Both paused, Delia with her hands already in my hair and Priscilla with a brush halfway to my face. Delia leaned over to see my face as Priscilla sat back against the vanity top.
“What the fuck?” Priscilla screeched, and I couldn’t help the laugh that burst out.
“Yeah, that’s about how I felt.” I agreed, nodding.
“Wait, are you serious?” Delia asked, mouth gaping open as she rocked back on her heels.
“Unfortunately,” I grunted.
“Unfortunately?” Priscilla asked incredulously, her eyebrows flying upwards. “Asteria! Don’t you realize what this means?”
“You mean aside from the fact that my biological father is apparently hunting me down? That he and Cyrus are already working together, and who the fuck knows what will happen now?” I asked seriously, but she shook her head at me.
“We’ll get to all that in a minute,” Priscilla said sternly, grabbing my shoulders and meeting my eyes. “Asteria, you’ve been wanting to help all the humans. If you have power in Day Kingdom, like Calix does here in Night, the two of you will be able to makerealchanges to Celesterra.”
I sighed, rubbing a hand over my eyes before Priscilla swatted my hand away with a glare for nearly messing up her work.
“It’s dangerous, for sure, but Priscilla is right,” Delia added hesitantly, her warm brown eyes lighting up. “You and Calix will surely be able to use this. Two rulers are better than one when it comes to making changes like this.”
“But I’m not the ruler!” I argued, throwing my hands up. “I’m only the heir. King Aelius—” I paused, having just connected in my brain that the king I picked apart at Placement Day was my actualfather. I took a deep breath. “King Aelius wants to find whoever the power of the heir went to, right? Meaning, he’ll be hunting me down. And Cyrusknowsit’s me. His alliance with Day hinges on turning me over.”
“But he’s your father. Won’t he be happy it’s someone in his bloodline?” Priscilla asked hesitantly, shaking her head in confusion.
“Well,” Delia began, before biting her lip. “Aelius is very old school. He was enraged when his son wasn’t chosen as heir. If the reason Arien wasn’t chosen was because…”
She trailed off, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror, and I picked up her thread. “Because I was.”
She nodded, “Exactly. He won’t be happy to see a woman chosen as heir, blood or not. I would recommend waiting to see what happens first. I’m sure the others can advise you better as to tactics and politics, but be careful, either way.”
I nodded, agreeing easily. I wondered how Arien felt about being skipped over. I thought back to Placement Day, when we had met one another’s eyes. He must have known. Just as the queen did. But he was… By the Otherworld, he was mytwinbrother.
This was absolutelywild.
We talked ourselves in circles as they got me ready. Thankfully, the revelation of me being an actual princess had waylaid any interrogation about Calix. But as we walked down to meet everyone, I couldn’t help looking myself over in any mirror we passed by.
The short silver dress had called to me from my overflowing wardrobe. The memory of my scales still fresh in my mind, along with the knowledge they matched the starlight I couldn’t figure out how to call.
The dress had an almost corset-style top with purple boning and glittering silver fabric, but it had a deep V in the middle that went to just under my breasts. The silver fabric extended to the skirt, slinking down over my hips and ending right at mid-thigh. Delia and Priscilla had helped me pick out matching jewelry, and the silver necklace dipped down much like the necklace I’d worn to the party in the Hedone room, reaching halfway down the open expanse of skin.
Calix was waiting in the rotunda with Baach, Eryx, Ilta, Lilith, and Titan. His eyes blew wide as he spotted me and left the others behind as he made his way over to me.
I looked up as he came to a stop right in front of me. His hand came up to my face, fingers lightly trailing down my cheek. “You’re trying to torture me, aren’t you, my réalta?”
His voice was roughened with an arousal that immediately had me reaching back for him. I let my fingers land on his lips, trailing over them lightly as he groaned. I smirked, my fingers trailing from his lips to his neck, until I could wrap my hand behind it and into his hair. I leaned up on my tiptoes, pressing my body into his.
“Hmm… maybe,” I whispered into his ear. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.”
With that, I walked away, over to the others who were watching us in amusement. Eryx laughed and put an arm over my shoulder, steering me out the front doors of the palace and onto the walkway.
Ilta grabbed my free hand, pulling us along. “Come on! Tonight is going to be great!”
As it turned out, our first stop was dinner. Ilta led the way into a cute little restaurant. Its entrance was outlined by a line of Nymph trees with branches draping down onto the walkway. Moonlilies and starbells were planted between them, and the scent reached me easily. My enhanced senses as a Fae were something I was still trying to adjust to, but the smell of the flowers being so much more intense was definitely a benefit. They were lovely, and it felt like I got to experience them on a whole new level now.
But it was Calix’s scent that was going to truly do me in. It was all too easy to ignore the scent of the others. Titan’s scent struck me as somewhat familiar, but it was hard to concentrate on when Calix’s night and fire scent overpowered them all. Whether it was because his magic was that much stronger, or because he was my mate, I couldn’t be sure.
Ilta bounced up the engraved wooden door and led me in, and I realized the door’s engravings represented all the elements. Inside was similar, with each corner of the restaurant representing a different element. The mishmash of decor actually blended perfectly together, with the very center of the restaurant where each elemental theme met, being where the bar stood.
“Oh, King Calix!” The woman at the hostess stand bowed her head. “I’ll get a table together for your party right away.” She quickly assured him before bouncing away to do so.
