Page 84 of Why Broken Wings Fray

God. He was not helping my lack of control as he seemed to command an even stronger presence standing up there, his hair knotted messily behind his head, threads and rings of gold worked into large chunks. Around his neck he wore a band of dark brown, what seemed like a necklace but was not metal and clung tight to his throat, even though he was still able to move his head. Which he did, his eyes flicking amongst his people.

His body was clad in dark brown, from his pants that fit him just perfectly to the surcoat of leather that heavily contrasted the golden streaks of his hair. Long tassels of gold swung from his shoulders, catching every light and glinting in every direction.

His eyes continued to move, to search, quickly and desperately, until they at last stopped. My breath knocked clean out of my lungs as he found me amongst the mass, his face shifting for only the briefest of seconds into something that I recognized, something that warmed me right down to my core.

And then his eyes shifted, sliding and skimming, as he let them rove from the top of my head right down to my feet, and back again. What others likely thought was a look of confusion or boredom, I knew better, as his eyes darkened and his throat bobbed.

In that moment, on this day, I was what Raegan had claimed me to be.

I was sunlight.

The gown that dripped off of me was the closest colour to the most natural of rays, a blossoming of yellow that was powerful and overwhelming at the same time, almost generating its own sort of heat. The bodice itself was thin, an iridescent film atop the yellow, and lace threaded over top to craft a body-hugging, flattering mixture of textures and designs that only furthered the uniqueness of the gown. And from my hips it flowed easily, the material turning light and malleable, ready for an evening of spinning.

The tiny, hardly identifiable smile that took to his face was the best thing I had ever seen.

When I finally reached him, when we stood next together, we would look like two parts of a sunflower. Him the core, the lifeline and the strength, and me the petals, the softness and the radiance.

It took Raegan an extra moment to remember where he was, who he was, as Queen Uisge took the slow steps up the dais and to his side. Tadgh followed not long after, his body covered in a suit of near-silver that illuminated his eyes of pure lavender. He was not lacking in his usual cockiness as he drew to a stop next to his mother, pausing only to sweep some of his cut-short blue hair out of his face. Whereas Raegan was adorned in gold, like the sun he reigned beneath, Tadgh was coated in silver, like bleeding light through the water.

Raegan, upon remembering he was not alone on his dais, shot a sidelong look to Tadgh. It was full of tension and just a hint of disdain, though the King of Talamh knew better than to let such a thing show so clearly. Tadgh knew, though, which was why he turned his head towards Raegan and winked.

“I know it is late,” Raegan declared, his voice thundering across his throne room. Every head snapped to him, lungs finally being freed of the hesitation to breathe. “It is much too late for Imbolc, that I am aware. The season already shifts to spring, yet the gods will frown on us if we do not partake in our oldest of traditions.”

There was a quiet wave of mumbling throughout the crowd, most people offering their thoughts as to Raegan’s incompetence that led them to have a late Imbolc. Aisling grabbed my hand when it fisted at my side.

“Today’s feast and ball will be in honour of our friend and ally, Queen Tonn of Uisge–” Raegan paused for an applause, of which a few scattered claps rang out. Whether or not Queen Tonn was opposed to being referred to as his ally was yet to be seen. Raegan didn’t care, though. He had allowed his features to pinch once more, his eyes more almond than ever as that slyness slipped through him and he continued, “Tonight, we look to the spring that already approaches. But perhaps more importantly, we celebrate the true intention of Imbolc. We embrace the season of growth, releasing ourselves of the darkness of the cold and starting anew–” Raegan paused, finding me amongst everyone else and holding that gaze on my face. “New things are on the horizon, let us allow Imbolc to sow those seeds and reap the bloom.”

I smiled at him, the only way I could support the King so far away, so high up.

With the end of his strange speech, he nodded to the crowd and released us once and for all. Frenzy spread across the throne room, pixies fighting one another to get to the feast that spread an assortment of hot, steaming foods and their scents across the room. Or at least I thought it was the food that they sought, but it very well could have been the barrels upon barrels of nectar that were pried open and prepared for the beings that clawed at them.

The pandemonium of the space took far too long, sweeping me left and right until I could no longer find Raegan amongst the other pixies. Nor could I find Killian – who, come to think of it, I had yet to see at all. And I tried, really hard, not to let that bother me. But I was left replaying Raegan’s speech, that expression on his face that never prefaced anything good.

As movements continued, music picked up, and the overwhelming stench of food sent the pixies into a renewed thirst, I lost Aisling, too. I was left alone, dodging elbows and knees, wings and glares, just trying to reduce myself to a mere ant amongst these creatures of tempered hunger.

There was no way I was going to find him, or any of my friends, in the craziness that was the throne room. So I did what everyone else was doing – grabbed a serving of nectar, and followed the wave of bodies out of the castle and into the mid-day sun.

The fires were ready around the castle, but had yet to be lit. Aisling had explained that they were only to take a flame as the sun disappeared, fending off the last cold, winter day for good. But that did not mean the party did not continue outside, oh no. Quite the opposite.

The jigs were loud out here, the musicians thumping around the grasslands and engaging in a variety of their own dancing, often causing the songs to miss a beat or to fall shy on certain notes. The pixies came alive, as they often did with good music, and soon the ground was shaking as their dancing lit the earth beneath us

At last, the crowd parted and I saw him. Like a shining light had formed across the sky, meant to guide me to him and only him, my grin split my face in two as I started to walk – near run – towards Raegan. He saw me, too, his expression quickly shifting into relief and joy at my approach.

Until someone stepped in front of me.

“Olivia,” Prince Tadgh of Uisge purred, placing one hand over his heart and bowing handsomely to me. The glistening of his silver nearly blinded me, but I managed to reel in my disappointment long enough to flash him a small, emotionless smile.

“Your Highness,” I said, curtseying poorly, trying to use the small gap between his arm and his side to sight Raegan.

“No need for such formalities,” the Prince said, his grin twice as wide as I ever remembered it being. “You saved my life, if you recall. In my eyes, that places us on even ground.”

I choked on the laugh that tried to come up. “You flatter me.”

“I intend to continue to do so.” Prince Tadgh offered me his hand and my heart sank.

Raegan had fretted over this, over his poor relationship with Uisge for so long, that I couldn’t refuse the Prince of Uisge’s offer to dance. I refused to be the reason that this very carefully set night would go up in flames.

Trying my best to be as sweet as possible, I smiled at him and took his hand as if I had been dying for him to offer it. He believed it, every flutter of my lashes and the curve of my lips, and I had to praise myself for finding such ease in falsity. Then again, I had spent too much time with a King that was a master in it.