He runs a hand through his hair. “I—I couldn’t. These things take time.”
I press on, frustration flaring. “What in the world are you waiting for? You two have been bound together in this accursed castle for centuries! Life’s full of ‘what ifs.’ If you never shoot your shot, you’llalwayswonder, ‘What if?’ You’ve already danced with her, Arther, and she hasn’t rejected you. Just tell the poor woman!”
“Here you are, dear,” Mae’s voice cuts through the tension as she returns with a fresh chalice. Arther glances from her to me, his jaw dropping in confusion.
I shoot him a mock sigh. Twirling a finger toward the ballroom, I mouth,Dance!
Finally, the light bulb goes off. Arther clears his throat and bows to Mae. “Miss Mae, may I have the pleasure of this dance?”
Mae beams. “Why, of course, you old fossil—I thought you’d never ask!”
And with that, he whisks her off into the swirl of dancers.
I settle back against the pillar and take a long draft of the spiked fairy nectar. Couples spin around me, Mariel waltzing with a sapphire-eyed fae, Vivian’s laughter mingling with her partner’s. They all seem so… alive, as though the onyx stones themselves are exhaling in relief.
My gaze drifts upward, remembering the last dance we shared in the garden. The press of his hand at my waist. The way his voice softened around my name. How he nearly told me he…
No. Definitely not going to think about that right now.
I lean my head against the pillar, hoping the cold stone will slow my rapidly increasing temperature. Suddenly, a familiar silhouette steps into view.
“You are a miracle worker,” the king murmurs, leaning one arm on the marble beside me, the other at my waist. Keiren’s cloak pools like midnight at his feet.
“Oh really?” I say, voice rough. “How so?”
His golden gaze examines me, and I swear his skin shimmers in the moonlight.
“Mae and Arther,” he murmurs. “They’ve loved each other for centuries, yet neither dared make a move. You changed that, first on the night of the second Trial and again tonight.”
He gestures toward the dance floor just as Arther presses a kiss to Mae’s cheek.
I blink, surprised and delighted.
“They say if you never try, you’ll never—” He falters, searching for the proverb.
I laugh, setting my glass on a nearby stand. “Well, finish it.”
His smile turns warm. Private. “Would you dance with me?”
My heart thuds. I curtsy, offering my hand. As the harp’s first notes rise, he catches my fingers and draws me into the circle of light.
“Arther and Mae were right,” he says quietly. “You’ll make a fine queen.”
“I’m not sure I want to be queen.” The confession slips out before I can stop it.
“Just think of all you could do once the curse is broken.”
Hope and fear spiral together. I want to believe—
Until he brushes a stray curl from my cheek, his breath warm against my lips.
I close my eyes and lean…
A guttural growl tears through the music.
I snap my eyes open just in time to see Keiren—therealKeiren—seize the empty cloak of the man in my arms and hurl it aside.
The figure I was dancing withshimmers violently, his form rippling like molten gold poured into water.
