“Asteria, make your way back to our rooms.” Cyrus ordered, but his tone was shockingly gentle compared to how furious he still looked. “You can relax and recover after your unfortunate ordeal. I likely won’t be back tonight. I’ll need to deal with the fall out of the attack. Along with a princess who seems to think she can overrule me.”
Zerlina froze for a moment, before her eyes widened, incredulous. Cyrus squeezed her hand in warning—and squeezed it hard, Zerlina’s fingers turning white from the force of it.
“Come. On.” Cyrus growled, yanking his betrothed out of the carriage with him.
I got out of the carriage and was surprised to find Lord Visita there, his wife waiting by the carriage.
“Are you okay?” Vissy asked, his brows furrowed in concern as he looked me over, like he might find some visible wound on me. His eyes snagged on my cleavage, and I again cursed Cyrus for this damn dress.
“I’m fine, Vissy.” I smiled slightly to soften my brush off. “You should go take care of your wife.”
He looked intensely down at me, “I’d rather take care of you.” I managed to swallow my exasperated sigh before it escaped—but seriously,these Fae men. How did I manage to keep attracting them? Cyrus, Vissy, whatever that was in the alley with the nameless, gorgeous enemy soldier.
“I’m fine, I promise,” I replied. “I just want to go to sleep, honestly.”
Which was the truth. In my dreams, I was free. I could fly and float up among the stars. I could let go of everything that plagued me—all of my problems ceased to exist while I was there. Andthe darkness’s embrace beckoned, calling me to it like a Siren Song, unable to resist theneedto break that barrier and find out what awaited me on the other side.
“Okay, but if you need anything, send someone for me.” Vissy insisted. I raised an eyebrow at him but nodded, hoping it would be enough to get him to go away and leave me to crawl into bed, alone.
I managed to slink away from Vissy and the rest of the prying eyes in the courtyard, making my way up to my room. I thanked the Old Gods Cyrus was going to be busy tonight, not having the energy to deal with him at all after everything that transpired. I wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed—which I promptly did, leaving my dress in a pool of fabric on the floor to worry about later, I let the silk sheet drape over my naked body as I fell into bed. Barely a moment after my head hit the pillow, my eyes shut and I drifted off to sleep, where my dreams awaited.
I rose upamong the stars, Luna immediately uncurled from her position in the sky and flew over to greet me. I smiled joyfully as she played all around me, dipping and swooping, her moonglow scales illuminating her path through the star-lit sky. I reached my hand out to trail my fingertips along those glowing scales. The luminous being trilled in response. She was a true dragon, unlike the Fae who could shift into a dragon form. Which meant she couldn’t exactly speak in words, using trills and growls to communicate. I had no idea if Fae could speak in their dragon form, to be truthful, but I knew they could certainly speak in their Fae forms. Luna had only the scaled form before me. Not as sinuous as Zhu, with more bulk to her form, but just as graceful—and even more playful.
I obliged her eagerly, playing with her through the stars and the sky, dancing around her to the tune of a balanced universe. One that I somehow felt and understood. Luna motioned for me to grab onto her tail, and I followed her direction. I laughed as she took off, wings beating through the sky as I skated along the air current left behind her. I closed my eyes, almost believing that I was flying myself. Not just floating like I usually did here, but truly flying.
Nothing had ever felt so right.
Well, except for one thing—but I was certainly not thinking abouthim.
A shiver went down my spine, and I ceased playing. I could feel it once more. The darkness approached. I felt that churning, desperate desire once more—and as shadows banged on the barrier, trying to break through, I put my palms up, as close as I could reach, but not close enough. The darkness was still too far, prevented from touching me. Awe consumed me as my hands lit up with starlight, so in contrast to the vast darkness before me. I marveled at the sight even as I struggled to reach the dark fingertips stretching towards me.
I let out a cry of frustration. It was so close! Closer than before—like the barrier had shrunk. Still, we fell short, and I startled awake in my bed, aggravated at the failure.
I was relieved to find Cyrus had yet to return. I called for breakfast and ate quickly before Priscilla arrived to help me dress. I assuaged her worries that I was okay after the attack yesterday, and she hugged me so tightly I thought I may suffocate to death, but I squeezed her back just as hard. Priscilla was a true friend, the first female friend I’d ever had. Emmie was—something different. A friend, but not someone who would be there for me in the way Priscilla was. I never thought I’d have a friend like this, and it nearly brought tears to my eyes to feel that sense of comfort and support. While I’d rued the fact that myarmor had cracked and let people in, I couldn’t regret it when it came to Pris.
It was dangerous, to be sure, but I was certain now it had been worth it. So long as Emmie didn’t prove me wrong. I made my way to see her next, but her head was so in the clouds over the king that it was like talking to a wall. I sighed in frustration and made my way back to my room.
Cyrus was thankfully still absent, so when I looked out the window and saw my hawk flying around, I made my way out onto the balcony. It landed and trilled as I pet it, but didn’t seem to relax, its body tense as an alarming sound left its beak.
“What’s wrong, little guy?” I murmured to it, but it wasn’t as if it could answer.
I looked up to the sky, drawing in a panicked breath as I watched the day be eclipsed by darkness. Not the regular darkness of night, or maybe it was exactly that—only it was the magic of Night and not the natural kind. A cloud of pure darkness, just like I’d seen that Fae soldier of the Night Kingdom wield, began to blanket the entire city. From my vantage point, I could see it seeping down into every street between the city gates and the palace.
The hawk cawed loudly, startling me as I tore my eyes away from the surreal scene. The hawk quickly bumped my hand with its head before it took off, flying directly into the darkness. I couldn’t help but be nervous for its sake. I swallowed hard and moved inside. We had to be under attack again, but it didn’t make sense. Night Kingdom had just attacked yesterday, and they had never attacked two days in a row before.
It wasn’t long before the door slammed, making me jump as Cyrus stormed into the room, clearly furious. Lightning was crackling all around him and he stormed towards the windows where he stood for a moment watching the darkness descend with clenched fists.
“My father forbade me and my brothers from going outside. He sent our entire army but refused to let us go.” Cyrus fumed, pacing back and forth before the window. “It’s too dangerous for princes, apparently. He argued that Calix has clearly changed tactics, and we have no idea what this attack will bring, but he’s doing nothing but making us look weak. They will think we’re too scared to go up against the Night Kingdom.”
Small lightning bolts sparked off Cyrus as he spoke, and I considered carefully how to respond, but ultimately, didn’t have a chance.
“Zerlina was an absolute handful yesterday, you know.” Cyrus turned his head to me, and his eyes raked over me. “I hope you won’t prove as difficult today. It seems I must ensure you both understand the way of things.”
An ominous dread filled me, just as the darkness filled the streets outside. Cyrus going from furious to deathly calm was never a good sign. Cyrus reached out a hand and I reached out a trembling hand to take it, gulping as I tried to control my heartbeat. He led me into my bedroom, and I scrunched my eyebrows together as I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on—but Cyrus covered my mouth with his hand before I could.
“You’ve been quite difficult, Asteria.” Cyrus murmured. I looked into his eyes and the swirling depths frightened me in a new way. “I’ve done everything I could, given you everything you could possibly want.”
I truly feared where this was going, but the first stirrings of a deeper fear, a type of terror I had yet to experience directly, hit me when I realized what it was in his eyes that had frightened me—not just fury, but a crazed madness that was wholly new.
