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It’s stupid to let the prince wound me, but I can’t help it. Years of being judged for where I lived, what I wore, or how much money I had comes roaring to the surface. Of being indiscriminately hated for reasons outside my control.
I flop into the feather mattress and hug my pillow. But now that I know in my heart I want to be here, my entire game plan has shifted. Perhaps it’s time I move away from my scorched earth policy to one that will make my life on the Island better in the long run.
The prince hates me because of my humanness, so maybe it’s time to show him how great we humans can be.
Starting with me.
I wake up an hour before noon, the sun’s muffled warmth dappling through pale clouds. Perhaps it’s my imagination, but the world outside seems lighter today. The sunlight just a bit warmer.
My gaze follows the path of the soft light across my room. While I slept, someone delivered a bunch of clothes for me to wear. They line the far closet doors. Each luxurious outfit dangling from a metal hanger is varying shades of silver, white, and blue.
Lest anyone forget I now belong to the Winter Court.
Happy face, Summer. Remembering my new mission to charm the prince, I pad cheerfully downstairs to the dining room where Eclipsa and the prince wait.
Eclipsa gives a little shout of glee. “I knew you’d pick the gray leather pants. They’re killer, right? And that blue blouse is perfect for your complexion.”
I worry the hem of my shirt between my fingers as I sit. Like always, for a moment, before my mind grows accustomed to being around the Fae, adrenaline burns my veins. Something about their sharp ears and exotic, not-quite-human features this early in the day is disconcerting.
“You just missed Headmistress Lepidonis,” Eclipsa says. She takes a bite of some kind of Fae fruit that looks like a cross between a nectarine and an apple.
I grab a stainless steel carafe and a teacup, praying to every god in existence there’s coffee inside. Dark liquid sloshes into my cup.
As the nutty, acidic smell of coffee swirls inside my nose, everything in the world rights itself.
“What did she want?” I ask between sips. The coffee is perfectly heated—probably by magic.
“To express her immense displeasure at my decision to kidnap a first year without the headmistress’s permission,” the prince answers, sliding an accusatory gaze to Eclipsa.
Eclipsa rolls her eyes. “She didn’t say we had to return her.”
“No, but at some point she’ll need answers as to why. Any progress on that end?”
Stabbing a square of cheese with a disconcertingly big steak knife, Eclipsa shakes her head. “Still working on it. They tested the basilisk for residual persuasion magic, but so far nothing. And they’ve released the girl’s friend who they suspected. She had an alibi.” She gives a shrug meant to make her seem less worried than she is. “Speaking of friends, Summer, one of yours came by today. A Mackenzie Fairchild?” “Mack?” I scour the dining room as if she might still be here. “When?”
“Right before you woke up.” A smile lifts her cheeks. “I could tell she was scared; it took her ten minutes to knock on the door. But she did, and then she demanded to know if you’re okay.”
Crap, why didn’t I think to get word to her?
“What did you tell her?”
“That you were fine, but sleeping. You’d had a late night.”
My cheeks burn. Does Eclipsa know I eavesdropped last night?
After that, a heavy silence descends. The prince is doing his best to ignore me. Surprise, surprise.
I reach across the table, butter some toast, and slather it with some fig jam. Time for step one of my plan: kill him with kindness. “Sleep well, Prince?”
His gaze darts to me and back to stare solemnly into his honeydew-green tea. “Fine.” Eclipsa clears her throat and he adds, “You?”
“Great,” I lie. “Ready for today?”
His silver-blue eyes are almost the same color as the clouds outside as they regard me beneath ink-blue eyebrows. “Always.”
“Good.” I snatch the rest of the toast from the table, ignoring the disapproving scowl from a lesser Fae servant, and shoulder into my coat. “See you after lunch.”
The minute the door shuts behind me, I sag against it, not sure whether to laugh or cry. I have no idea if my plan will reach beneath that icy surface—or if there’s anything there to even reach—but damn if it won’t be fun trying.
