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An uneasy feeling curled down my spine, though it was impossible to discern if that came from him or worries over making a bad deal. His gaze intensified, and I stepped back. Unwelcome images of being trapped in a painting made my heart skip a beat.
“Not yet,” I said. It was a gentle answer. “I’m not confident enough to make deals.” As soon as I said that, I regretted admitting any lack of confidence.
“Very well. I’ll be here if you change your mind.”
He didn’t leave a name before walking off. I sorted through the crowd for Talen, catching sight of fae with hair pinned like horns to their heads, eyes peering over goblets, and men in sweeping coats, but not the gold tunic of my one ally.
This is exhausting. The worst part was, I couldn’t know if I’d made the right decision this time. Perhaps an alliance with the bronze-eyed man would have been exactly what I needed, and now I’d lost that. I’d never know.
He wasn’t far off. I could change my mind and offer an alliance to oblige Talen in the one thing he requested of me. If I could even trust Talen.
I pressed my hand to my forehead. One day here and my mind was whirling. Whom could I trust, whom could I befriend? What games did they play behind their delicate masks?
You are not prepared for the fae realm.
The strength of the wine tipped down my throat again. At this rate, I’d end the night with no alliances and the inability to trust anyone.
I turned and bumped into someone behind me, facing gold buttons on a black jacket. This new gentleman had lavish dark eyes that bore into me. His mask was as gold as his buttons and so polished that it reflected the stars in the sky above me. But he didn’t need his entire face to be seen to show its beauty.
It all rested in those eyes.
I thought I’d seen beautiful humans on the center island, but the fae were like sculptures of perfection I couldn’t get enough of. I stared longer than I intended.
The man straightened his cravat with a little frown. “I want to align,” he said.
I blinked myself from the daze. “Excuse me?”
“I,” he began more slowly, “want to align. Please.” His arms rested still at his side, and I tried not to notice how nice his brown skin looked against the black suit.
I fought against saying yes right away. “That’s it? Others have offered chariot rides and paintings.”
His brow lifted. “Do you know who I am?”
“No.”
He peered over my head into the mass of fae. “Your poor choice of an alliance with the Delvers is failing you already. He should have told you.”
I made a mental note to find time to go over faces and names with Talen later. The gentleman studied me with such intensity that I looked away for a moment. “This is usually the part in the conversation where you offer me your name,” I said.
Dark lashes coated his eyelids. “No,” he said with a crooked smile. “This will be more interesting.”
Then he was gone like a swift wind, the colors of night blending into the tapestry of the crowd, leaving me longing for one last taste. The second man to leave me without a name, but with a string of curiosity.
The familiar pin of the House of Delvers flashed on a collar, and I grabbed the girl’s wrist. “Do you know anything about the man who was just here?”
Auburn hair fell over her shoulders as she looked around, almost spilling wine on her cream dress. “Who?”
“I’m hoping you can tell me. He had a gold mask and was, er, beautiful . . .” I felt like an idiot and released her.
But she nodded knowingly. “Black suit and gold cravat?”
That would have been a better way to describe him. I nodded.
She wore an impressed smile. “That would be King Bastian himself.”
“A king?” Suddenly I didn’t feel foolish for being enamored by his beauty. Deadly as they are beautiful. “I’ve been warned about him.”
Her tone was low. “Let me offer you your second warning. Many have fallen for him with dire consequences. Do not be one of them. His heart has never been cracked.”
