telling you.”
“Don’t apologize tome.” She rips her chin from his grasp, hissing at the unserious prince. “Apologize to the males you cheated in cards and swindled out of their pants.”
“I’d like to swindle you out of your pants,” he purrs suggestively.
“Gag me.” Marideth makes a retching sound, sliding Dover’s hands around her waist.
Seething at Kai, Marayah’s eyes narrow, and her upper lip pulls back from her teeth, revealing two tiny fangs. For a moment, I think she might leap across the bar and throttle him.
Instead, the savvy barmaid rips the rag from her shoulder and snaps it at him before sashaying away. A moment later, she slides a round of beers down the bar toward us, casting a knowing look at Kai. The crowd of fae erupts into applause as the trio finishes a song on a triumphant note.
“Let’s dance!” Sorscha tugs us toward the floor as the nexttune starts up. We snake through the thicket of bodies and join the carefree fray.?*
Kai hoists Sorscha up onto a nearby table, and she spins in time to the music, arms outstretched, skirt fanning out around her. She beckons for us to join, and before I know it, we are packed tightly on top of the table, stomping and clapping and singing along to sailor’s songs. All except Jace, who watches from below, grasping the hilt of his sword. His stiff posture and composed demeanor make him stick out like a sore thumb among the jovial horde. Every once in a while, I feel the heat of his golden eyes on me before casually glancing away.
