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Drunken folk tumbled about the lower alleys of the Tower. Slurred shanties rose to the balcony.

Strange to be in the Ever. Stranger still to be unsettled in my own kingdom, as though life on the isle with Mira had become a comfort.

Head tilted, I looked to the satin night. Stars glimmered and winked, like thousands of gazes watching the curious lives of the fae.

Voidwalker aimed his warrior’s arrow toward the Chasm, toward the earth fae realms.

Toward her.

I closed my eyes for a breath, then studied the Nightfire constellation and his lost lover. Another tale of searching for the soul that sang to one’s heart.

Odd how the stars of the Ever all had a bit of romance in the lore, yet mates of the high-level houses were never cherished with such reverence. No mistake, there were anomalies. Sewell loved Celine and Gavyn’s mother. Tavish Spellbreaker, Erik’s uncle through his mother, adored his mate. Then there was the king himself. My cousin would give up the whole of his kingdom should Livia ask it of him.

Never did I think fate would offer me a glimpse of the same.

I shook my head. No, I was not the same.

Mira was a force who spun my head, made my pulse race, and I’d come to crave more. But it wasn’t as though we…loved each other. I would not be capable of such a thing. How could anyone love if they’d never been taught its meaning, if they’d never felt it before?

I cared for Mira. I felt the side of my mouth tease into a grin when thoughts of her laughter cut through the tension. The head-tossed-back kind of laughter.

In truth, her laugh was horrible. Squeaky, raspy, and breathless, more cackle than anything, and it rolled in pitch like the rise of a wave, higher then lower, until she was red in the face.

I could not get enough of it.

Always one to prattle on about the proper way to arrange a table, Mira could recite proper etiquette practices all while sharpening a blade. Or whenever she caught a glimpse of her reflection, she would study her features, not from vanity, more like she still had to determine who was looking back at her. I’d never told her she hummed in her sleep, as though celebrating even in dreams.

My gaze dropped to my palms. To touch her skin was an honor I would never deserve.

Mira’s touch eased my tension, my constant need to be on guard, to anticipate the worst. For so long, I’d lived in such a state that I did not think there was any other way. Now I could not indulge an existence where my vicious princess did not sleep beside me each night.

The balcony doors opened and heavy boots scraped over the stone. “Don’t know why I’m out here instead of enjoying my mead inside.”

Without turning to face the king, I leaned my forearms over the stone rail of the balcony. “I assume Livia insisted you come speak with me.”

Erik scoffed once, twice. “ ‘Insisted’ is not the word—”

“Don’t fret, cousin. I understand.”

He matched my stance on the rail. “Understand what?”

“That you’re afraid of the queen.” I returned my attention to the brilliance of the stars.

I thought the Ever King might scowl, perhaps make a few threats against my life. Instead, Erik laughed. Softly, but it was there all the same.

Perhaps he lost his wits for a moment, perhaps he did not realize he did it, but he used his shoulder to nudge mine as he murmured a low “You’re an ass.”

“And you have not denied it.”

Erik peered over the edge of the balcony, and the silence thickened in a way that lifted the hair on my neck.

I opened my mouth to insist the king had done enough to appease the queen and he need not remain here, but Erik spoke first. “You were the only one who cared when I killed my mother.”

“What?”

His jaw tensed, clearly out of sorts with his words. “Naturally, Narza cared, but she did not come to me, so I have no memory of it. But you, I have memories of you. Do you recall that night?”

I had not thought of the night Lady Oline died in turns. “Vaguely.”