“Well, you’re right.” I took the cup from his hands. “This isn’t how I expected tonight to be.”
His fingers stayed my hand. “Don’t drink too fast. It takes getting used to.”
I smirked. “Don’t I know it.” I pulled my hand out of his grip. “Aren’t you enjoying the show, Bart?”
He sneered as he looked over at Yvette’s renewed efforts. “In some places, this kind of show is a last-ditch effort.”
“What kind of place is she from?”
He hesitated, his eyes changing colour as I watched. “A place long forgotten.” He sounded mournful.
“Do you know her or something?”
He shook himself out of his sudden sombre moment. “Of course not.”
I observed him over the edge of my cup, interested in finding out more about him. “Where are you from then?”
His gaze snapped to mine, his eyes alight with amusement. “Somewhere you’ll never go. Think yourself lucky.”
“Am I ever going to earn your story?” I meant to tease, but the words came out sounding serious.
He frowned. “Not every story should be heard.” He looked up at my crown. “Is it as heavy as they say?”
“They don’t exaggerate.” I tried to smile, but my faery-wine buzz was fast dissipating. I gazed at the cup in my hand. Maybe one more sip.
“Cara,” Bart said gently.
I looked at him, wondering if I had missed something.
“Nothing,” he said after a moment. “It matters not.” He bowed low then, and it felt mocking. “Enjoy the celebrations. I’m sure you’ll want to make this night last. After all, tomorrow the real business begins.”
I took an absentminded sip as I watched Bart walk away. He frequently left me feeling as though I were missing some very important piece of information.
Bored, I nibbled on grapes from the plate next to me. My next sip of wine was interrupted by Rumble. He took the cup from my hands. “Don’t trust everyone who speaks sweetly to you.”
“Bart?” I fanned my face. “He saved my life when I escaped from Sadler. He got me out of here and almost died doing it.”
He beckoned a servant over to take the cup away. I blinked as a haze came over me. My fingers started to feel uncomfortably numb.
“Sometimes even bad deeds work in your favour,” Rumble was saying, but the words echoed around me.
The heat became claustrophobic, and Yvette’s music gave me a headache. The way she pawed at Brendan made me want to vomit. He turned to look at me and frowned. Had I said it out loud or something? Then a flash of silver hair got in the way as Drake spoke to Brendan. The dance continued, but the movements made me feel seasick.
“I need some air,” I muttered.
Rumble’s hands were gentle as he helped me up. “Some air.” He sounded far away. “And then you must sleep.”
“I don’t want to sleep,” I said, trying to push him away—to no avail. “I need to celebrate. Tomorrow we have to fix the realm.”
Rumble sighed and muttered something under his breath. He urged me toward the doors. I heard concerned voices, but Rumble sent them all away.
I stumbled outside, and the cool air hit me like a slap. I shivered, but the heat of the wine kept the worst of the chill away. Rumble steered me away from the soldiers and toward the gardens. I leaned on him at first, but his grip on me was too strong. I felt suffocated. “Let me go.”
“If I let you go, you’ll fall.”
“I won’t fall. I know how to walk, Rumble. Comhaill. Rumble. Comhaill-Rumble. Rumble suits you better.”
“As you say.”
We reached Brighid’s flower. I squeezed out of Rumble’s grasp and half fell into the dirt. I pretended I had intended to do that and sank my fingers into the soil. “How is she supposed to fix this?”
“Who?” Rumble asked.
“Um, Scarlet?” I threw a clump of dirt at him for being so stupid. “My daughter’s magical, but how can a baby clean all of this? What is she supposed to do? Chew every bit of dirt and spit it out like some kind of… some kind of human-faery earthworm?”
Rumble was staring at me as if I had lost my mind.
“Oh, forget it,” I muttered. “I hate this stupid flower. It causes all of my problems.” I reached out to touch the petals. Maybe it hadn't caused all of my problems. “I’m human,” I told the flower. “How can a child be so powerful if her mother is just a human? What did you do to her?”
