get back to Kilkenny Keep, I’m suddenly exhausted and excuse myself to go up to my room. Edmund is hosting a masquerade ball tonight, and I want to be rested and ready to present Avalon’s case to the other council members attending. I’m not going to let another opportunity slip through my fingers. This diplomatic visit will be over before I know it, and I need to have something to show for it.
Back in my room, I lower the shades on the windows, hop up onto the bed, scoot under the covers and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Several hours later, the click of the bedroom door closing wakes me. I open my eyes to see Ash returning from his day of fishing.
“How are you feeling?” he asks softly in the dimly lit room, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Much better. Honestly, I’m fine. How was the boat? Did you talk to any of the council members?” I partially sit up, propping my head on my hand.
“Yes, Dad introduced me to all of them.”
“What was your impression?”
“They’re all playing their own game, jockeying for position. You’re by far the youngest member in the history of the council. My impression is they’re taking a wait-and-see attitude with you. If your tenure is short lived, they each have someone waiting in the wings they’re going to put forward to take your place.”
I trust Ash’s assessment of the situation. Sitting up fully, I give my husband a resolute stare. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know you’re not.” Ash’s intense gaze holds mine. “But you have to expect this. When you’re a trailblazer, you’re going to take a lot of bullets. And there’s something else you should know. They’re aware of what’s been posted online about us. It paints a picture of infidelity on both our parts. Calls our honor into question, our decision making and the stability of our marriage. If it escalates, if our personal life continues to be plastered all over the internet, my father worries that it might be enough to call a vote of no confidence and have you removed from the council.”
I’d recently experienced several firebombings in my territory as part of an attempted takeover. Now someone is firebombing my marriage, credibility and reputation. “Damn it. If I’d been able to get on the yacht today, we could’ve presented a united front. Shown everyone that we’re in love, our marriage is solid, and that the stuff posted online is bullshit.” I check the time on my phone.
“We can show them all of that tonight, and they’ll see it because it’s true.” Ash gives me a quick kiss and then crosses the room to drop the contents of his pockets on the dresser.
My phone buzzes as I’m getting out of bed to head for the shower. There’s a makeup artist and hairdresser arriving soon to help me get ready for the ball.
Gia: Ben may have already shared with Ash, but knew you’d want to be in the loop as well.
For fuck’s sake. What now? I click on the link, and it brings up another fan website—Mountcastle Land. There’s a picture of Ash and me from our coronation. A standard publicity shot of us standing side by side and smiling for the camera. The caption under the photo reads, “Do this to me, Ashton.” Audio plays, and a female’s moans resound through the bedroom.
Correction—my moaning and calling out Ash’s name rings out. There’s no mistaking my pleasure-filled tone and gasps of ecstasy.
Ash freezes, and then his head snaps around.
“Did you know about this?” I ask.
“Absolutely not.” He’s at my side in an instant.
“It has to be audio from the consummation video. That’s me. That’s my voice.”
“I’m going to kill someone. Pictures and videos are bad enough, but no one gets to hear what you sound like when you come. That privilege is mine alone.” Ash’s face is rigid. “If this is Thane’s doing, he’s a walking fucking dead man.”
“You always say how loud I am in bed. You weren’t kidding,” I say, trying to coax a smile from him. This isn’t good news, but we can’t panic. We do have to put an end to these online attacks though, sooner rather than later.
Ash snatches up his phone and barks out an order to Luke to get the entire website taken down.
After Ash puts on his tuxedo, he grabs his mask and goes downstairs to meet Reg and Edmund for a drink while I get ready.
The makeup artist and hairdresser arrive, and we spend some time chatting about my look for the evening. While the hairstylist works my hair into an elaborate partial updo fit for a Viking warrior with multiple braids of various sizes, I send Ash a couple of sexts because I’m thinking about him and want to make sure he’s thinking about me. Once the stylists help me into my gown, I’m ready to take on whatever the evening will bring.
