“And what does information on Princess Daneiris give you against him?” Priscilla’s head tilted to the side.
“More than you know.” I smiled wryly.
“I have no love for any of the royals, Asteria.” Priscilla’s lips slowly turned up. “I’ll help you however I can.”
“Really? That easy?” I blinked with surprise.
Priscilla laughed, but there was no humor in it. She rolled up her right sleeve. “Do you see this?”
I nodded as I saw the scar she referred to. It was long and thick, across her forearm, like—like a lash…
Old Gods.
“Princess Daneiris herself did that.” Priscilla nodded gravely. “All because I didn’t curl her hair the way she envisioned it.”
My mouth dropped open in shock at the blatant cruelty over something so insignificant. I wanted to throw up knowing she’d been whipped across the arm for something so minor.
It was a terrible price for such a tiny mistake.
Priscilla looked at me, tears forming in her eyes that she quickly dashed away.
“I’m so sorry, Priscilla.” I replied, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “You didn’t deserve such a thing. It’s horrendous what they do.” My anger spiked rapidly, but I calmed myself. Anger wasn’t what she needed right now.
“None of us deserve any of this.” She squeezed my hand back. “Can you believe I was actually excited to come here?” She laughed wryly, and the sound of it, it was…hurt. Broken. “I grew up in Sunset, in the far reaches of the jungle. The Fae there were pretty lax as far as I could tell, but I wanted to explore cities and castles. Then I came here, and it was nothing like I had imagined. Be careful what you wish for, right?”
Her words struck me. They were exactly my thoughts upon being placed in Dusk. I once wished to be surrounded by the magic of Night, my love of the stars making it seem like a dream. I’d thought Dusk might be my closest alternative, but now I wished I’d been placedanywhereelse.
“We need to find a way, Priscilla,” I swallowed hard. “To get out and away from these Fae.”
“Do you really think that’s possible? Really?” Priscilla’s eyes lit up even as her face crumpled in skepticism. “They have every advantage over us, and all the resources.” She shook her head with resignation. “It’s impossible.”
“Give me time. Help me.” I replied, shaking my head. My eyes widened as I pleaded with her. “Cyrus has me in charge of his spies, Pris. I can use that to our advantage. I think Princess Daneiris is up to something. I just need information. The more we can gather, the better our chances when an opportunity arises. We just need to be prepared.”
Priscilla looked at me for a beat that seemed to last forever. I wish I knew what was running through her head. But the ice casing around my heart cracked a bit and I…trusted her.Priscilla and I had been through a lot of the same experiences, and to let her slip into that crack in my heart was a relief. It felt good to open up my heart a little—but I couldn’t let it open any wider; neither of us could afford truly open hearts, no matter how much we desired it. Not when it would end with our hearts bleeding on the floor.
Priscilla closed her eyes briefly in thought. As she reopened them, I saw the resolve and the hope filling her brown orbs.
“Let’s do this then.” She smiled viciously, and I let my own vicious smile curl my lips. We could do this. Wewoulddo this, and we would be free.
Priscilla quickly finished getting me ready as we discussed some particulars about her spying and our end goal. She grabbed a day dress for today’s outing, much simpler than the lavish gowns Cyrus made me wear to formal events. As Priscilla helped me into it, the dress fell softly to the floor in a slink of light pink silk, perfectly matching the jewels in my hair.
I admired myself in the mirror once it was on. It hugged my body in all the right places and left the tiniest pool of silk behind me on the floor. The charcoal gray beading across thechest highlighted my ample breasts but wasn’t scandalous by any means. The beading was shaped like an hourglass across the chest, centering down the middle and avoiding the sides entirely, then expanded out once more to dance across my hips. The sleeves were made of fine, transparent fabric with an illusion of beading transferred onto my skin, covering from my shoulders to my wrists.
“You look gorgeous, my Asteria.” I heard the prince’s appreciative tone coming from the doorway and turned immediately.
“I’m not yours.” I raised an eyebrow at Cyrus, who was standing in the doorway of my room.
He smirked and prowled closer, his eyes raking over every inch of me, leaving my skin feeling like lightning skated across it. “Maybe not quite in the way I want yet, but you are mine nonetheless.”
I ground my teeth at the truth of that statement and saw the glee in his eyes at my response. I glared at him. “Are we leaving or what?”
I could see Priscilla’s mouth drop open at the tone I’d taken with the crown prince, but I didn’t care. Cyrus wouldn’t punish me for it, not when he wanted me to give in to him of my own volition. I could afford to let a tiny bit of my true feelings shine through.
“Yes, we are, my dear.” He held out his arm and I reluctantly took it, but it only lasted until the doorway of his rooms. He couldn’t be seen to be treating a slave so well, of course. I had to act subservient in public. He could talk to me, but showing affection would be unacceptable. Even the slaves who slept with their masters weren’t shown any measure of affection by them in public. To do so would leave the Fae in question ostracized from their peers.
When we reached the large dark gray carriage, I only had a moment to marvel over the scrollwork surrounding it before I was helped in by the footman. Cyrus followed me as I stepped into the impressively large space and sat down on a velvet cushion; Cyrus taking a seat across from me on the other bench. I was jolted as the carriage began moving, four black horses leading it into the city.
“I’ve never been in a carriage before.” I looked around in surprise at how luxurious a mode of transport could be made to be.