“We should go inside. Before anyone hears you.”
“Hears me, shmears me,” I rattled off.
“How did this happen?” Rumble muttered to himself.
I let him help me to my feet, but then I stumbled away from his side, my limbs strangely heavy. I ran from the castle, gasping for air because the wine had made my lungs constrict into dry, shrivelled things incapable of taking a deep breath.
Rumble called out for me to stop, but I spun in a circle instead, my arms stretched out wide. Oh, God. Drake couldn’t let himself love Scarlet, and Brendan was going to get married to a bitchy mermaid with legs, and everyone expected me to stop the blight, but it was really Scarlet. She had to save us all. My stomach flipped over, and I ran to escape my fear.
I came to a sudden stop, terrified of what was going to come next. Even though I stood still, the world kept spinning. It lurched upside down and made the ground smack me in the face. I gasped against the grass as a sharp pain twisted my ankle.
Rumble swore and came to get me, so I scrambled onto my hands and knees and crawled until the wine lovingly wrapped around the pain and made it go away. Why was Rumble so slow, anyway? I glanced over my shoulder. He was keeping his distance as though afraid to come too close.
Well, screw that. I got up and ran, knowing nobody could catch me, and I laughed, but I couldn’t remember what was funny. It didn’t matter.
I stopped when I came to the pond. Ronnie had been there before—a human tortured by the fae until she lost her mind and was sent back, rejected. She'd been jealous of me because I was kept longer. I wondered where she was and whether she'd died. Would I turn into her?
I didn’t care anymore, but my feet burned, and the water looked cool and inviting. I slipped off my shoes and lifted my skirts then stepped into the pond. The mud squished pleasantly between my toes. I heard voices arguing in the distance. Stupid voices.
Yawning, I decided I was too tired to take another step, so I sat on the grass, my feet still in the water. I lay back and gazed up at the lilac moon, my fingers twisting the blades of grass at my side.
“The moon is always the same,” I murmured. “It never changes.” But I changed.
“Cara.” Brendan’s voice spoke harshly.
I squinted as he peered over me. “How did you do that? How did you turn into him?”
He frowned, and it looked funny upside-down. I giggled again, wrapping my arms around myself.
“What happened to her?” he asked somebody behind him. “I’ve never witnessed wine having this effect on her before.”
“Only two sips that I noticed,” Rumble’s voice said. “It's likely there was something else in the wine.”
“Who would dare? She’s sneaky when she’s feeling stubborn. She may have had more than you thought.”
“Aaaah, there are two of you.” I giggled at the sound of my own voice.
“This isn’t funny,” Brendan said sharply.
“Oh, boo,” I said. “Maybe tomorrow, I’ll help you find your sense of humour.”
“It’s time to go inside,” he said.
“Nope. I’m the queen. I don’t even have a bedtime.”
Brendan made a sound of exasperation. “This isn’t the way it goes.”
“I’d take her inside,” Rumble said, “but it’s getting stronger. I don’t trust myself.”
“I’ll take her in,” Brendan said.
“I don’t trust you, either.”
“I’m used to it. She has nothing to fear from me.”
“What are you even talking about?” I kicked the water and winced. “Stop keeping secrets, everyone.”
Brendan knelt next to me and sighed. “You hurt yourself.”
“No, I didn’t.” I turned to look at him more closely. I felt tiny next to him.
He brushed my bangs off my face. His hands were gentle. I held his gaze. I had always liked how he looked. Something warm grew in my chest, and it made me smile.
His oversized pupils enlarged until I could barely see the green. “Stop doing that, Cara.”
“I’m just cooling my feet,” I said indignantly. “What’s wrong with that?”
“You’re feeling entirely too loudly.”
“I don’t feel, remember? Make up your mind.” I stretched my arms into the air. I couldn’t even feel the wind anymore.
“I’m going to take you inside now.”
“I don’t feel like walking.”
