The royal castle floated off in the distance, its grounds vast and looming. Light twinkled from within like the silvery stars overhead. The cool air coasted along my skin and danced with my hair. The whistling gusts threaded in a soft, melodic breeze that hummed low in my ears. I never could identify what instrument it sometimes reminded me of. Perhaps some variation of a flute.
“You alright?” Kole prompted, tugging at my hand. I nodded, not yet ready to share with him our family’sothersecret. “Why didn’t you and Basil tell me about his gift?”
“Rather than risk pursuing an Academy, or anyone taking advantage of him for their own personal gain, we swore our gifts to secrecy.”
“Ourgifts?” Kole questioned.
“His, belonging to our family,” I hastily clarified.
“If he had no intention of disclosing his gift, what changed?”
Nothing.I was a selfish, emotional fool who led with my heart instead of my head. I didn’t blame my brother for being angry with me.
Telling Kole about my looming betrothal didn’t feel like an option either. Vocalizing it, to him of all people, meant our hidden affair would have to come to an end, and I wasn’t ready to bid farewell to this insouciant part of my life.
“You know you could have trusted me sooner with that knowledge,” Kole added after my silence stretched.
“Could I?” Our eyes met in the darkness, footsteps slowing. “It’s been a few years since your mother walked. I know it’s been hard on you and Mel, but it feels like we hardly get to see each other anymore. And when we do, you’re withdrawn.”
He rolled his eyes, causing me to tense. “Don’t go there.”
“Why not?” I pressed. I craved a connection so deep, beyond the shell of our skin, that sometimes it scared me I would never find that. I certainly wouldn’t with Jere. “If you don’t talk about it, it’ll eat away at you, Kole.” Like it did with me. There were so many things my family didn’t deign to acknowledge. “And I don’t want that because I care about you.”
Walking ahead of me, Kole huffed a breath of annoyance. “That’s not what we are to each other, remember? We’re fun and pleasure, not…” He sighed, turning to face me. He gestured between us. “We can’t be anything more. Not right now.”
Why? Deep down, I knew the reason. It wasn’t about his mother or Basil or any other secrets he kept and didn’t want to face. No matter how many times I gave my body to him, the reality wasIsimply wasn’t enough. My eyes stung as I ignored the truth.
He took hold of my hand again. Holding my stare, his eyes were sharp with annoyance. “Don’t get emotional and ruin tonight. We’re almost there.”
I forced myself to squeeze back, trampling down the hurt and rejection. “Are we certain this is it? We look like criminals on the prowl for a break-in.” Especially compared to the more refined people passing us on the street.
The Upper Peaks were home to some of the wealthiest apartments and townhomes, whose residents I imagined were fiercely loyal to the king. Unlike the middle part of the city where the Stinky Bootresided, the Upper Peaks were bustling with fancy restaurants and upscale shops. It was an odd location for such a scandalous place as Serpentine.
Then again, perhaps it was perfect.
Kole tugged me behind a building. He approached what appeared to be a cellar door built into a subterranean lean-to attached to the towering sandstone house. He crouched down to tap his fist a precise number of times against it. Whoever sold Kole the two coins must have given specific instructions for entry.
At first, nothing happened. Then the cellar doors eased open inwardly. I expected light to pour out, except we were met with more darkness. Kole beckoned me after him as we descended a ladder—no, a staircase. Solid and made of stone. My heart thundered wildly in my ears, not entirely out of fear.
Heady aromas of jasmine penetrated the air the further into the ground we went. Steady, beating drums vibrated against my skin. My fingers traced along the cavernous walls as we neared a golden haze at the bottom of the tunnel.
A masked man inspected us. He donned a brigandine that resembled armor the city guard usually wore, only his was white. As he took our two coins, his lips moved, yet no sound came out. He glared at me.
“We’re here to see the matron,” Kole said. “These coins were a gift from her.”
The matron?
The man hesitated before letting us pass.
We wandered through another tunnel, this one made of golden rugs and shimmering white curtains that draped languidly from the rocky ceiling. “Kole,” I whispered. “Who is the?—”
“Ssh. Don’t ruin the surprise.”
A petite woman dressed in a simple white gown with her face concealed by a delicate jeweled mask assessed us from head to toe, and our status became glaringly obvious.
She ushered us into one of several private rooms fit for a royal. White fabrics of all kinds hung above shelves stacked with white sandals, boots, and slip-ons. Dresses, skirts, and tunics—all white—were strung everywhere. Several privacy screens stood between vanity tables littered with shimmering powders and perfumes. At the center of the room stood a table with dozens of white masks and glittering jewelry on display.
“Kole, we can’t afford?—”
