It was the last night before the tournament, and we were all supposed to meet for a nice, civilized dinner before we hacked into one another’s bodies with swords. With Shalini by my side and Aeron leading the way, I prowled the castle’s dark halls dressed in a pale silver gown. I wore my hair piled up in braids woven with violets, and Shalini was elegantly dressed in white.
My dress shimmered as I walked, and I couldn’t stop thinking of the moonlight and those strange, spidery letters. The diary had kept me up all night, even if I couldn’t read it. I’d stayed awake, obsessively examining the diary as if the blank pages could give up Torin’s secrets.
I blinked, trying to force myself back to the present. When it was time to fight tomorrow morning, I couldn’t be daydreaming about the dark mysteries of Torin’s love life or what had happened to M.
“Stop brooding,” muttered Shalini. “You’re in a gorgeous castle on your way to a feast.”
I cut her a sharp look. “I’m not brooding. Just nervous for tomorrow.”
She frowned at me. “You and me both. It’s not too late to, you know…”
“Run away?”
“I’m afraid tomorrow will be a bloodbath,” she whispered loudly.
“It will. That’s what the fae are like. Just have faith in my survival skills because I’m one of them.”
It was with a little shock that I realized I was starting to think of myself as fae, not a human wannabe.
I was fae.
After weeks in the castle, I was actually starting to know my way around. We passed the usual collection of gilded portraits, suits of armor, and flickering torches, and I knew we were closing in on the throne hall.
We went through the doors and found tables arranged in a semicircle around the ancient thrones. Aeron led Shalini and me to our seats, and I glanced at the spot Alice would have taken if she hadn’t been murdered. My throat tightened.
A servant poured us red wine. As I sipped it, the other princesses began to file in, gracefully taking their seats.
Torin prowled into the room, dressed in black leather—more like a warrior than a king tonight. “Tomorrow, we hold the final event of our tournament,” he said. “It will be steel upon steel, blade upon blade. Tomorrow, you must prove to me that you have the noble warrior spirit required of a Seelie queen. Those who succeed in the first duel will continue to fight the other winners.”
Moria turned to me with a pleasant smile. “And if the misfortune of a violent death should befall you, you’d be out of the tournament as well.”
Torin cut her a sharp look. “The first duel will be between Princess Moria of the Dearg Due and Princess Cleena of the Banshee Clan.” He glanced at me, and I felt my heart flutter for just a moment. “The second will be Princess Etain of the Leannán sídhe and Sydoc of the Redcap Clan, and the third duel will be between Princess Eliza of the Selkie and Ava Jones of Chloe’s household.”
My heart squeezed a little at the fact that he’d thought to mention my mom’s name. He could have left it blank. Ava Jones of…nothing. Ava Jones of the dead-servant parents and public-drunken disgrace. But he knew what Chloe meant to me, that she was my home. That once, I’d actually had a place.
I glanced at Eliza—a woman with bronze skin and shimmering hair of pale green. Her eyes were a deep brown flecked with green. They narrowed at me as she spoke. “I have been studying since birth with the finest teachers. My education in the field of swordsmanship is unparalleled. In our kingdom by the sea, our finest treasures are our skills. A fae could go many a year before encountering such an exemplary—”
“I look forward to tomorrow.” Sydoc raised a glass, interrupting Eliza. “When I shall dip my cap in the blood of my enemies.”
Etain frowned at her. “What the fuck, Sydoc? You do realize you are fighting me in the duel. You’re not going to dip your cap in my blood. Can’t we just…go on points?”
Sydoc’s eyes locked on her. “A queen must demonstrate her skill on the battlefield. It is the Redcap way. And yes, I will honor my clan tradition.”
A look of horror crossed Etain’s face. “Fucking creep.”
A murmur rippled over the room, and the back of my neck prickled with unease. I glanced at Moria to find her passing her phone to the redcap, giggling as she did.
“Princess Moria.” Torin’s deep voice filled the hall. “Am I boring you?”
“Oh, dear.” She turned back to him, her eyes wide. “Apologies, Your Majesty, but I thought you should know that one of the women here has disgraced herself.” Her cold gaze slid to me, and her expression hardened. “Again.” She met Torin’s stare. “I know you abhor grotesque public spectacles, as I do. And I am certain you could not abide a bride with loose morals, someone whose naked body the entire world has already seen. A fae queen must be chaste and pure, not used up like a common whore.”
