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Perhaps because I was abandoned behind a column, holding a cup of water. I take a sip—and almost spit it. From the surprise, not the taste. It’s wine. Stupid metal, hiding the color of our drink.
Marlak would certainly like me to remain hidden here, but I need to see Renel.
Would he look like someone who can lie about a tragic event in the past? Is it something that can be seen on one’s face?
In fact, I need to place my cup on a table, and that’s the perfect excuse to get out of here. I keep my eyes at my destination, trying to glimpse things from my peripheral vision, but I can’t see anyone who could look like Marlak’s brother.
I stop at the table and then turn. The first thing I see is not Renel, but Marlak himself, talking to a woman—a beautiful fae woman, obviously. They’re laughing, as if nothing’s happening, as if he didn’t walk away from me, and he’s touching her elbow.
A bitter taste settles in my mouth.
Fantastic, Astra, now I’m going to be overcome with pointless jealousy of someone who isn’t even mine. And yet I do feel something, especially when he turns and his eyes pass right over me, as if I didn’t exist.
Rude. And strange.
And it’s odd to realize how unusual it is for him to ignore me. I don’t want to dwell on that, or start wondering if the woman is a potential lover. Is she?
Elsewhere in the room, I still don’t see anyone who could be Renel. I decide to take another sip of the wine. It’s zesty, refreshing and fruity, and doesn’t taste of alcohol. I could chug it all down in one sip, if it wasn’t for Marlak’s warning that it’s strong, and I trust him.
I trust him.
My thoughts can shock me sometimes, but in this case, I don’t see why he’d lie about a drink. But he can lie, and could be lying about so many little and big things that I never noticed. From the corner of my eye, I see that he has just touched her hair. Wonderful. Flirting right in front of me. I feel a bonfire in my stomach and heat stinging my eyes.
Even more wonderful is me here, furious. I stare at the inside of my cup and see my own bare face in its reflection when a man’s voice startles me.
“A human here?”
I turn and see a blond fae with straight, long hair tied in a low ponytail. Wearing an elegant, embroidered green velvet suit, he would fit perfectly in a human court, if it wasn’t for his pointy ears. He has to be a noble or someone in high standing, probably from the Crystal Court, and yet I know he’s not King Renel. First, Renel has dark hair. Second, he wouldn’t be sauntering around the palace all by himself.
“Why does it matter?” I ask. And it’s true. Does anything matter?
He glances at Marlak, then back at me. “A traitorous monster recently kidnapped a guard from Krastel.”
He’s talking about me, and a few thoughts run through my mind in quick succession.
At first I want to mock him and say that it sounds terrifying. Part of me wants to correct him and tell him that nobody was kidnapped. I got married out of my free will, after all. Sure, the choice was either to become a disgraced fugitive or marry one, but it was still my choice.
His words, calling Marlak a traitorous monster, don’t sit well with me. And yet, right now, all I remember is my husband’s warning that his brother can’t know how much he cares about me.
Renel can’t know that I don’t hate his brother. And this is likely his emissary or something.
I look down at the empty cup. “Where did you hear such a thing?”
“The wind carries words.” He frowns, then looks at Marlak and back at me. “Don’t worry. No horror lasts forever.”
“Some scars never fade.” I’m thinking about invisible scars, the ones that keep hurting. Marlak’s scars.
“I’m truly sorry.” His eyes then glance away quickly, and his posture stiffens.
It’s when I notice Marlak beside me, ignoring me and staring at the blond fae. “Oh, look at that,” he says. “My brother’s pig. Is Renel too scared to show his face?”
The blond fae smiles with his lips and yet scowls with his eyes. “His Majesty is busy, taking care of an entire kingdom. Of course, you wouldn’t know what it’s like.”
“No idea.” Marlak then grips all my hair and pulls it softly, still barely looking at me. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He takes a step away while pulling me like that.
“Wait,” the blond fae says. “I’d like a word.”
“You’ve said more than twenty already,” Marlak snaps.
