Page 82 of Why Broken Wings Fray

Liam, either completely unaware of what facial expressions he was capable of making or uncaring of them, simply stared at me. “Olivia, you look like–”

“Don’t say it,” I whispered, shaking my head slowly. I knew what I looked like, I knew what the fabric of this gown looked like. That was why I had Aisling request it, why I had her pick this one in particular. And there was only one person I wanted to show it to. Only one person whose opinion I wanted to hear.

Liam’s grin was cat-like and mischievous as he nodded and offered me the bend of his elbow. Sighing, remembering a time not so different to this but with his cousin and not him, I took his elbow with my hand and responded to his nod with one of my own.

“Shall we?” he offered.

“We shall.”

~

It was so easy, in that moment, as the two of us descended the staircase of the Cluaineach castle and prepared ourselves for the tremendous party, to forget what times we were in. It was easy to forget that Saoghal was at war with itself.

It was easy to forget that Speur and Uisge wanted to wage war on Raegan, not join him for feasts. It was easy to forget that Choilltean, the other half of Raegan’s kingdom, could not join the festivities even if they wanted to.

Which was why we shouldn’t have been so shocked when we finally levelled out on the main floor and were left staring at…

A near empty castle.

Now, that might have been an exaggeration. It wasn’t empty, because every pixie from Cluaineach was crammed into the clay walls, their bodies trickling out of the exit and into the grass-lands that wrapped around the palace. But it wasn’t like Beltane in that everywhere you looked, there was a new pixie. A new colour of hair, a new glistening pair of eyes, a new tint to their skin. During Beltane, when three of the four kingdoms had united for that night, there was a certain sort of buzzing to the air that constantly danced between dangerous and exhilarating, seeing different peoples coming together despite their differences and enjoying one night.

I tried to keep the surprise from my expression, balancing my eyebrows and focusing on the width of my eyes, as Liam guided me through the first of the bodies. Because it was Imbolc and most were already indulging themselves in the benefits of a massive ball, none of the pixies seemed to recognize me. Or if they did, they cared little for their hatred and their whispered curses towards the Evil of Saoghal, keeping their glares and their growls to themselves.

Light bounced off of the walls of the castle, a ricocheting gleam of whites and yellows as fireflies swarmed above us and sconces flickered along the hallways. There was that mist, the one that always seemed to be present in Cluaineach, that spoke of the magic of the meadows and the beauty of the prairies that took form as fluttering specks of golden light between bodies.

Wings were out and prominent as we wound through the masses, dodging those with iridescent, fragile sheens with sharp ends that – upon bumping into one – were actually sharp. Then there were the wings that were thicker in their hide, nearing a leather-like texture that fanned out in a shape that was more horizontal than rounded. It was hard to look at those wings, at the pixies who loved them more than their other limbs, and feel anything but grief for Raegan. Grief for what he might not have lost, but might as well have.

“Olivia!” Aisling’s voice boomed through the crowds, her pink-blossom hair like a beacon that Liam started to drag me towards. I nearly tripped on several imperfections along the floor of the Cluaineach castle, and managed to stay upright only by the unforgiving grip he had around my arm.

“Olivia,” Aisling gasped as we drew near, an awkward distance between the three of us that meant in order to converse we had to shout, so Liam and I picked up the pace and slammed to a stop in front of her. “Wow, I can’t believe how it turned out. Give me a twirl.”

I wasn’t planning on disobeying such a direct order, so I giggled to myself and twisted around on the ball of my foot, thankful that Liam had convinced me to pin my hair up high. Only a few twists of blonde tickled at my cheek as I finished my cataclysmic turn, nearly collapsing as dizziness took root. Only because I grabbed back onto Liam did I stay upright.

“You look like–”

“A feast.”

Liam and I snapped our attention to behind us, where Ciara and Shea were strolling with ease through the crowds as they simply shoved pixies out of their way.

“I know it’s a feast,” Ciara hissed, continuing their conversation that had nothing to do with me. “That’s not what I was saying.”

“What were you saying? I stopped listening the moment you started.”

Ciara growled and Shea snickered.

“Oh, there you lot are,” Shea said as she stopped glaring at Ciara and found the three of us standing nervously in front of her. “Who knew humans could clean up so well, hey Ciara?”

“Piss off, Shea,” Ciara growled, her face still twisted into a rage at Shea’s previous comment.

“You two look…” I trailed off, not sure what direction I wanted to take my compliment. Saying Shea looked stunning would likely insult her, mostly because everything I said to Shea insulted her. And Shea was always stunning – gown and neck on show, or matted bird-nest hair and blood caked over her body. She just had that natural allure to her, drawing every set of eyes and craning every head as she passed.

Ciara, on the other hand, looked exactly as she looked a day ago. The only difference was that her swords were on her hips instead of over her back, and that verdant hair of hers was tied up high enough on her head that it pulled at the already tight skin around those molten eyes.

Shea’s gown was black, a long stretch of material that seemed to twinkle starlight as it reflected every tiny light, pooling elegantly at the curve of her ankles.

Shea noticed my awkward stare at Ciara and clarified with, “Ciara doesn’t believe in dresses.”

“They’re impractical,” Ciara said, shrugging as if that should be obvious. “I take my role as Raegan’s shield seriously, unlike the rest of you. I need to be prepared for any and every attack.”