His laugh rumbles through his chest. “Oh, we were. We have some pretty bad reputations. We’re only just now starting to fix them, but I can see that they’re still intact. August and I used to be the party princes. We’d funnel across the country together to different taverns and drink through the night. Sometimes, we’d drink and mix whatever drug of the month we had been experimenting with. We’d also sometimes instigate fights with humans. I’m not proud of that phase of my life.”
“Mother, Koa. That sounds bad.”
He sucks in a breath through his teeth. “It was. I was overcoming a rough, often traumatic childhood, and I didn’t like to talk about it. Getting fucked up helped me forget.” He takes a deep breath and says, “I should also probably tell you that I’ve slept with many females, too, during that phase of my life. I’ve slowed down in the last few years, though, if that’s any consolation.”
“I had already heard the rumor, but I didn’t realize it was a part of your past. The way that I heard it, it sounded like it was still your present.” He tenses behind me, and I hurriedly add, “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, Koa. I’ve certainly slept with my fair share of males, too. If I’m being honest, I haven’t had an actual, serious relationship…ever. The fact that you’ve slept around doesn’t bother me.”
His arms around me tighten and he says, “I was nervous that it would. Thank you for saying that.”
“I appreciate you sharing all of that with me.” I turn my head to gaze up at him.
He bends down and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “Anything for my High Queen,” he says.
We talk through the night, sipping champagne and eating chocolates. He plays the recording of the play, but we don’t watch it. Instead, we opt to talk and exchange stories about our lives. He tells me all about growing up in the City of Peaks, detailing the mountains and the snow. It sounds beautiful, especially when he tells me about learning how to shift in the middle of the mountains and being able to run through them in his cougar form.
I end up falling asleep in his arms, thinking about him running through the mountains, wondering if I’d be caging him with a High Crown.
Chapter 21
My mouth feels like it’s cracking. I peel my tongue from the roof of my mouth and sit up, taking stock of what’s around me. I desperately need water, but all I see is champagne. I could use my magic to fill one of these glasses with water, but I’m also feeling a headache beginning to form, and I need to take some medicine. As much as I’ve learned to do with my magic, curing headaches isn’t one of them.
Koa lays beside me, his head on the pillow and his mouth wide open. His long lashes flutter as I move, but he doesn’t wake. He’s lying on his side with his arm still draped over me. I shimmy out from his grasp as gently as I can, careful not to wake him.
Outside the library, the halls are dark and quiet. It must be the middle of the night. It’s never been this dark or this quiet. I don’t see anyone, not even a guard. I’m not wearing shoes, so my feet are quiet through the halls as I make my way to the main kitchen.
I down two glasses of water and some medicine for my headache. I toss the bottle of medicinal herbs into my pocket (pockets really should come standard on all dresses) in case Koa wakes up with a headache, too. As I’m getting ready to leave the kitchen, a little girl dashes past me, running down the hall.
I freeze. She’s dressed in all black, her dark hair bobbing along her back as she runs. She makes no sound as she moves, not even the slapping of her footsteps on the wooden floors.
“Hey!” I whisper-shout, trying to get her attention. I’ve never seen any children in the castle except for the coronation. I look in the direction where she came from, but the hallway is empty.
“Hey!” I try again, but she veers down another hall instead.
I follow her, turning down the hallway that she went down. When I find her, she’s standing stock-still, her back turned to me.
“What’s your name?” I call to her.
She turns to me, but her face is covered by shadows. It’s too dark in here. She turns quickly and sprints away again. What the fuck? Again, I follow her. Something feels weird here, but I can’t describe what it is. The little girl leads us through another hall and to the front doors.
What the fuck is going on? My magic is tingling in what feels like warning.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
Suddenly, the little girl darts out the front door. No, she dartsthroughthe front door, not even pausing to open it, which I’m not sure how that’s possible. I open the doors and run after the girl. It’s dark outside, the path only dimly lit by the lights coming from the castle.
“Hey! Stop!” I yell at her now.
She stands at the top of the stairs, then turns to me with eyes drenched in shadows. “Come, High Queen. Your High King awaits.” Her voice is angelic. It chills me to my very bones.
My entire body is screaming at me to get back inside the castle, but I feel like I can’t resist the pull of the little girl. I follow her down the stairs and then down the path. She’s no longer running. Instead, she waits for me to catch up to her, and then she wraps her hand around mine. Her fingers are ice cold as she tugs me further down the path.
“What’s your name?”
No response.
“What are you doing here?”
No response.
