Downing his glass of iridos at the bar, Rhay tried to convince himself that it wasn’t his place to question Karwyn’s behavior, to question his king, or to look out for Lora. Yet as Karwyn disappeared through the door, Rhay dropped his glass on the counter and headed to the exit, dread in his heart. It didn’t take him long to catch up to Karwyn in the hallway.
“Karwyn,” Rhay shouted, earning curious looks from some of the guests striding down the hall. The king halted, but it took him a few long seconds to face Rhay.
“Go back to your party, Rhay,” Karwyn replied curtly.
He started to turn, but Rhay took a hold of his arm as he caught up to him. “I need to talk to you.”
Karwyn’s gaze drifted to the fae milling about before settling on the door to a drawing room. Inclining his head, Karwyn entered the room. Rhay followed, closing the door until it was just them.
“What is it you wish to talk about?” Karwyn asked, adjusting his mask. Somehow, Rhay found it easier to look at him with the mask on.
Rhay straightened his shiny rainbow jacket. He hadn’t thought this through. “The party has barely started, why are you leaving already?”
“It is nothing for you to worry about.”
“As your advisor, shouldn’t I worry?” Rhay shot back, hating his words and how much he craved taking them right back.
“As my advisor, you should be focused on the task I assigned to you. I have not seen any progress on your wedding planning yet.”
“Lora showed her magic at the…attack. She’s making real progress. I thought you might have changed your mind about Amira,” Rhay dared reply. “Don’t pretend you actually care about this wedding. We both know you’re not looking forward to spending a lifetime with Amira.”
“Considering Amira’s current state, I am not sure a lifetime is the right term, thank Caelo.” Karwyn’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Whenever Rhay looked into Karwyn’s eyes, he saw the masked attackers storming the Quarnian palace, leaving dead bodies behind. “Did I hit a nerve? I thought you had stopped caring about her,” he added, his tone almost empty, like he didn’t know how to care.
“For some of us, not caring doesn’t come easily,” Rhay bit out. “Why do you hate Amira so much? Is it just because I am—was—friends with her?”
“She is weak, useless,” Karwyn said, brushing past thefriendscomment. “You should try harder to fulfill your task if you wish to remain my advisor. Otherwise, I might label you as useless too, as your father has.”
The words hit Rhay’s chest like needles pricking his skin. “You were right,” he said, “I should go back to my party.” He didn’t wait for Karwyn’s reply before pivoting and almost running back to the bar.
Rhay stole the shot of the fae sitting next to him at the bar, unable to wait for his own. It chased away the distant worry that Lora might get herself in trouble.
His back turned to the exit, Rhay grabbed a bottle from the bar, taking a long swig before filling up his ruby-red flask. He felt a presence behind him. “Our conversation is over, Karwyn,” Rhay growled, fearing the king’s return.
“Dear Falea, do I smell like him?” Varsha’s outraged voice asked.
Rhay turned around, almost splashing her with alcohol. “I’m not good company right now.”
Varsha settled next to him on a high stool. “I enjoy moody Rhay. He’s one of my favourite Rhays, next to ‘can’t even recognise himself in the mirror’Rhay.”
He usually enjoyed Varsha’s presence, but Karwyn had ruined his already precarious mood. Karwyn wasn’t wrong, Amira hadn’t left his thoughts. How could he plan Amira’s wedding when, not long ago, she had occupied his every thought?
Did she ever think of him? She was probably cursing him with every thought. Maybe she thought he was useless too. She should. Would she have stayed silent about Rhay’s suspicion concerning the Quarnian attack? In his heart, he knew Amira wouldn’t stand by, wouldn’t be useless as he had been.
Taking the bottle from him, Varsha took a swig of it and smiled. The dark alcohol tainted her lips black.
“You usually last longer,” Rhay said, trying to distract himself. Varsha raised a quizzical eyebrow. “I saw you leave with a couple. I was expecting you to be at it all night.”
Varsha let out a freeing laugh. “Sadly, they didn’t have your stamina.”
Rhay chuckled, but his mind was still stuck on Amira. Why did she still have this hold over him?
“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” Varsha asked with a knowing look. “I know something happened between the two of you. You know, it’s okay to let yourself care about others.”
Caring only brought pain, yet he couldn’t help himself. “I don’t care.” His voice wasn’t convincing in the slightest.
“You should write to her. Tell her how much youdon’tcare.” Varsha jumped off her stool and abandoned him, stealing his bottle with a laugh.
Maybe Varsha was right. If he could put his feelings into words, he might be able to finally clear his head, cleanse himself from the thoughts plaguing him. Rhay sighed and grabbed a napkin and pen from the bar.
