“This is incredible,” I whispered to myself.
Thea sighed. “It’s all right. Compared to some of the parties I’ve seen Queen Oriana throw, this is a bit pedestrian.”
I looked at Thea incredulously. “I’m not as fortunate as you to have been to many parties, never mind ones that involve arcana. To me, this is mind-blowing.”
Thea laughed and then smiled at me. “I apologize. You’re right. It is incredible. Now, let’s go get us a drink.”
It didn’t take long for me to notice how annoyed the revellers became as Thea and I passed. The sneers and snide comments about me were even harder to ignore.
“Who let her in here?”
“I heard that she is Prince Sterling’s human whore.”
“What happened to her face?”
“The least she could do is fix herself up before coming here. What an embarrassment.”
By the time we reached the bar, I had already had my fill of this court’s pretentious nonsense.
“Maybe you were right about the whole staying-in thing tonight, Thea,” I said, defeated by the unfair criticisms.
Thea asked the bartender for two glasses of berry wine before she turned her attention to me. “No, you were right. They need to see you. If that makes them uncomfortable, that’s their problem.” She grabbed the two glasses of wine from the bartender and handed one to me. “Here, let’s make a toast.” Thea raised her glass to mine. “To an unforgettable night.”
I raised my glass to meet hers. Our glasses clinked together in the mutual hope of a pleasant evening.
Enchanting music played overhead as guests began dancing finely coordinated numbers on the dance floor. Thea and I promptly made our way to the side of the ballroom that exited into the royal garden in an effort to get out of everyone’s way.
“Would you like to join in?” Thea asked as we finally reached the edge of the dance floor, where a row of plush seats was arranged.
“No. I’m not much of a dancer. Besides, I don’t think I could keep up or look nearly as graceful if I tried.” I took a sip of the sweet-smelling wine and nearly choked on it. “Oh my goodness, that is strong.”
Thea laughed as I coughed and struggled to keep it together. She leaned in while patting me on the back. “The first sip is always a bit rough. It’ll go down much easier now, I promise.”
I cautiously took a second sip from the crystal wineglass. As usual, Thea was correct. This time, it tasted much smoother and went down easily.
“What exactly is going to happen tonight?” I asked. “I’ve never been to one of these. I’m not sure what to expect.”
Thea played with her skirt as she responded. “You’re looking at it. At some point, Prince Sterling will arrive, and they will announce him. The king will most likely give some pretentious speech about how great he is, how wonderful Prince Sterling is, and how mighty the Citrine Court is. Then everyone will get really drunk, dance, and partake in varying forms of debauchery into the early hours. I would recommend leaving before it gets to that point, though, as it can get a bit… weird.” Thea chuckled to herself as if she had remembered a specific incident from a prior party.
I held up my hand in protest. “What if I’m into weird?”
Thea raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you saying you want to stay?”
I shook my head. “Tonight is probably not the best night for it. But definitely some other time.”
Thea squealed with delight at the promise of future debauchery. I couldn’t help the painful, awkward smile that formed on my broken lips.
Thea frowned at me as she noticed me wincing. “I really wish you would let me take care of the swollen lip for you, so you could at least laugh and smile without being in pain.”
I wagged my finger at her in response and raised my empty wineglass. “A few more of these, and I won’t feel anything.”
Looking out onto the dance floor, I lost myself watching the beautiful, fluid movements of all the court members. In the far corner, I caught sight of Everett dancing with a familiar-looking woman. She was several inches smaller than the fae who surrounded her, and she had her telltale rounded ears on full display with her hair tied up into a tightly bound bun. Unable to take my eyes off her, I was trying to figure out where I knew her from. It was apparent she had come from the human quarter—but from where specifically?
“Thea, do you see the woman Everett is dancing with? Does she look familiar to you?”
Thea stepped closer to me, as if to see the pair better. “I don’t think I caught her name, but she is definitely one of the assistants from the healer’s shop.”
I looked at Thea, confused. “Why would Everett bring her as his date? The fae barely tolerate me here, and I saved the prince’s life. I don’t imagine she is being received well at all.”
