The man who gave me my first kiss in a thin alleyway the evening before he set sail toward the Kingdom of Glace.
A swath of white illuminates Dante’s dark face. “I’d love to regale you, dearest Fallon.”
“Come find me when you have time, then.”
“Where?” He grips the varnished wooden bulwark, the boat rocking from how treacherously far he leans out.
“Ask around. All of Luce knows where the notorious beast charmer toils.” I close Mamma’s window as the air-Fae steers the boat away from the embankment.
One of Dante’s friends must inform him where I work because the prince’s smile vanishes. They probably forgot to clarify that I cater to the patrons’ stomachs and livers, and not to their nether regions.
“He will never marry you, Fallon.” Nonna’s voice snips my smile.
“I’m not looking to marry.”
“Are you looking to be his harlot?”
My head rears back, and my mouth twists in disgust. I’ve got nothing against women who sell their bodies—I consider many my friends—but I could never . . .wouldnever do that. I’ve brought enough shame to my family by simply being born.
“He isn’t king.” I fuss with the wool coverlet I’ve draped over Mamma’s emaciated thighs.
“Perhaps, but a prince cannot marry a commoner. Not if he cares to preserve his title.”
I feel Nonna looking at me but don’t meet her stare. I’m too flustered and annoyed and—
“Fallon, set your heart on another man.”
“My heart is set on no one, Nonna.”
She expels a sigh laced with so many words. I’m certain most of them are wise, but I’m in no mood for wisdom.
“I’m going to be late for work.” I kiss Mamma’s cheek but not Nonna’s, then slip past her, down the spiral staircase, and into the shadows of Tarelexo.
Nonna claims shadows will keep me safe, and perhaps she’s right, but they also keep me invisible, and I want Dante to see me.
Two
Awater-Fae with not an ounce of magic is a depressing fate when living on islands pocked with puddles of filth. Especially on market days.
The western wharf is busy with sailors offloading the last of the produce that didn’t sell in the royal harbor. The fruits are bruised, the vegetables speckled with rot, the milk, sour, the fish, cloudy-eyed, and the bags of grain, infested with insects, yet half-bloods and humans will snatch up everything before twilight sets in. Growling stomachs aren’t picky.
I sidestep a foul-smelling spill, tugging up my long skirt to avoid it dragging inside anything that will oblige me to wash it. Although I’m the proud owner of three dresses, since I have no magic whatsoever, I must scrub stains manually.
Laundry is on my loathed list of chores, alongside changing sheets atBottom of the Jugwhen the human maid, Flora, stays home to tend to one of her twelve children.
Sybille’s parents, who own the popular tavern frequented by the entire Lucin military and many a genteel Tarecuorin, have considered hiring a second maid, but humans are prone to lying and stealing, and Fae, even halflings, have trust issues.
I pass by three sailors stacking empty crates in a vessel that has none of the grace of the gondolas and all of the sturdiness of a fishing boat.
One of them whistles, which makes the other two turn. “How much longer will you keep my poor heart waiting, Fallon Rossi?”
I shake my head at Antoni’s antics but smile because the male is relentless. “Have Beryl and Sybille turned you down again?”
Antoni chases anything with a skirt. I’ve heard the male has slept with half of Luce, be they human or Fae, and is a very attentive lover, but the romantic I am would prefer that my first lover be my last, and I doubt I’d be Antoni’s last.
“I haven’t asked either of them to marry.”
Right.Because they didn’t object to sleeping with him.
