“I appreciate the advice, but it doesn’t matter,” I said curtly. “When we find your mother, she’ll put me back to sleep.”
Adara snorted. “Right. I forgot about that. You’ll just go back to your enchanted oblivion. Problem solved.”
I shrugged. “It’s worked well enough for the last twenty years.”
Adara huffed out a breath and popped to her feet, planting her hands on her hips. “You—” she started, but whatever tirade she was about to embark on was interrupted as the back door flew open with a bang.
“Oi!” Leap yelled, waving at us. His goggles were askew atop his nest of white hair, and there were smudges of dirt on his face. “Stop necking, lovebirds, and come inside. It’s time to go over the plan for tomorrow night!”
25
Adara
“Ilook ridiculous,” Einar grumbled as we rode in Mrs. Aeolan’s family carriage. He sat on the bench across from me next to Leap, looking very uncomfortable in his court finery. I had to admit he had a point--the pantaloons bloomed around his thighs like a short, puffy skirt, and the puffy sleeves of his silk shirt didn’t make it any better. The only saving grace was the vest, which fit him like a glove and accentuated his broad chest and shoulders. It was an odd combination of masculine and effeminate, something a simpering courtier of old would wear, not a dragon warrior.
Which was exactly why I thought it was perfect.
“Oh relax,” Mavlyn said, waving a hand at him. She was loosely dressed like a peacock, with long peacock feathers placed strategically along her skirt and bodice, and a lone feather perched on the corner of her mask. “At least you don’t look like a bird.”
“Youchoseto look like a bird,” Einar pointed out. “I saw the look of glee on your face when you pulled that peacock feather fan out of that box yesterday.”
I swallowed a sigh as the two of them bickered and glanced down at my lap, running a hand over the fabric my own costume. The shimmering sea blue gown I’d found in the attic had reminded me of the old tales I’d heard of sirens—undersea creatures that looked like fae from the torso up, but fish from the waist down, and whose unearthly beautiful voices had lured many a male to their deaths. The dress was sleeveless and strapless, form-fitting from the top of the heart-shaped bodice down to mid-thigh before flaring out in a short train that looked remarkably like a siren’s tail. Mavlyn had embellished parts of the skirt with large, glittering sequins to make them look like clusters of scales, and she’d added fins to the sides of my mask to complete the look. Mrs. Aeolan had loosely piled my hair on top of my head and secured it with pearl-topped pins, leaving a few tendrils to hang down and frame my face.
I’d never worn anything so fine in my life, and even though I knew there was no prince waiting at the ball to sweep me off my feet, I felt like a princess nonetheless.
“Don’t whine so much, gramps,” Leap said, pulling me away from my thoughts. He wore a black and white court jester costume, his white hair stuffed beneath a ridiculous hat with multiple bells that jangled with each bump and jostle of the carriage. “You’re only going to have to wear that thing for an hour or two. Once I get the fan, we’re out of there.”
“If you keep on calling me gramps, I’m not going to help you steal anything,” Einar said. He reached out and flicked Leap on the nose. “After all, it’s not like we’ll need you once we’re inside the temple.”
“Oww!” Leap rubbed the tip of his nose, scowling. “You better not mean that, fire breather.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” I said in a soothing voice. “You’ve been invaluable in helping us so far, Leap. We wouldn’t betray you like that.”
I shot Einar a warning look, who rolled his eyes. “I’ve done many questionable things in my life, but I’m no traitor,” he said with a huff, leaning back in his seat. “I won’t abandon you, Leap.”
I peeked out the carriage window to see that we were rounding a narrow bend in the mountain just below the temple. Anxiety crawled along my skin as I looked over the edge of the road—there was a sheer drop just below, and with night having fallen already, I had no idea how far a drop it was.
“We’d definitely die if the carriage tipped over right now,” Mavlyn declared, reading my thoughts perfectly.
Leap rolled his eyes. “No we wouldn’t,” he said, jabbing at his chest. “Air fae, remember?”
“Are you really powerful enough to summon a wind current strong enough to catch a carriage?” Mavlyn asked dubiously.
“Not yet,” Leap admitted, “but I can definitely use the wind to slow our descent so that we’re not smashed into a million pieces.”
I frowned. Leap was already very talented for such a young fae, and the fact that he was a lightning rider meant he was a Greater Fae. His parents must have been important people, likely celebrated lightning rider warriors themselves. How did such a child end up orphaned in a big city like this, running with criminals on the streets?
The carriage slowed, and my heart started beating faster as I realized we were arriving. “Speaking of the wind,” Leap said as we came to a halt, “it’s time to head into the vortex.”
Our driver opened the door, and Leap hopped out, followed by Einar. I got to my feet and braced my hand against the door frame, intending to climb out myself. But a strong, warm hand clasped my free hand, and before I could quite comprehend what was happening, Einar was helping me down the steps.
“That’s awfully gallant of you,” I said as my slippers alighted on the gravel road. I looked up into his masked face, trying to catch a glimpse of his golden eyes. He looked more civilized than I’d ever seen him, freshly bathed and shaved, his shoulder-length chestnut hair pulled back into a neat tail at the nape of his neck. A rakish hat, perched on his head, completed the look while also drawing attention away from his lack of pointed ears, and Mrs. Aeolan had decided it was okay to leave his eyes as-is, since dyeing hair and eyes wasn’t unusual at an event like this anyway. The costume, as outlandish as it was, still managed to flatter him, the vest accentuating his broad shoulders and chest, the tight hose showcasing his powerful calf muscles. The puffy sleeves and pantaloons I could have done without, but he was so insufferably handsome already it was nice to see him taken down a peg.
“Well, you are supposed to be my wife for the evening,” Einar said. Was it just me, or did I imagine the low, smoky note in his voice? His golden eyes gleamed like a dire wolf scenting a predator as he trailed them down my body, and my skin warmed in response. He was still holding my hand, I realized, his fingers curled almost possessively around mine. Something about it felt…right.
Wordlessly, Einar tucked my arm around his, and we followed Leap to a large, circular stone platform a few yards away, tucked right at the base of a sheer cliff. The temple loomed over us, its spires glittering like diamond tips, golden light spilling from the hundreds of open doors and windows to bathe us in a warm, welcoming glow. A swirling vortex of wind spun in the center of the platform, whirling far too quickly for my comfort.
“We’re supposed to ride that to the top?” Mavlyn hissed at Leap. “We’ll be flung into the abyss!”
