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Kade crossed his arms over his broad chest, considering. “I’m not supposed to let you leave the palace grounds.”
My eyebrows furrowed, “Says who?”
“Alaric.”
“Well then consider his request refused.”
His answering grin was infectious, and I yelped when he grabbed my hand and took off in a full sprint from the room, dragging me along with him.
We stopped at a small balcony, and he climbed onto the ledge, “Are you afraid of heights?” he asked, a challenge in his stare as he unfurled his wings.
My heart plummeted into my stomach, but not in fear—or at least, I didn’t think so. No, it was elation. I didn’t have time to respond before he pulled me up, wrapping his arms around my middle.
And then we fell.
I shrieked at the rushing of the wind. It was exhilarating, terrifying—pure bliss. When he flipped around, his wings caught the air current and we sprang upwards. I laughed, my eyes wet with unshed tears from the force of the wind.
Fun. I was havingfun.
I was still laughing when he pushed us ever higher, gliding on the air currents until we were hovering over the bay, almost in reach of the clouds. I shivered against the chill of the oncoming night, and he held me tighter in response, his body heating with his Grace of fire. I shivered again.
“Don’t worry, I won’t drop you,” he told me, with a mischievous leer that made me think he just might.
“This is incredible,” I said between fits of giggles. The sun had sunk low, setting the sky ablaze with an orange and rose glow. Far below us, the palace was awash in the colors, and the water in the bay reflected them back at us. At that height, I could see the Wastes clearly, a maze of trails through the ashy mountain range. And far in the distance, if I squinted, I thought I could just make out the original palace of the Night Court—now nothing more than a ruin blending almost seamlessly into the rock face of Mount Noctis.
“Alaric would kill me if he knew I had you out here.”
“Our secret?” I asked him, tilting my head up so I could meet his ochre stare. He really was magnificent—chiseled features shadowed by honeyed bronze facial hair and deep-set eyes. In the light of the setting sun, he could have been a painting of some long-forgotten king. I reached over his shoulder to stroke his right wing, and his entire body tensed in response. It was like satin, but with the strength and hardness of something more solid. They shimmered when he moved them as though a million specks of diamond were embedded within.
Kade winked at me, “Yeah, our secret.”
Something caught his eye from below and I turned in his arms to find what drew him. There, on the southern road leading to the palace, was a lone rider on horseback. Kade swooped lower, causing my stomach to drop again, until we were close by the palace, but concealed in a copse of trees.
The horse was a white stallion, and if the panting of the animal was any indication, it had carried its rider far. The rider was… odd. He was dressed in shades of topaz with a belt and reigns of gold. His hair was also golden, and longer than most males, reaching to his shoulders.
A falcon flew over the male in wide circles, never letting the rider out of his sight.
Kade grew hot at the sight of the foreign rider, scalding my back and legs where his bare arms held me. He kept the malice it was obvious he felt out of his voice as he gave me a wan smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Your emissary has arrived.”
Chapter Eight
The servants came in after Kade and I returned, him lowering me gently onto the balcony of my bedchamber. Luckily, no one saw us arrive, though they seemed surprised to find us in the royal quarters. Thana, it seemed, had been looking for me.
They told me the Day Court emissary had arrived, and was escorted to the opposite tower, He was given the quarters meant for noble guests, as I had instructed. I told the servants I would not formally receive him that night, blaming the late hour and the need to rest before my Blessing Ceremony tomorrow afternoon. The truth was that I was nervous. I had no idea what he would be like—or if the council was right about them, if he would try to kill me outright.
No, I would receive him tomorrow, just before the ceremony, with more than one armed sentry at my side.
Kade and I sat at the table in the dining room, laughing about something Finn had said to him earlier when Thana burst in.
“Where have you been?” she asked, hands on her hips.
I subdued my laughter long enough to reply, “Kade took me on a tour of the palace,” I told her, failing to mention that part of the tour was held in the sky.
“And why did no one know where—”
Alaric paused in the doorway, a frightened boy in tow behind him. “A tour of the palace?” he directed his question towards Kade, who only shrugged in response. “You remained on the palace grounds, as I requested?”
Kade faltered, “Well, I—”
