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“You didn’t have any horns tonight,” she pointedout.
“No.” A slight smile. “Shapeshifters do not havehorns.”
“But youdostill crave the energy of humans, right? You seem so unlike a Dark Fae, yet...you must need humans as much as the rest of them do.Right?”
A part of her hoped he’d say no, even though she knew he’d say yes. Deep down, she understood he needed humans to survive. He couldn’t help that. But what he could help was his response to that need. Did he want to change it? Did he want a world where humans did not have to besacrificed?
“I thought you would have realized by now that the Tithe is not what I nor Taveon want for our future. We would like to see a world where this no longer happens, but ideas and dreams take time. The Dark Fae will not be rushed into this. Not until we are certain of a different way. A better way. We need human energy to survive, but we do not know a way to take it without harmingthem.”
“Well, maybe there’s a way to do it that doesn’t involveinnocenthumans,” Bree said. “Instead of just letting Redcaps loose on the world, what if you targeted humans who are their own kind of evil? Killers, rapists,torturers.”
It was a thought she’d had before, though she hadn’t had the chance to bring it up to anyone else. There were flaws in her idea though. Terrible flaws she couldn’tignore.
“Hmm. Have you presented this idea toTaveon?”
Bree shook her head. “To be honest, he didn’t give me the impression he wanted to hear it. I know he’s using me as a test, hoping I’ll be able to be a different answer for the Tithe. But I also know that still means turning others into these horriblebeasts.”
“You did volunteer, Bree,” Rafe said in a low, quiet voice as he rested a hand on her shoulder. “I do not envy your position, but you didvolunteer.”
“I volunteered because I thought it was the only option to save Otherworld and everyone within it.” She took a deep breath in through flared nostrils. But now she knew that wasn’t the case, though it seemed Rafe had no idea about Taveon’s lies that got Bree to comehere.
“Loyalty and fearlessness.” He squeezed tighter, shifting so close that she could feel his chest brush against her back. “They are such admirable qualities, and two that are often not paired together. Taveon is lucky to have found that inyou.”
Bree tensed, despite herself. “You speak as though I am loyal to him, as if I had a choice in the matter. I’m his servant, Rafe. I have no choice but to do whatever he says. That isn’tloyalty.”
“No, I suppose it isn’t.” His voice dropped into a low murmur. “Though perhaps you may grow to feel that way toward him in time, when you see what a strong King he willbecome.”
“That is seriously unlikely. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone this much in mylife.”
A long moment passed between them. Rafe was loyal to his Prince. Bree knew that. He would never say anything against him. At the same time, she appreciated that he didn’t try to stop her from voicing her irritation. When they’d first met, he’d told her to be quiet and careful and to keep her thoughts to herself, but he no longer asked her to keep her emotions locked uptight.
“I am certain the Prince was unable to say it for himself, due to this night’s circumstances, so I must pass on how unavoidably beautiful you look in that dress,” Rafe said, almost in awhisper.
A smile tickled her lips. “And that’s straight from the Prince, isit?”
A long pause. “No. Those thoughts are mine, though I saw the look on his face. He shares my sentiments. Besides, he would be a fool not to notice yourbeauty.”
Bree’s cheeks flushed with heat. “Well, ah, thank you, I suppose. You don’t look so badyourself.”
He let out a low chuckle. “Careful. You have such a human way of saying things sometimes. If the wrong fae heardyou...”
“Yeah, but you aren’t the wrong fae, Rafe. You’re the rightone.”
Had she just said that out loud? Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was all the masks and the horns and the songs. Maybe it was the thrill of getting caught in the Prince’s chambers withFillan.
But Bree felt bold. And she felt alive. Far more alive than she’d felt in a very longtime.
She had felt trapped in the human realm, stuck in a life that would go nowhere, stuck in a world with concrete floors and walls. Otherworld, the realm of the Light Fae, hadn’t been much better. She’d spent half the time trying to battle against the Redcap venom in her veins and the other half losing friends to the disease left and right. That life, it had held nothing but fear andpain.
It was strange. She would have thought it would be the opposite. She was Prince Taveon’s servant, slave, or whatever he wanted to call her. She was stuck doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and she was secretly acting as his enemy’s spy. She couldn’t trust anyone, not fully, not evenRafferty.
Still, she’d never felt morealive.
Bree twisted to face Rafe, dropping back her head to gaze up into his eyes. Her heart fluttered, and her breath caught. They were so close, stuck here on this balcony high up in the clouds, the moon drifting higher and higher into the silver-streakedsky.
“You know, there is one more thing I could show you before I return you to yourquarters.”
Her stomach tumbled over on itself. He couldn’t mean...no, it was impossible. Rafferty wouldn’t go there, not even if he wanted to. And she doubted he actually did. He could tell her all night that he thought she was beautiful, but that didn’t mean he was actuallyinterestedinher.
He had only collected her from the ball because Prince Taveon wanted her out of there. It wasn’t because he’d had the idea himself. In fact, that was the only reason he spent any time with her at all. Their friendship was a lie as much as she wanted it to be thetruth.
Rafe scanned her eyes, frowning. “Why has that upset you? I thought you would be thrilled to have an excuse to stay out a little whilelonger.”
“I would love to stay out a little while longer, but I don’t want to be a burden to you.” She flicked her gaze away. “I’m sure you’d like to return to theball.”
He snorted. “Do not be so daft. That ball was turning into chaos. Besides, why would I rather be there when I can be here withyou?”