“Then I’ll just have to carry you.”
“No, thank you,” I said brightly.
Muttering under his breath, Brendan heaved me into the air and against his chest. It wasn’t so bad there, so I curled up against him, sleepy and happy.
“This is bad,” Brendan said. “Go on ahead. Clear the top floor, and make sure nobody gets past you.”
“Understood,” Rumble said. “We’ll watch the stairs. That woman will be enough of a distraction for a time.”
“Hurry. She’s shivering.” Everything went quiet, and Brendan held me tighter. “You’re so cold,” he whispered.
I was warm, or at least, I thought I was. But when I looked at my hands, they trembled, and they looked bluish under the moon’s light. I opened the top buttons of Brendan’s shirt and slipped my hands inside to warm my fingers before they froze right off. He inhaled sharply as my cold hands touched his warm skin. His heartbeat was steady and soothing and loud, and I relaxed completely, my mind empty of everything but the beating of his heart.
Next thing I knew, I was in a bed being covered by a blanket. I reached for Brendan and pulled him close. “Where did you go?”
“I’m right here,” he said, bemused.
“Oh. I’m glad. I like your face.” I touched his hand. “And your hands.”
He arched his eyebrows. “Thank you. I like your face, too.” His fingers closed around mine. Everything was going to be okay.
“I just remembered. You have to help me fix everything.”
“Fix what?”
“The blight. You and Drake have to stop hating me and each other, or everyone will die. Promise you’ll help me.”
“I promise.”
I felt sleepy and yawned. “Vix said I had to pass it on.”
“Pass what on?”
I kissed him. “You taste like summer.”
“And you taste like trouble.” But his eyes sparkled with humour.
“I am trouble. I did something bad.”
“We’ve all done bad things.”
I blinked. “Bekind told me it was Donella’s idea, what you did to Sadler’s wife. So, it wasn’t even your fault.”
“No,” Brendan said softly. “That was all my fault. Never forget it.”
“Yeah, well, I did lots of somethings bad. But I did them for Scarlet. Does that make it better?”
“When are you going to start doing things for yourself?”
I sat up. “Anya says… she said that everyone here turns bad without something to anchor them.”
“Stop listening to what other people say.”
My stomach was turning again. “But what if it’s true?”
He made me lie down again. “Don’t you remember? We agreed to keep each other’s feet on the ground. You have nothing to worry about.”
Sighing, I traced the scar on his forehead then held him still while I kissed him. The world spun again, but this time I liked it.
He broke away. “Go to sleep, Cara.”
I could barely keep my eyes open. “Fine. Go get a lap dance off your new best friend.”
“Foolish girl,” Brendan whispered, pulling the blanket up to my chin. The last sound I heard was his laughter.
***
I woke up with a fright, unable to figure out where I was. I sat up slowly because the room was spinning. Something was on the tip of my tongue, something I was supposed to remember. There was water on the bedside table, and I drank heavily. I ate some grapes and felt different. Not better. Just different. I was in somebody else’s room, but I was fully dressed. I searched for clues and found Brendan’s clothes. I vaguely remembered speaking to him. Snatches of memories returned, but my head was too hazy to figure them out.
My ankle hurt, I realised, and I saw that it had been wrapped in a bandage. I lifted my leg and twisted my foot. There was a pain, but it was numb and distant, and I couldn’t bring myself to care. I left the room, expecting to walk into a soldier. The hall was empty—no, not completely empty.
Voices came from close by. Limping, I followed the sound until I saw Brendan and Drake playing a form of chess in an alcove. The alcoves, once empty, had been prettied up. There were paintings on the walls, I noticed, reaching up to touch them as I passed. The men stopped speaking as I neared. I was too entranced by the images to pay them any mind. Places I had never seen, faces I didn’t know—so many stories must have lain behind the pictures.
