For a moment, I allow myself to imagine a future where we're not bound by the constraints of our worlds.
Where I'm not a vampire prince and she's not a human caught in the crosshairs of a looming rebellion.
Reality comes crashing back all too soon. This thing between us isn’t real. It's a temporary respite from what I must do. Yet, I find myself clinging to it, to her, like a drowning man to a life raft.
But I won’t let her drown with me. I’ll let her go. Though every day the thought gets harder and harder than the day before.
Chapter 35
Return of the Steps
CINDER
The Midnight garden party is in full grotesque swing by the time the King sweeps onto the grounds. I've spent the last hour fielding more thinly veiled insults and disdainful sneers, each vampire guest eyeing me like a toxic stain they wish would vanish.
Of course, they do their best to tamp it down in front of the ambassadors from the Common World. The humans and fae from the Common World are a constant background presence, always watching.
I get the sense they are waiting to find something amiss. Anything to justify taking a political move against King Charming. While I might be compelled to throw the King under the bus with them on sheer principle, I have my own agenda to see to.
I still have this burning need to find out if he killed my father. My frustration only grows as Kai keeps telling me to be patient and we’ll find a way to get information soon.
Thank the fae lords for the overflowing champagne fountain—at least nobody bats an eyelash when I gulp it down like a camel in the desert. The bubbles help dull the sting of their muttered barbs about my “unsuitability” to become a princess.
Pfft.As if I actually want the fucking job.
Though I have to confess I’ll miss this place when I’m gone. It’s not like I’ll be allowed to waltz back into Midnight after Kai and I call things off.
“You’ve sat on the cliff’s edge?” the vampire with an Indian accent and curious brown eyes asks. “For fun?”
I’ve shockingly found some of the court members aren’t as heinous as the rest. The fangers are still ignorant in many ways about how humans operate, but I've been asked some questions out of genuine interest. Questions about my father’s life and art, or how I maintain such pristine skin as a human, or which part of Midnight is my favorite.
The cliffs.
Still, I can't keep my eyes from finding Kai across the lawns like he’s a magnet.
Even dressed to the nines for this stuffed shirt soiree, the Charming prince radiates an easy sensuality that has more than a few noblewomen—and noblemen—fawning over him.
Kai serves all of them the same publicity smile that I know to be part of his act. A strange buzz generates in my belly when I realize I may be the only one here who knows him beyond the mask he presents.
The predatory glint in his eyes every time they flick my way promises all sorts of deliciously filthy things if we can ditch this freak parade early. I squirm a little at the thought, downing another glass until the bubbles fizz low in my belly.
“Would you excuse me?” I ask the two fangers I’ve been talking to.
As I make my way across the grounds, I pretend not to hear the hushed whispers.
“Do you believe this farce?”
“She clearly has no interest in our prince.”
“Do you think she’s been thralled for this PR stunt to please the ambassadors?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Her demeanor is downright robotic.”
They think I’m thralled?
I glide in between the women and select men who are cooing over Kai.
A beautiful Black beauty stands before him, flashing her teeth and fluttering her lashes. “Your Highness, why don’t you let me rub your neck. I’m sure there are many knots from all the stress you’ve been going through lately.”