Nausea climbed in my throat as I watched her pass her phone from one princess to the next, each of them gasping, their cheeks flaming red.
My heart was a wild beast. What the fuck had happened?
“Princess Moria,” Torin growled, his voice low. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I’d never actually seen him close to losing his temper before, and shadows seemed to bleed from his body.
Glass of wine in hand, Moria rose and grabbed her phone back from the redcap. “It’s all in the Daily Mail, Your Majesty. Slightly pixelated in key areas. But I think you’ll find the text quite interesting as well. Maybe it will give you a sense how suitable Ava Jones of Chloe’s household might be. Have a look—because the gods know the rest of the world already has.”
My thoughts were flashing in my mind like camera bulbs. Nude photos? I didn’t remember taking any…except for that time with Andrew in Costa Rica…
But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t have. Andrew hated the spotlight as much as I did.
I felt the blood drain from my face as I turned to Shalini and found her already gawking at her phone. With shaking hands, I grabbed the phone from her and stared at the pixelated image. I’d saved up for a year to take us to Costa Rica, and we’d stayed in a tiny bungalow by the sea, with a beach all our own. For a few days, before he’d met Ashley and I’d started feeling sick, the vacation had been amazing.
With no one around, I didn’t always wear a swimsuit, and Andrew had snapped photos, but so what? We were supposed to get married. I’d never dreamed he’d show them to anyone, let alone sell them to the fucking Daily Mail.
Gripping Shalini’s phone, I surged to my feet, nearly knocking my chair over, and marched out of the throne hall. I flicked through the story, trying to read snippets through the stinging blur in my eyes.
…money obsessed…
…alcoholic…
…she’d have these rages….
…certain she was cheating on me…
My mind spun with thoughts too wild to grasp. Why would he do this?
Revenge.
Shalini said he’d been furious that I’d mentioned him during my date, even if I hadn’t said his name. People had figured it out, anyway, and this was him clearing his name—and getting back at me at the same time.
Right now, I was feeling distinctly fae because I wanted to rip his head off his body.
“Ava.” Torin’s soft, velvety murmur came from behind me, and I turned to see him.
“Everything he said is a lie.”
“I know that. And I will rip his ribs from his body and leave his ravaged carcass for the vultures as a warning to others.”
I wiped a hand across my face. “That’s…uh…sweet, but it’s not how things work in the human world.” I wasn’t going to admit I’d just been fantasizing about something similar.
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Not how things work in the human world? What do I care?”
“Seems like you need them right now, even as King of the Seelie.” I stared at him. “But really, that’s a good question, Torin. What do you care? We don’t like each other at all. Remember that discussion? It wasn’t that long ago.”
He pulled his gaze away and took a deep breath. “It’s just that when I do like people…”
“It doesn’t work out? Welcome to life, my friend.”
I turned to walk back into the throne hall.
“Wait.” His commanding voice brooked no argument, and I turned to look at him.
“What?” I said.
He reached out to touch me, then retracted his hand like he was afraid of being burned. The expression in his eyes was intense, and I felt like he was trying to communicate something he couldn’t quite put into words. “You’re the wrong one, Ava. I should not have chosen you.”
“Because of a tabloid? I thought the whole point was that I was supposed to be unsuitable.” Rage flamed over my cheeks. “I think you chose right, darling, because I’m as unsuitable as they get. And I’m so deeply sorry if it makes you embarrassed, but we have a contract, and a fae king can’t break it.” I smiled at him, suddenly feeling better. “We’re going through with this marriage, and I’m getting my money. And you know what?” I leaned in to whisper to him. “I really can’t wait for our wedding day. Your embarrassment will only make it all the more entertaining for me.”
“You must not touch me, ever, Ava.” His words were brutal, but his tone was velvety. Almost an invitation. “Do you understand?”
“Trust me, I have no desire to.” It was a myth that the fae could not lie, because I was doing it right now. It was more that lies were considered a terrible sin among the fae. But me? I was raised among humans.
I held my head high as I returned to the throne hall. Cleena leaned back in her chair and smiled at me. “Ava Jones, you should be proud. You look gorgeous in that photo. And your ex sounds like a heartbroken twat.”
“Well,” said Moria sourly, “I don’t care how many times that one has degraded herself. Tomorrow morning, I’ll run her through with my blade, either way. Tomorrow, Ava will be nothing more than tiny threads of flesh.”
She flashed me a wolfish grin that made my blood run cold.