With my black lace mask in place, I enter the Gold Ballroom with purposeful strides. The satin skirt of my black, strapless ball gown swishes around my legs, and my iron dagger, hanging from a thin chain belt around my waist, bumps reassuringly against my thigh. Once inside, I stop and admire the scene. Edmund has outdone himself. The circus big top theme is stunning in its extravagance.
The entrance of the ballroom is flanked by a dozen gymnasts in jester costumes standing on high pillars, each doing a ribbon routine. The ceiling and walls are draped with reams of alternating gold and white fabrics, and a tightrope strung high in the air supports two tightrope walkers acting out a fencing duel. Male and female contortionists are dotted throughout the crowd, showing off feats of flexibility and balance with their toned bodies. Sword swallowers, fire breathers and unicyclists entertain with eye-catching tricks. A full orchestra plays high-spirited music as guests waltz around the room.
The ballroom is crowded with masked guests. Most masks, like mine, are simple and don’t hide much of the wearer’s face. Other masks offer more coverage with feathers, fur or horns, while some fully obscure the identity of the wearer with creepy interpretations of birds, clowns or decaying faces. I don’t see Ash or Edmund anywhere. But I do spot Kyoko in one corner holding court—unmistakable in a red gown and painted fox mask. Half of the mask is painted black, the other white, as if half of her is good while the other half is evil, a testament to her contrary fox nature.
The lightest touch on the inside of my elbow sends a shiver through me, and I look up into Ash’s hazel eyes surrounded by a simple black mask. “My king.”
“My queen.” He takes my hand and gives it a light kiss. No one would be able to see his tongue dart out between his lips to lick the back of my hand. A jolt of electricity zings through me, and it’s as if I can feel his tongue somewhere much more intimate. With my hand in his, he leads me out to the dance floor.
“Are you teasing me, Ash? We’re in a room full of people.” I step into his embrace, and we do the familiar one-two-three, one-two-three rhythm, turning in time with the music and other dancers. Being schooled in ballroom dancing is part of any royal upbringing.
“I want to make sure I have your undivided attention. We want everyone to see how devoted we are to each other, remember? Besides, it’s payback for the dirty texts you sent me while I was trying to concentrate on what my father and Edmund were saying.” His hand on my lower back presses me closer to him.
“I didn’t want you to forget about me.” I follow his lead, and we move perfectly together around the room, never missing a step. “Speaking of Edmund and your father, where are they? And the other council members? I haven’t seen anyone besides Kyoko.”
“Elle asked Edmund to check on something for the party. Dad is meeting with the member from Brazil, and I don’t think the rest have arrived yet. It’s still pretty early.”
“Looks like we have some time to kill.” I flutter my lashes, thinking about his tongue and what he can do with it.
“What are you suggesting? We find a quiet corner and I find out what kind of fancy underthings you’re wearing under that gown?”
“It’s like you can read my mind.” I glance around at the crowd. “I’ll leave the ballroom first so no one suspects we’re sneaking away for a quickie. You can get us a drink and then follow me.”
“Where will you be?”
“I’m not making it that easy. You have to track me using this.” I tap the side of his straight nose. “Consider it a game. A game of hide and seek.”
“You want me to chase you?” He lifts a brow at me. “It’s a little late to play hard to get, don’t you think?”
“I’ll always be hard to get. I thought you knew that.”
“Don’t ever change.” He discreetly brushes his nose down the length of my neck. “I accept your challenge. I’d know your scent anywhere.”
The music ends, and we part ways. Leaving the ballroom, I think about a good place to hide, somewhere that will be deserted this time of the evening. Then it comes to me, the Bronze Room, a small library not far from Edmund’s office. But I’m not going directly there. I have to make Ash work for it. Passing through several rooms, I touch furniture and various objects as I go, leaving my scent behind just as the field master did in the faux-fox hunt. I smile in acknowledgment at the other masked partygoers as I make my way to the quieter side of the castle.