That reminded me of something, and I stopped, frowning, trying to figure it out. But it was gone, just like every other thought that flitted in and out of my brain. That wasn’t right, but it was hard to worry when a smooth, warm feeling engulfed my entire body.
I reached the alcove and brushed against Drake. He held my arm. I thought he was looking at the bracelet, but he brushed his lips against the black veins that had reached my wrist.
“What have we done to you?” he murmured, agony in his gaze.
“Don’t touch her,” Brendan said sharply. “It’s worse when you touch her skin.”
I pulled out of Drake’s grasp and moved to Brendan. He looked anywhere but right at me. I sat on his lap to spite him.
“Who’s winning?” I demanded.
“The queen,” Brendan said, and I heard the smile in his voice.
“That’s wrong then,” I said. “Didn’t you know? The queens always lose here.”
“Trust me when I tell you the kings aren’t winning,” he said so quietly that I barely heard him.
“At least you aren’t killing each other,” I murmured.
“For now.”
I met Drake’s eyes with a venomous glare.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he pleaded.
Ignoring him, I held up my hand and stretched my fingers. The black diamond on my ring finger didn’t shine. It looked matte.
“Isn’t it weird?” I said, laughing when I wanted to cry. “Sadler gave me this because I made him remember the rules. What a strange little man he is. It’s so heavy, but I can’t take it off.”
“Why?” Brendan asked. “Why are you still wearing it?”
“If I take it off, I might forget.”
He looked down at me. “What will you forget?”
His face blurred in front of my eyes. I tried to touch him, but he brushed my hand away.
“Is this a dream?”
“You drank too much wine,” Brendan said.
“Why did you drink so much?” Drake asked accusingly.
“I drank more the first time. I drank a whole cup back then.”
“I remember,” he said. “And you weren’t like this.”
“Her guard didn’t see her drink that much,” Brendan said slowly. “He mentioned the idea that something else was in the wine, but I thought he was just protecting her.”
Drake’s wings fluttered. “If that’s true…” He said something I didn’t hear.
I blinked at him. He was so pretty that I smiled. “Your wings,” I said triumphantly. “You’re not hiding them.”
He exchanged a weary look with Brendan. “It’s not wearing off.”
> “Soon,” Brendan said. “She needs more sleep.”
His fingers on my waist burned though my clothes and into my skin. I sighed and relaxed. I liked the wine. It made everything come to the surface.
Drake stood, his eyes sparking with anger. “I’ll take her back. In the morning, it’ll be over.”
“Where’s Rumble?” I demanded. “What did you do to Rumble? He’s supposed to keep me safe. When they force me to marry, I’m going to marry him.”
“You are safe,” Brendan said, pushing me off his lap. “Rumble’s keeping them all away.”
“Who?” I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You feel too much,” Brendan said. “It’ll be over in the morning.”
I brushed the pieces off the board. “Nobody makes sense anymore.”
“Is it just me, or is it getting worse?” Drake asked.
Brendan’s eyes were dilating again. “You’re right. Did you drink more wine, Cara?”
“There’s no wine anywhere. Stop talking about the wine. I drank the water and ate the grapes.”
Brendan froze. “What grapes?”
“The ones next to the water.”
Brendan looked at Drake. “I saw none.”
“Perhaps she’s dreaming. If not, who could have put them there?”
“One of yours or hers.”
“Or yours,” Drake said. “It wouldn’t be the first time you tried to trick her.”
Brendan winced. “Don’t. I wouldn’t hurt her. I learned.”
“We both know the truth though, don’t we?” Drake took my hand. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I looked over my shoulder. Brendan was far away already. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. Drake squeezed my fingers.
We walked for a long time, but everything looked the same. Drake’s hands were warm. The warmth spread from my fingers up my arms and all through my body. I tripped, and he held me up, his gaze firmly set on me.
“Drake,” I said, seeing violet eyes instead of emerald green. “You’re back.”
Then we were in another alcove, a darker one, and Drake’s lips were against my neck. He held me tight, and I couldn’t breathe.