“I will have it.” Dominik snatches the glass and brings it up to his nose, inhales. He sips the concoction, rolls it across his tongue. He blinks. “It…is satisfactory,” he says, passing the drink to Eli.
“What’s in it?” the Head of Healing sniffs. “Orange, cinnamon, clove. But also something herbal?”
“Closed-bottle gentian,” I say. “From the Illusion courtyards.”
Dominik’s icy stare burns into me. “And how did you acquirethat?”
I grin. “Magic.”
“I’ll have something different.” But when Dominik shoves the glass into my hands, it is empty.
The plane rumbles. Tumbling power fills the space, followed by a ripping noise. A great, awful, shredding sound of thick fiber.
The grandiose royal portrait of Wilhelm the Uniter splits open, and from the torn canvas steps out King Maxian.
“My lords!” he says. “Let’s have some fun tonight, shall we?”
Dominik swears. “Must you always act like that? Are we not too old for your hauntings?”
“One could argue we’ve only just lived long enough to start collecting ghosts.” Max laughs. “At our age, our fathers were killing Death fae in droves. No offense, Executioner,” he adds, throwing a glance to the shadow in the corner.
The shadow doesn’t move.
“Our fathers couldn’t find the clit,” Dominik murmurs to himself.
Eli cleans his glasses. “Who says you can find it now?”
Lila giggles behind her hand and I elbow her. Eli finds us, smiling. The look the Illusion heir throws his way could ice over lakes.
“Yes, I would’ve quite liked to make your sister turn pink, but it seems the sun beat me to it,” the king drawls.
Dominik groans. “Where’s my fucking drink?”
I can’t help it. I cough in shock. Maxian’s gaze slides to Lila and me, grinning. What has gotten into these males? “Shall we see what the ladies have prepared for us this evening?”
My neck and chest flush, to my horror. No one’s ever called me a lady.
Lila giggles again next to me. “You are too good, Your Magnificence!”
“As are you, Lila.”
Their pleasantries should grate, so at odds with what is happening in the Illusion apartments, though I know that this is the power of Lila’s armor: shine and shine and shine until all the High Fae can see is a reflection of their best and most adored selves.
The king steps toward the table, rapping his knuckles against the wood. “Now, since it’ll just be the boys and I for dinner—I say let’s move to the lounge.”
“Shall Carter bring some vices?” Lila wonders.
“As long as only you and Avery deliver them.”
Goosebumps bud across my skin, for I have no idea what that could mean.
“How about some tobacco sparks?” Dominik suggests as Lila heads for the door.
“Terrible for the lungs,” Eli mutters.
“But your favorite.”
“Yes, even Healing fae have vices.”