Passing by the door to Edmund’s office, I decide to go inside for a moment to throw Ash off the trail. After knocking, I find the door unlocked and slip inside. The music floating from the ballroom is lively and light.
I walk across the office and trail my hand along the top of the mahogany sideboard Edmund uses as a bar.
The door to Edmund’s office snicks shut behind me.
“That didn’t take lo—” The words die in my mouth as I turn to see a male wearing a macabre crow mask with a long grotesque beak standing inside the room.
Is it Edmund? I pull on my magic, wrapping it around me in a defensive move. “Who are you?”
He says nothing for several long seconds. Then he reaches up and slowly removes his mask, exposing his bland, nondescript facial features.
Thane! “What are you doing here?” I let my power sweep out into the room so that my mother’s ex-consort feels it on his skin and is reminded that I’m the queen now. I’m no longer the vulnerable girl he made feel small and worthless with a thousand microaggressions over the years.
“I was invited. Edmund and I are old friends. I came to wish him well with his latest bride.” Thane moves across the room to the bar, places his mask down and pours himself a drink.
Did Edmund really invite him? Didn’t Edmund understand the antagonistic, if not openly hostile, relationship Thane and I have always had?
With his drink in hand, Thane walks toward me. Using his fae glamour to distort the light around him, he begins to fade into the background of the darkly painted walls in Edmund’s office. “I worshipped your mother. I would have done anything for her.”
“You were obsessed with her. You wanted her all to yourself. You were jealous of even the smallest amount of time or attention she gave me.”
Thane turns up his glamour, becoming more difficult to see. “You were always a difficult child. You never knew your place. You would never just go along to get along.”
I squint to keep him in sight and hold my power at the ready. “It’s you who never knew your place. My mother loved me, but she wasn’t a natural nurturer. Instead of helping us grow together, you made sure to widen the divide. I know you advised her not to hug me in public. That she should shake my hand like I was a stranger. You were constantly pointing out my flaws and diminishing me in her eyes. You never once tried to be my friend. Not even in the beginning. You made sure I was isolated. You always viewed me as a rival.”
Thane vanishes from sight but his disembodied voice is clear. “I wish it was you who died. Why couldn’t it have been you? I’ve lost my place in society. I’m a nobody now. After all I did for your mother, I’m left with nothing.”
Lifting my hands, I throw my magic toward the sound of his voice with more force than intended, sending a glass display case containing antique pistols crashing to the floor. My mother was right—my power is still settling, and I don’t have full control. “She left you a huge fortune.” For some people, it’s not enough to have a slice of the pie; they want the whole thing.
“But you have all the prestige, the title, the kingdom.” Thane’s tone is poisoned with jealousy as he moves unseen around Edmund’s office.
“You can claim you worshipped her, but what you really worshipped was the status, the spotlight that being in a relationship with her gave you.” Trying to use my magic judiciously, I gently swirl it around the room to flush him out. Medieval-looking weaponry rattles loose from the walls and takes flight. I immediately pull my power back. Swords, lances and spears lose their momentum and fall, gouging the furniture and hardwood floor. A battle-ax splits Edmund’s desk down the center with a loud crack.
Thane appears on the other side of the room. “If you and Dardanus had both died, there would have been no marriage or blood claim to the throne. As her consort, I could have made a case for it. Asked for support from the Faerie Lords. Gone to the Council of Seven.” He stoops down and picks up one of the swords from the floor before becoming invisible once again. “Sadly, you survived. And now you have the queen’s power. You may be too powerful to kill now, but I can make your life miserable, taunt you until the end of your days.”
I use my magic like a forcefield to ward off an attack. “I knew it was you. The videos of Ash. The pictures of me with my leaders. The photo and audio from our consummation video.”
