“What do you mean?” I straighten.
“Just a feeling.” Leaning forward, he braces his hands behind him on the desk. “I know we don’t know each other all that well, but I have this—inexplicable faith in you. Faith that you will do all my father hoped you would. Don’t disappoint me.” His words are without threat, making them feel confidential and hopeful.
He trusts me.
“I won’t,” I manage to answer. He stands.
“I do hope that in time, you can be happy here. I understand that this is not the home you knew. But I want you to know that it is your home, nonetheless, if you so choose.”
I nod gratefully, warmth spreading over my chest.
22
The queen’s birthday feast is even more magnificent than Kai’s welcome party. The Grand Hall is bedecked in flowers and draped in gold silk panels that hang from ceiling to floor. Polished golden ornaments and fixtures hover above the sea of beautiful heads.
The ladies and I get ready together in Sorscha’s chambers.?* It’s been ages since I’ve done anything like that with girlfriends. We gossip and giggle as we sift through dresses from the hefty assortment delivered to Sorscha’s room. I select a lacy, silver gown with a full skirt and a diamond-encrusted corset.
We dance until our feet bark in protest. I get tipsy on Pink Poison after two sips, and the party revolves around me like a beautiful carousel. Before I know it, we’re drunkenly stumbling into the hall, back to Sorscha’s chambers for one of her infamous after-parties.
Surprisingly, Jace does not excuse himself this time. It’s oddly refreshing to watch him interact with ourfriends. He still holds himself straight and proud, every inch of him the dutiful captain, but there’s a rare ease about him. Seeing him and Sorscha standing close and seeming so familiar with each other, I can’t help but conjecture about the extent of their relationship. It threatens to dampen my good mood.
“Cheat!” Marideth slams her hand of cards down on the table, flinging an accusatory finger at Kai. The table shakes under her force, silver goblets of wine and ale spilling over the side. Kai holds his hands up innocently as the room erupts into chaos.
“He always does this!” Mar shouts over the noise, knocking back her seat as she shoots to her feet. “No, no, no. I am not giving you my Stygian horse! She’d throw you thirty paces if you evenattemptedto mount her!”
Kai’s answering laugh is musical. Marideth tosses her cards in the air, and they slowly rain down over our heads.
“I’m done with his game. If you can’t play by the rules, don’t play at all!”
I try to stifle my own giggles at her seething outburst. Her anger sends Dover into a laughing fit of his own and he wraps his arms around her from behind, cooing to her gently. She jabs her elbow into his ribs.
“Game over,” the princess declares, leaning back in her chair and shaking out her lustrous curls. “What now? Shall we call for some music?”
“Do or die!” Ilsa’s little voice pipes from the table. Her white-blonde hair has already grown back to her chest in the months that have passed since she lost over a foot of it to the drunken game. Fae hair grows exceptionally fast.
Lucky bastards.
The princess claps her hands together excitedly while Jace watches from behind her, leaning against the wall with a casualgrace that threatens to break my heart. I clear my throat, redirecting my attention to the table.
“How do we play?”
“Well, first, you finish the rest of that drink”—Sorscha points at me sternly—“and then you choose ‘do’ or ‘die.’ You either do whatever we tell you to, or you have to die by telling us a truth—something wildly outrageous or embarrassing. Preferably your deepest, darkest secret.” Her eyes gleam wickedly.
“So, it’s truth or dare,” I conclude, glancing at a messy-haired Zadyn, who nods in response.
“Truth or dare?” Cece asks, looking devastating in her low-cut powder blue gown.
“Oh, that’s just what we called it where I grew up,” I say offhandedly.
“In the temple?” Kai eyes me with blatant curiosity. “Who’d you play with, the priestesses?”
“No, no,” I fumble. “There were others there that were my age. A few orphans. We used to play together.”
“Huh. Interesting.” The slow smirk that spreads over his face is full of mischief.
“Who is first?” Sorscha bubbles, her joy barely containable.
“Me.” Cece leans forward with sensual grace.
