Despite the dark, I still caught Soren sliding a small bag into a nearby fae’s hand. Craning my neck to glimpse the face, the same cat-eyed fae met my eyes. He blinked and turned away.
“What was that?”
“Payment for our way in,” he said in my ear, voice low.
My brows rose. “You’re taking credit for the prince telling them to let us inside?”
“I made sure he got a message. How do you think he knew we were here?”
“You summoned him? How did you know he’d come for you?”
We crossed through a short hall that led to a larger, more well-lit space. Here, instead of dancing and wild music, the fae admired lifelike statues painted gold or silver and placed on pedestals while a human softly stroked a harp in the corner. A painting stretched across one wall, with elements that shifted unexpectedly.
Soren finally looked at me. And once he did, his gaze was magnetic, like he couldn’t look away. “No. I made sure he knew thatyouwere here. The rest took care of itself.” He scowled as he said it, growing more irritated when Caius appeared in front of us, forcing us to stop walking.
“I was unaware my invitation to Brynn included you.” He frowned at Soren. “You said you had a prior obligation tonight.”
Soren spread his hands wide, gesturing to the room. “You’re witnessing it now.”
Caius sniffed, but he seemed to decide it wasn’t worth it, turning to smile at me and hold out a hand. “It’s been too long since we danced.”
Now that I didn’t have to talk to him for the contract, I had zero interest. I was here for my family and nothing else. “Soren actuallyjustasked me,” I lied with a sweet smile.
My audacity shocked me as much as Soren, but to his credit, he played along, taking my hand and turning us back the way we’d come. Though I didn’t want to dance with him either, at least he knew why I was here and wouldn’t get in my way.
“I would say not to take it personally,” Soren told the prince over his shoulder with a smirk, “but that might not be the case.”
Wide-eyed at an actual barb from mild-mannered Soren, I didn’t dare risk looking back to see how Caius took it.
“ICAN’T BELIEVE yousaid that! Was he mad?” I whispered as we stepped back into the darkness. A drop of yellow goo splashed across my sleeve. Soren had a few splashes of orange and red across his back as well. I stared at them, still too scared to look back and see how Caius had handled the rejection.
“Who cares?” Soren replied, pulling me into his arms. When we spun onto the dance floor, I could’ve sworn he held me closer. In the dark, his wings vanished just like they did under too much light, as if even the memory of them could only exist in the in-between.
“You probably should.” I breathed out as he twirled me around in an unexpected move, then swung me back again.
His face bent down, inches from mine, and he gave me a rare smile. It was almost enough to make me forget and smile back. “When I paid for help earlier, I also requested a distraction.”
