He grins, eyes flicking over her shoulder to me. He winks, then draws Kassandra closer, taking the parasol from her grasp and leading her to a long table lined with emerald wine bottles and two-bite cakes. They order sparkling wine from the faerie behind the table.
Lila emerges from the shade at the far side of the tent. Her golden silk uniform flutters in the spring breeze, and she curtsies to Lord Eli as she passes him. “My lord.”
“Lila.” His gaze roams over her. “How are you faring?”
“Better now that the weather is warming. Thank you for the tip about mushrooms.”
He nods. “Did you try fish as well?”
She makes a face, and he laughs. They exchange a few more words before she joins Briar and me by a corner tent pole.
“What was that about?” I ask.
“Oh, Lord Eli suggested foods to improve my mood in the wintertime.”
Yet Eli still looks at Lila with not appetite but rather something akin to awe, like a creature spotting sunlight after a storm. I store the observation away to ask her about it later.
“Do you know this game?” Briar asks Lila, who shakes her head.
I drop my voice. “Is it not odd that we’re here?”
“Apparently, each High Fae was allowed to bring two of their…favorites.” Lila winces. “Carter and I will be moved by the king, you and Briar by Kassandra. The two faeries by the food and drink are Healing Crests.”
My gaze cuts to Kassandra, laughing at something the king says. Eli converses with Death brooding in the opposite corner.
“Oh, here come Carter and…” Lila stops, brows knitting.
I turn to see what has caught her attention, and my stomach bottoms out. Carter leads Lord Dominik toward us in a white-and-gold tunic, smiling like a wolf.
“Dom!” the king shouts. Next to him, Kassandra grips the stem of her glass and finishes her drink.
“Friends,” the Heir of Illusion drones, striding under the shade of the tent, as I and the other faeries back away to make room. My stare drops to his boots, their shiny pointed toes pompous in the growing midafternoon light.
Briar catches my eye, and I understand our mistake. The siblings match in their white, and in the state gardens, with the flowing liquor and the little cakes, it looks as if they are getting married.
The three males clap one another on the back, smiling, laughing. Kassandra stands apart, inching around the crew. She darts over to us while Carter joins the king’s side. The groups form—the females and the males—despite the varying statuses.
“I look ridiculous,” Kassandra seethes, swatting at her skirt as it balloons in the wind. “Like one of those overfrosted cakes on the table.”
Lila gapes. “No, you are a vision, my lady.”
“Ugh, I don’t seek flattery, but I always welcome it, so thank you.”
“Would you like me to fetch you another wine?” Briar asks.
“Or two.”
Briar nods, taking the empty glass from Kassandra, and departs. My mistress narrows her attention on me. “What did you say to the king?”
My tongue depresses with the weighty oath.
“For fuck’s sake, Avery, if I wanted to interact with an entire casing of sausages today, I wouldn’t have skipped breakfast,” she snaps. Lila coughs, covering her mouth. Kassandra studies her for a moment. “You’re Maxian’s Lila, right?”
Maxian’s Lila.As if Lila’s a beloved pet.
“Yes, Lady Kassandra.”
“He speaks highly of you during luncheons. He says you’re the only thing that has kept him sane all these years.”
