“That's . . .” I trailed off when I caught an imperious stare—directed not at me but Tae.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I stroked his cheek, feeling blissfully free to be able to do that while dancing with him.
The only other place I could be this open about my sexuality was in camp, which is another reason why I enjoyed my job. But my friends would laugh their asses off if they saw me dancing like this. The fact that Tae was looked down on by some of these idiots bothered me but it also, in a way, made me feel closer to him. It was yet another thing that made him more real and less god-like. It was reassuring to know that not everyone worshiped him. Still, I didn't like their snobbery.
So I drew him to a stop in the middle of the dancing couples, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him down into a kiss. Tae tensed in surprise at first, then melted against me, his arms circling me to pull me closer. I put all of my love for him in that kiss and let the faeries around us see it. I wanted them to know that their new valorian adored the Falcon Lord. To remind them that it was he who chose me, and the Goddess who had approved ofhischoice. That to both her and me, noble blood didn't mean shit.
Give me a buff farm boy over a simpering nobleman any day.
When I eased back, Tae's stare was tender. He stroked my cheek and pressed his forehead to mine. Around us, the faeries danced, but I saw their wide-eyed stares out of the corner of my eye, a few of them disapproving. Let them gawk and sneer; they couldn't hurt us in Varalorre. For that matter, no one could hurt us anywhere. Not off a battlefield anyway. I may not like the notion that faeries were better than humans, but by making me fae, Tae had given me the world. We could go anywhere, well almost anywhere, and dance just as freely as we did here. We could hold hands and go to dinner alone, like any straight couple. Or even stand in the middle of a dance floor and kiss. No one would tell us that we couldn't, and the only nasty stares we'd get would have nothing to do with our sexuality. I don't know why that felt better, but it did.
“I find myself in desperate need of dessert,” Tae said as he lifted his head.
“Nuh-uh.” I shook my head and stepped back to settle into a dancing pose. “You said we were going to enjoy the shit out of this party, and that's what we're going to do. It's in our honor after all.”
“More yours than mine,” he said as he began leading me around the floor again, but there was no bitterness in his tone. In fact, he sounded pleased.
“Will I be attending the meeting with the King tomorrow?” I asked.
Tae blinked at the sudden shift in conversation. “No, you will be in school.”
“School?”
“The Falcon Academy, where young Falcon Faeries learn how to shift and perform magic.”
“Will I be in a classroom with a bunch of kids?” I grinned.
“No, I believe they'll assign you a private tutor.”
“Aw, bummer. I would have loved to see all the baby faeries.”
“You'll still see them.” He swung me around a gawking couple. “You just won't be in a classroom with them.”
I glanced around, making sure the Princess wasn't anywhere near us before I asked, “Would you be upset if I asked to postpone that dinner with the Princess and General? I would have liked to spend my first night in Varalorre with just you, but since we had to come to court, I was hoping that maybe tomorrow night could be ours.”
“Welcome to status.” Tae grimaced. “As a valorian, just as it is with a warlord, certain things are expected of you and one of them is entertaining royalty. I can try to put off Sana, but she can be pushy, especially when she gets the impression that you're pushing back. If I make an excuse, they'll likely show up anyway.”
“We'll be out.” I shrugged.
“We'll have to come home sometime,” he shot back. “Let's just get this out of the way and then we can have the next night together. It's not as if we won't be alone later tonight and after they leave tomorrow night.”
“You make a convincing argument, Falcon Lord.” I smirked.
“I'll also make it up to you with butter and gerris powder,” he promised, a twinkle in his eye.
“I suddenly like your friends a lot more.”
Tae burst into laughter.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
We danced to several more songs before we had our dessert, and I was surprised when people started to approach us. A few of them were snide but most seemed genuine when they welcomed me to Varalorre and Taeven home. We spoke with them over delicate cups of tea and tiny plates heaped with beautiful and decadent desserts, and it was then that I began to feel truly at home. I understood how a few nasty people could ruin a group for someone, so I didn't blame Tae for not making the effort with the courtiers, but he'd discounted them as a whole when it was only a handful who were assholes. Judging by Tae's lifted brows, he had come to that conclusion as well.
The Princess and her General came by again after a large group had formed around us, and although they were offered seats, they chose to remain standing—flanking Taeven's chair like a couple of birds on perches. The way they casually touched him and the lazy looks they gave me told me that I was the outsider there, and I was still on probation. Instead of bothering me, this put me at ease; it was similar to the way my friends would have treated Tae if he hadn't been a warlord. I concluded that the Princess and General were merely trying to watch out for their buddy, and that made me like them more. I smiled and nodded to them in acknowledgment, content that I understood them better now. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have dinner with them. After all, Sana hadn't been horrible, just a bit arrogant as far as the Fae were concerned; I could get over that.
At the end of the night, Tae and I both left lighthearted, with grins on our faces. I didn't even mind the blast of cold air that smacked my face when we stepped out of the palace. We snuggled in the carriage on the way back to Tae's home and were met at the door by a maid, who offered us mugs of tea as if she'd been keeping a pot warm just for us. She probably had.
