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“Vern is powerful.” Talen now poked at the fire. “As is Brock. We should aim for one of them first.”
I set Antonio down beside my paintbrushes. “What of Bastian?”
He froze. “Who told you that name?”
“Bastian himself asked for an alliance last night,” I said.
Talen turned slowly, putting down the poker. “His father never aligned with a Mortal Queen. I don’t know why he would. And given his reputation, I’m not certain it’s wise.”
I tried not to look too interested. “Reputation?”
“His heart isn’t cracked.”
That was the second time the odd phrase was used for him.
“Let’s go after the other kings first,” Talen said. “Bastian is a wild card I don’t trust. He’s best left alone.” He fetched his top hat and straightened his maroon jacket. “I need to go see about getting your paint supplies. If I were you, I’d walk around the city and meet people before your dinner tonight. This time, try not to get poisoned, will you?”
I held up my hand. “I will do my very best.”
“That’s all I ask.”
He left, and while I should have focused on how I’d get through the night without being tricked again, all I could think of was the fae king whose heart couldn’t be cracked.
The chariot charted a circle through the sky to offer me a proper look at Lord Winster’s home. This island was smaller with one manor featured near the edge where cliffs climbed and seas trickled over, disappearing somewhere below like a river of diamonds. Someday, I’d follow them to see where they went. Perhaps they’d lead me back home.
The chariot drifted closer. Iron lanterns hung on posts around the perimeter, lighting the stone pathways through a hedge maze in the back of the manor. Inside, hundreds of bodies mingled in seamless fashion. That man must have invited every island in the realm.
“I wish I could stay up here all night.” I ran a finger along the smooth end of the crossbar, dreading the descent.
The chariot stooped lower in reply. “Traitor,” I muttered.
Though I’d been tricked into this evening, I held my head high as I descended. I wore a cream gown fastened with delicate pink-and-gold daisies trailing from the shoulders to the hemline, and I’d traded the high-heeled shoes for slightly lower ones that came to a point at the toe. These I could walk in. All my mental energy would go toward steering clear of any foul deals tonight.
Lord Winster stood in the elaborate pillared entrance. His smile stretched wide. “Welcome, Your Highness.”
My heels clicked on the stone. His courtyard was not decorated with flowers but with gems that caught the starlight in tiny splinters. A curtain of sapphires hung like a sheet outside his home, making sweet music as the wind played between them.
“I’m delighted to come,” I lied. His grin told me he knew.
He opened the double oak doors to lead me into the parlor with amethyst curtains, heavy wools on the floor, and the scent of dry wine soaked into the air. The room easily held a hundred people, all who bowed at the sight of me.
They mostly mingled about a table with brightly colored fruits and dark meat as Lord Winster beckoned, “Eat, please. We wish to welcome you to our realm with the finest things. By the end of the night, I’m certain we can sort out an alliance.”
At least he was direct about it this time. He sought an alliance with the Mortal Queen.
“What does an alliance with me give you?” I asked. My finger trailed the skin of a purple apple.
“My family has been aligned with a Mortal Queen for as long as Mortal Queens have ruled.” Lord Winster glanced at his guests. “It’d be an embarrassment not to be aligned now.” Those around us nodded in agreement. A lady with golden hair circling her forehead laced her arm in his.
I inspected the fruit. The smooth skin showed no impurities or scars, seemingly perfect just as the fae appeared. “And is this always how you forge alliances? With poison and lies?”
I spoke loud enough for anyone to hear. Let him be embarrassed by how he’d tricked me into attending tonight, and let his guests know what sort of a man he was. But Lord Winster only puffed up his chest and beamed as if I’d offered a grand compliment.
“I’m a man who knows how to get what I want.”
I held back a shiver. What he’d done to me wasn’t a sin—it was a triumph among the fae. He’d tell the tale of how he conned the Mortal Queen into giving away her first dinner with only a few words. The lady beside him tightened her hold on his arm with a lithe smile.
The sweetness of the apple trickled over my teeth with my first bite. I would not be a queen so easily manipulated again.
