“All right.”
“The prince.” Her gaze shifted over my shoulder. “Tell me, Sister—what kind of man is he?”
I followed her gaze.
Rogan stood mere paces away, at the edge of the forest. For the briefest of moments, I didn’t even recognize him—masked with evergreen and mistletoe, with his golden hair pulled back from his face and his mantle sparkling with snow, he was beautiful enough to pass as one ofthem. My heart catapulted into my throat when his blue-green gaze roamed toward me.
But he didn’t recognize me. His eyes glided over me as if I were a stranger. Which, in this gown, I supposed I was. But I had recognizedhim within moments; he didn’t spare me a second glance. He stared out across the Folk host. Looking for Eala, I supposed.
“Well?” prompted Eala.
I was staring. I turned back to my sister, whose lambent gaze was assessing on my face.
“He is—” I wetted my lips with my tongue and tried not to think about how much I loved him. “Rogan is kind, funny, and strong. He is also vain, privileged, and perhaps not always as loyal as he ought to be.”
“I see.” The firelight flashing on Eala’s teeth made her mouth look bloody. “Well, one cannot expect too much. Heisa prince, after all.”
I grinned despite myself, to hear my own thoughts echoed aloud. “That he is.”
Eala’s pale eyes grew thoughtful. “Tell me, Sister—do you think I ought to make things easy on him?”
Her words killed my smile. I knew why Rogan was here—at this revel, among these uncanny Folk. It was to win Eala, to break the geas upon her and to bring her home as his prize and his bride for all Fódla to see. Clearly Eala knew that too. Yet she was asking me whether she shouldlethim. Let him woo her, let him win her—or at least let himthinkhe’d won her.
It was… calculated. It was almost cruel. Again, I wondered how over a decade living among the Folk might have tainted my sister. Whether they had stolen her not only in body, but also in soul—stripping away her brightness, her goodness, and leaving in its place wickedness and cunning.
It only strengthened my resolve. We had to find a way to break her geas and take her from this place.
“No need to make it easy.” I tried for jovial but sounded wooden instead. “But he is here to rescue you. So there’s no sense in making it too hard either.”
Eala laughed. She reached over—we two were of a height—and brushed a faint, sisterly kiss against my cold cheek. And then shewas gathering her maidens around her and slicing through the crowd. The Folk parted around her, and the gemstone gowns of the swan maidens were soon swallowed up by the feis.
I didn’t follow her with my eyes. Instead, I looked at Rogan.
I saw the moment he noticed her. His expression became wondering. His mouth parted in adoration. His eyebrows lifted in awe.
Only then did I allow myself to look out across the feis.
At the center of the host, whirling amid the thunderous crush of bodies, Eala danced. Even amid the incandescence of the Folk, she glowed. In her pale gown, with hair like candle flame, she was a butterfly amid moths. She laughed as she spun from arm to arm, her merriness catching and spreading on the faces of those around her. She wasluminous.
I had no right to envy her. She had never wronged me. She was mysister—it should be love for her cramping my chest, not jealousy. And yet—
I pressed my wrist, but my bracelet of thorns was gone.
I whirled away and nearly slammed into Chandi.
She hadn’t gone down with Eala to dance. I fought to control my expression as I swallowed against a hitch in my throat. “Is there something you need?”
“I promised I would speak plain to you tonight. So you should know—Irian is incredibly dangerous.” She inclined her head at the raven-haired tánaiste, whose feral eyes still roved the host. Revulsion rose hot in my chest. He was everything Mother and Cathair had taught me to despise about the Gentry. Self-assured. Selfish. Power hungry. And apparently, murderous. “I know Eala desperately wishes to return home. But you must be careful.”
I looked back at her. “What are you saying?”
“There must be other ways to break our geas.” She shook her head. “There’s no reason for you to get yourself killed. The sword makes him nearly invincible. You should—you should leave Irian alone.”
For a long, taut moment, her words smacked of betrayal. Bytelling me this, she was defying Eala. But then I realized she was trying tohelpme. She was undermining her princess’s command in order to warn me.
It was unnecessary. But I appreciated it nonetheless.
“Thank you.” I briefly gripped her palm. “You’ve already wasted too much of the night with me—enjoy what remains of the party. I remember the way back.”
