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As a slave, I’d learned to make my way through crowds without notice. I couldn’t be a bother to any Fae festivities. The way I slipped between conversations reminded me of the skills I had acquired in such a terrible time.
My fingers had curled around the soft glittery fabric of my dress, lifting it up off the floor as I walked. Stopping in front of Torrance now, I let the skirt fall over my heeled feet. Like a snake slithering down a trail, his pearly eyes trailed my body. The urge to walk away built up inside of me.
“You look, mmm, stunning,” he purred, leaning toward me like he had a secret to whisper in my ear.
“Save your compliments for one of the other girls.” I lifted an eyebrow.
“The girls in court are a bore. Dace must have told you that. I can see why he’d pick you now; you look good enough to eat.”
There wasn’t any reason to hide my frown, so I let my lips curl in displeasure. “Please don’t.”
Torrance shrugged. He brought the wine to his mouth and took a long sip. Crossing my arms over my chest, I let my annoyance seep into my features.
“What are you doing here, Torrance?” I finally huffed.
“What do you mean?” His laugh was light and airy. “I’ve come to see my best friend get crowned.”
“You are not his best friend,” I snorted.
“What I did was regrettable, but we shouldn’t let our time waste away worrying about things that cannot be changed.”
There was a pleasant hum to his voice, I noticed. It was a practiced tone that suggested that people often believed him. The confidence most Fae with noble blood seemed to have because of their status. The difference was that Torrance killed for his.
“I’m already done with this conversation.” Of all the people in this room, Torrance was not one who I needed to worry about pleasing or impressing. Torrance could go ahead and fall on an arrow. My heel clicked once against the floor as I took a step out, but fingers gripped my arm. With a snap of my head, I glared down at Torrance’s hand wrapped around my arm.
“You would do well to let me go before Dace sees you and you find yourself on the gallows.”
“That’s exactly why I want you to stay. You give me hope, Miss Avery. If a fool like Dace could find himself a lover as exquisite as you, surely there is hope for me. Won’t you stay and bless me with a bit of advice?”
A few Fae that chatted and sipped from their glasses paused their conversation as I rattled out a laugh. That couldn’t be what he called me here for. Right?
“My only advice for you is to find yourself on the right side of this war and for the right reasons. If you can’t find a shred of compassion or empathy for the living, you’ll find yourself out of graces and crawling toward your death bed.”
Torrance blew out a breath, snatching his hand away from me. He turned his head away, staring off. I guessed that was a no to taking the advice he so desperately needed.
I walked away and spotted Dace, still chatting with the man who had called him over. His mischievous and sorrow filled eyes watched the Fae intently as he listened to every word. A single strand of brilliant white hair had fallen forward over his forehead. My fingertips itched with the urge to brush it away. The itch was relieved as he smoothed it back with his hand, catching my gaze in the process.
Dace nodded along with whatever story he was knee-deep in, but the words didn’t register with me. Not while I was so busy admiring him. He was changed, in a way, by his parents’ deaths, and it may have been for the better even if he was absolutely terrible at processing the grief. While I moved closer, Dace opened his arm, offering me a place to stand as an equal and at his side.
“Meet anyone new?” he whispered into my temple with a small kiss as the man before us carried on.
“No, just found a rat that needs to be taken care of eventually.”
“Here, let me go get that document I’ve been working on writing up, and you can look it over.” The man waved both hands in the air excitedly, pushing his way through the crowd.
“I’ll be happy to,” Dace called, then mumbled under his breath, “because a party is the best place to propose a new law.”
Dace guided me in front of him, letting me step up to him until our bodies aligned. “They hate me here, but I love that you don’t care.” I smiled.
“They’ll hate you even more if you let them hear that viper's tongue of yours.” He scrunched his nose. “Now, tell me who I need to throw out of my crowning…”
I thought he would continue talking with the way he opened his mouth, but he quickly closed it. A harsh squealing filled the room, like metal grinding on metal. The vibration of the noise made my teeth clench, as I felt it travel through my bones. A scream erupted, piercing through the quiet that had accompanied such a strange sound.
Dace lifted his chin and I followed his gaze. Above us, the large chandelier, sharp with shiny diamond-shaped crystals, was descending upon us. My brain tried to calculate the timing and if we could run out of the way, but by the time we had noticed it was falling, I knew it was too late.
I tensed. Every muscle in my body became rigid as I prepared for impact, wondering if today would be my last day or how severe my injuries would be. My skin tingled, and it had to be the prickle of sweat over the goosebumps on my arms. I buried my face in Dace’s chest, as he brought both his arms over me and hugged me close.
I guessed that was all I could ask for in a goodbye.
