Milena bolted upright. “Where are you going?”
“To see if I can get them to quiet down.” When her eyes widened impossibly farther, I said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back. Try to sleep.”
I waited for Milena’s hesitant nod before I opened the door and stepped out. Alone in the dark, my bravado evaporated, and all I could hear was Keir’s warning,Don’t come to the Lunar Feast, ringing in my ears.
But there was a little girl trembling anxiously in my room… and a stirring of curiosity in my chest.
I straightened my spine and walked to the longhouse.
It had been entirely transformed over the past few days. Lines of wildflowers hung from the ceiling. Statues carved of wood were posted along the walls, each a different face of the moon goddess, Ayeen. One for each phase of the moon.
Kaldfolk stood on the tables. They were writhing against each other in time to the drumbeats. Some were truly entangled in each other, wearing very little clothing despite the chill of the night, and showing off their black runes, while others stumbled drunkenly, mugs of kefir in their hands, as they shouted words to some song I didn’t know.
Despite the decorations hanging from the ceiling and Ayeen’s statues, the hall was a mess. Like an animal had torn through it. Or multiple. Claw marks marred the tabletops and walls. Food was strewn across the floor and trampled. And some of the Kaldfolk were bleeding from scratches on their exposed flesh.
But no one had blue runes. No Shifters.
Rade was among the revelry, a crown of wildflowers around his head, eyes glimmering as he moved through the rapid steps of a dance. Sweat glistened on his face, and a smile stretched across his lips as he threw back a cup of kefir. He looked freer than I’d ever seen him.
I slipped through the crowd, tucking my elbows in close to avoid any bodies. “Rade.”
He turned to me with delighted surprise. “Amunet! I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I’m not, I just—”
He grabbed my hands and pulled me to his side. “I’ll teach you the dance. It’s very simple.”
“I’m sure it is, but I really just wanted—”
“Your Majesty!” Velka tumbled into me on drunken legs, giggling, eyes gleaming with something akin to madness. Her braid was undone, hair a wild dark mess around her head, and she’d stripped down to her undergarments, which were slashed through, leaving very little to the imagination. I noticed a black tattoo different from her other blue runes nestled just over her heart. It looked like a very large bite mark—I guessed abear’sbite.
Velka noticed my gaze and waved dismissively. “It’s just a mating mark.”
“A wha—oof.”
She yanked me into a tight hug. I could feel the scrape of claws against my back, as if she were not fully committed to her human form. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she gushed.
I surveyed the longhouse, looking for signs of the rest of the Seven, but it was only Velka. A small relief.
“I was just trying to get her to dance,” Rade told her.
“Oh yes, you must, you must! It’s so—” Her head snapped in the other direction, as if she heard something I couldn’t, and a wickedsmile broke across her face. She let out an excited yip and shifted into a bear, barreling on all fours out of the longhouse, claws tearing apart the wooden floor.
I set my chin and refocused. “Rade, it’s so loud that—”
“Here, kefir,” he shouted over the drums as he thrust a cup of it at me.
“No, I don’t want—”
A woman caught his hands, and he laughed as he swung back into the dance.
I huffed in annoyance and set the kefir on the nearest table. One of the dancers kicked it over, splashing white all over my coat. I gasped and stumbled back a step. They all merely laughed and carried on. With a glower, I tore off the dripping coat and folded it over my arm.
The Lunar Feast was meant to be an event for the Shifters, forthemto lose control. With animal spirits, complete abandon made sense. But Rade was just as bad. So were all the Kaldfolk with black runes. The cups of kefir were probably to blame.
Parties in Khada Palace were never like this. I could hardly hear myself think.
When Rade swung close enough, I snatched his shoulder, dug my nails in, and pulled him out of the line of dancers. “It’s scaring Milena,” I yelled directly into his ear.