Thane reappears six feet in front of me, the sword at his side. “I revel in your unhappiness. I intend to make you a laughingstock. Wait till you see what I post next. The video to go along with that audio. Your most intimate moments for all the universe to see. How seriously will you be taken as the Queen of Avalon, as a member of the Council of Seven, when you have a sex tape? Think of the scandal. I’ll steal your good name and taint your reign.”
If he makes good on his threat, I’ll be ruined.
Thane lifts the sword and looks down its length at me. “Remember that unsavory business with the Gorm when you were but a girl?”
The memory of being molested by one of my guards as a child is like a punch in the stomach.
“I coerced him into it.” An oily smirk splits Thane’s face.” He didn’t want to of course but threats against his family compelled him to succumb. When his actions were discovered, he took full responsibility and asked for no mercy to be shown. He was broken by what he’d done to you. Of course, knowing that if he implicated me I would kill his family probably also helped along his confession.”
Although I’d put this behind me a long time ago, I’m stunned by Thane’s sickening admission of his depraved behavior and momentarily lower my guard.
Thane springs forward, thrusting the sword toward my heart as the music from the ballroom reaches a pounding crescendo.
Without warning, Ash is between Thane and me. He uses his body to deflect the sword away from its intended target before knocking it out of Thane’s hands. Ash grabs Thane by the lapels of his tux and hoists him into the air. “You’ll never hurt her again. My face is going to be the last thing you see in your pathetic life.”
“You can’t kill me. I’m royalty,” Thane sputters indignantly.
A primal smile crosses Ash’s lips, and his eyes flash gold before he hurls Thane across the room.
Thane lets out a high-pitched whine as he lands on the pointed antlers of the largest deer head mounted on the wall. The antlers jut through Thane’s white shirt, and he lightly touches his chest as if wondering what just happened.
Harnessing my power, I push Thane more firmly into the antlers, impaling him more deeply. But Thane’s fae, and I’m not sure this alone will kill him, so I rip my ceremonial iron dagger from my belt and throw it with deadly accuracy. My dagger comes to a stop in the center of Thane’s forehead. His head droops to his chest as his last breath escapes. The music softens, ending on a warbling note, and the guests in the ballroom applaud for the orchestra.
Edmund rushes into his office and tears off his mask, looking up at Thane’s corpse, blood beginning to seep out around the antlers and my dagger. Then he takes in the wreckage of his office and pins Ash and me with a glare, bristling with indignation. “I don’t appreciate my inner sanctum being used without permission and my possessions being tossed about like rubbish. I also don’t appreciate you killing my invited guests. Or using my prized thirty-point buck to do it.”
“It’s my fault. Thane was a problem that needed solving. Apologies for abusing your hospitality,” Ash says without inflection, not sounding the least bit sorry.
Edmund looks pointedly at the iron dagger sticking out of Thane’s forehead. “It looks like you had some help.”
“Thane’s death has been coming for a long time,” I say, not wanting to get into the details about all of Thane’s crimes against me. Edmund and I both know I can kill with impunity. But what I want to know is how much I can trust Edmund if he would invite Thane and me to the same party. “Why was he even here? Were you friends?”
“I knew him through your mother. If there was bad blood between you two, I didn’t know about it.” Edmund shakes his head at me. “You’re really making a name for yourself, Dolly. Does this show sound and fair judgment? Your council seat still hangs in the balance.”
“Thane was threatening me and my rule. I defended myself against his ongoing and personal attacks,” I say without remorse.
Ash growls beside me. Edmund takes a fighting stance, unleashing his power so I feel it like barbs penetrating my skin. I don’t want a fight with Edmund, I’m at Kilkenny Keep to win his support.
A tap at the door breaks the tension, and Edmund drops his arms and pulls his power back before waving a couple of staff into the room to begin the gruesome job of removing Thane’s body from the wall.
I look Edmund dead in the eye. “I take full responsibility for Thane’s death and would kill him again in the same circumstances. My integrity is more important than the prestige of my council seat.” My words are sincere, but I know I’ve angered Edmund. How much damage have I done to our relationship? Is it beyond repair?
