“Liam,” I whispered, but he merely shook his head.
“Just try the cake, Norah.”
My heart beat hard. Why was he gazing at me so intently? Why did he look as though my reaction to this cake held far more meaning than it should? I dragged my gaze away from his handsome face and stared at the red dessert. Should I be wary of eating this? Did it have some hidden magic in it?
But even if it did, it wouldn’t be anything dangerous. Liam wouldn’t let me eat it if it was.
With my breath held tight in my throat, I brought the cake to my lips. My teeth sank into the sweet velvety frosting, and a thousand different flavors danced across my tongue. Cinnamon and chocolate. Strawberries and cream. Pumpkin and spice. Dozens of combinations, one after another, an endless stream of delight.
Until my teeth crunched something rough and hard.
Frowning, I did my best to swallow down the cake before spitting the rock-like object into my palm. I held it up before my eyes, a strange sensation filling my gut. It was someone’s ring. A thin gleaming band etched with intricate swirls. How odd. One of the Summer fae must have lost it while she’d been baking the cake.
“By the forest,” Liam said, his voice full of awe.
I glanced up. He was staring at the cake-covered ring in my hand, his eyes as wide as a summer full moon.
“You were right,” I said with a laugh. “Barmbrack is a lot different than any cake I’ve had before. They usually don’t come with rings.”
It was a joke, but one that was seemingly lost on Liam. He still stared at the ring like it was some kind of bizarre object from another solar system.
“Excuse me,” I said, turning toward the Summer fae who was handing out plates. “I think one of you lost a ring in the cake.”
When I showed her the ring, she raised her free hand and let out a whoop that echoed so loud, it must have been heard as far as the opposite end of the festival grounds.
“The Barmbrack Ring has been found!” She grabbed my hand, the one that still held the ring, and held it aloft in the air. Everyone around us cheered. The fae began dancing, and a folksy tune began to play from random faeries who grabbed instruments from a nearby table.
Confusion rippled through me as the Summer fae dragged me away from Liam, who still stood staring at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
“I’m sorry,” I said to the Summer fae. “I don’t understand what’s going on. What’s a Barmbrack Ring?”
The woman’s face lit up with a smile. “Ah, you must be a changeling then if you don’t know about the ring. Every year, we put it in the cake. Whoever finds it means she—or he—is destined to be wed within the year. If you haven’t met your mate, you will soon, love. And a faerie wedding is always a cause for celebration.”
I blinked and stared at the female fae. If I’d felt confused before, it was nothing on how I felt now. Destined to be wed within the year? That didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be right.
“There must be some kind of mistake,” I said.
“No mistake, my dear.” Her grin widened. “The Barmbrack Ring always knows. It’s never been wrong. Not even once in thousands of years.”
* * *
Ilost myself in the dance, despite my shock and confusion at finding the ring. It was as if my body took over, the fae magic filling me up and driving me forward. Indeed, it was as if my mind and my thoughts were drowned out by the overwhelming lure of song and dance. Moments flew by, and then hours. Soon, the sun had been replaced by a million sparkling stars. The crowd began to thin, and the music cut off. The celebratory atmosphere vanished, almost in an instant.
“It’s time for the Changing of the Seasons, love,” the Summer fae—whose name I learned was Rose—murmured into my ear. “You best get scarce.”
Chills swept down my spine. She knew then, about the ambush. How many of them did? Were they all in on it? Or only a select few?
A strong hand wrapped around my elbow and pulled me away from the dying celebration. Glancing up, my eyes locked on Liam’s glowering face. His jaw was tense. His eyes were full of fire. But there was a strange distant look, that bemused expression of shock, that still lingered.
“We’ve got to get you out of here before the ceremony begins,” he murmured. “I don’t want you anywhere near this.”
“Are you just going to pretend like this Barmbrack Ring thing didn’t happen?”
His grip stayed firm, his gaze focused on the ground ahead. “I don’t see how it can be right. You have two and a half years left at the Academy, which means you won’t be wed within a year.”
“Rose said the Barmbrack Ring is never wrong,” I countered.
He stopped suddenly and twisted me toward him so that he could look deep into my eyes. “It would be unheard of, for a changeling to leave the Academy early unless she’d been banished to join the Wilde Fae. And it would be unwise on top of that. The Academy exists for a reason. It teaches you what you need to know in order to exist in this world, to learn how to fight, to learn how to survive. Not to mention you would have to choose one of us....I mean, one of our Courts—in order to leave by then. Could you really do that? So soon?”
