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When the tiny drawer was open, I pulled out the chain. Dangling from the tiny chain was a locket. The locket was a tiny round moon made of opal. The hinge was hidden by the loop that attached the chain, and even more disguised by the glittering, diamond star charms that hung around and dangled at different lengths on either side of the locket. At a causal glance, it looked like a fitting accessory for a princess in the Lunar Court, but then...
I slid my fingernail in the hidden crack along the bottom of the moon and it popped open.
Chris.
I rubbed my thumb over the image. His face was slightly tilted away from my phone when I took the picture. Great beams of light cut through the trees behind him, as if God himself was gracing us with the most perfect light. Chris was smiling the way he only did when he was drawing. We’d spent the day together in the woods. I read a book while Chris drew for hours. The soft scratch of his charcoal against the page blended with the quiet chirping of the birds. It was the best day I’d had in over a century, and I knew enough to cherish it.
He didn’t know I took the picture or that I printed it or that I stuck it in a locket that I kept hidden from everyone. I was too scared of what it meant to wear it, and maybe it was crazy to pull it out now. But if I was surrendering my life to this court, my body to a husband, at least I could keep Chris close to my heart in this one tiny way.
I gently snapped the locket shut and held it in my hand for a second. I could do this. I would do this.
I fastened the chain behind my neck and tucked the locket under my shirt.
There. I was keeping him—and myself—safe by finding a fey husband, but that didn’t mean I had to love Chris any less.
I shut the secret drawer, making sure the molding lined up perfectly, hiding it from view, and quickly grabbed my bag. I stowed the blade inside and strode to the door, but paused for a moment with my hand on the doorknob. Beyond it was my living room where a team of my guards were waiting for me to take the next big step.
I was doing this. Making this big change. And when I left my room, my life as I knew it was going to be over.
I didn’t want to go to Gales. I didn’t want to be with my guards who were possibly traitors. I didn’t want any part of any of this. But I’d learned that sometimes life was doing things you didn’t want to do. I just wished I didn’t have to do them so often.
I pulled the locket out and gripped it in my hand. I hope you’re okay, Chris. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do more to help you, wherever you are.
I let the locket drop back under my shirt and threw open the door. In the second it took for the door to crash into the wall, my facade was in place. Confident. Proud. Sassy. Takes no shit. Loves to shop and read magazines. Cares for no one but myself.
I stepped into the seating room. “Hello, my ever-loyal guards.” They were standing around, chatting, in their full battle gear—leather head to toe, swords hanging at their hips, other weapons strapped here and there. “Everyone seems dressed for a fun day at the park.”
“Ready?” Van asked. Any sign that I’d pissed him off was gone—hidden, forgotten, or buried, I wasn’t sure. But it was gone, and I was grateful for it.
“I’m ready for battles, blood, or dancing. If we have any luck, we’ll get all three and find me a suitable husband.” I gave Van my best I-can’t-wait smile and threw him my bag.
He vanished it mid-air with a wave of his fingers, and we turned as one to give our full attention to the guards.
I knew that Van had selected three that he was pretty certain were loyal, and four that he was reasonably sure were not. I’d rather just take the pretty-certain-loyal ones, especially since Gales was our first stop and I already had enough enemies there, but Van wanted to weed out who was against us as quickly as possible. He’d call in other guards as we killed off the traitors.
And if we found the replacements to be traitors? Well, we’d kill them, too.
It all seemed a bit bloody to me—especially when some of these men had been guarding me for nearly two centuries—but Van wasn’t concerned. Which meant I shouldn’t be concerned. Which meant that I could focus solely on finding a husband.
Maybe Van could just kill me too while he was at it?
A throat cleared to my right.
“Yes, Bronio?” I asked.
For someone of the Lunar Court, Bronio was annoyingly typical. His straight black hair just nearly brushed his shoulders. His skin was the color of warm moonlight, giving off a hint of a glow in the dark. His eyes were dark as the night sky. And his heart was darker still.
In the past, he’d been an asset, enjoying hunting down assassins before they could find their way to me, but now that I really looked at him, I was pretty sure Van had labeled him a possible traitor. He would’ve been one of my guesses, too. I wondered if I should’ve set him free years ago. He was a little too bloodthirsty, even for us. And that was saying something.
“If this trip to Gales is anything like it was last time, then I think we’re all ready to get on with it.” His hand rested on his sword, his fingertips absently tapping the hilt as he spoke. Like he was just itching to pull it free. “The rumors after that were legendary.”
“It’s been a long time. If you’re still upset about missing out, you should get over it,” I said it with false sweetness and gave him a saucy tilt of the head, when I really wanted to smash his face into the ground until he was covered in blood. Then he could really get a feel for how fun my legendary trip was.
Missing out? What a joke.
Bronio’s grin was cold and dead, and if I had any doubts about where his loyalties were before, they were gone now. “No matter. I’ve always had a certain fondness for Gales.”
Gurhan snorted. “That’s because there’s plenty to kill in Gales.”
