“And if they did? What difference would that make?” I asked, pulling my arm back away from her trailing fingers. I wrapped the arm back in the cloth, doing my best to retie the ribbons she’d loosened.
“Then I would say that is all the more reason that you need to be protected. The hands of the Fates themselves have woven themselves into your very existence. You being here cannot be a coincidence. You are meant for great things, Princess Estrella. I cannot wait to see the day when you realize it,” she said, raising her other hand to untie the knots on my biceps all over again. She was persistent, but her fingers remained gentle, coaxing.
“I hardly think many in Mab’s court care to see me safe,” I said with a scoff, holding the fabric of my dress to my chest as she untied the final knot upon my shoulder. She stepped up to my other side, leaning over me as she began the process of freeing me from the confines of the simple dress, the back already torn to reveal more flesh than normal.
“You have more allies within this court than you have allowed yourself to see. Blending in has become necessary to our survival, but I assure you, we are here. Waiting for a chance to rise up and overthrow the queen who imprisons us,” Nila said.
I looked up at her face, at the seriousness with which she studied me. She was far taller than me, ethereal in her height and stunningly beautiful in her poise. Her shoulders remained straight even as she bent at the waist, her posture flawless.
“Perhaps that day finally approaches.” She stared at me meaningfully. Her deep brown eyes were wide and far-set, with charcoal lining them and accentuating the curve at the outer corner.
She finished with the knots, stepping toward the bath basin. She grasped a vial off one of the small, circular tables nearby, allowing a few drops of liquid to fall into the bath water. The steam rising from the warm water turned a deep purple hue, like the prettiest tone in the starlit sky.
“What is it?” I asked, stepping up beside the bath.
I peeked over the edge, staring down at the purple-tinted water in awe as I clutched my dress to my chest. Nila reached in, cupping a palmful of the jewel-toned water in her hand and raising it. She spread her fingers, letting it trail back into the basin.
It left a slight shimmer to her brown skin, making her sparkle like moonlight. She grasped my hand, touching the tips of her fingers against mine where they were painted black from my magic.
“You are a daughter of the night, Princess Estrella. It is time you experienced the luxuries of one.” She picked up one of the round tables, setting it closer to the bath and lining the surface with a collection of other vials. “Think of it as armor. Court life is not an easy one. There are no swords to protect you here. There is no magic for you to defend yourself so long as you wear that collar. Allow me to help you embrace what you were always meant to be. Allow me to show you the pampered ways of the Fae. I promise you will take Mab’s breath away the next time she sees you, as well as your mate. For entirely different reasons, but both are equal motivators in court life.”
“I am surprised that Mab would waste her energy on things such as beauty,” I said, reaching a hand in to touch the water. It was warm, the perfect temperature, and something about the texture of the water seemed to cling to my skin, moisturizing it even after the droplets fell from my hand. “Why bother when you have all the power in the world?”
“Because there is privilege in beauty. There is power in taking away the breath of your enemy so that they never see you ready to slit their throat, too fixated on the curve of your lip. There is strength in allowing yourself to appear fragile, all the while knowing that your pretty silken skirts hide a dagger that could carve the heart from a male’s chest,” she said, her lips curving into the sly smile of a woman who was well acquainted with such deceptions.
My eyes immediately dropped to her thighs, to what might be hidden beneath her dress. She’d been alone with me, had me at her mercy, and never moved to harm me. That was a first in the Court of Shadows.
“I’ve never been very good at playing the games of court,” I said.
I released the fabric at my chest. With the back torn, it fluttered to the floor at my feet into a pool of fabric. I fought to ignore the fact that I was nude with a stranger once again. The Fae were far more comfortable with their bodies, unbothered by nudity in the way humans were, and I would do my best to embrace it in spite of my upbringing.
Instead of a protest to the truth of her words, my statement was far more a warning. Her attempts to turn me into a beauty to rival hers would likely fail, because there was more to beauty than a bath. The confidence to carry such things was another story, the ability to manipulate with a smile and seduce with a single glance. I possessed none of those things.
“Well then, it’s a good thing that the Fates have blessed you with a good teacher,” she said, holding out a hand to me from the other side of the basin.
I hesitated only a moment, holding her gaze as she ignored the vulnerability of my nudity. Then I drew in a shaky breath, feeling as if I was about to walk to my death.
I took her hand, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake.
14
Caldris
The lighting in Mab’s throne room was even dimmer than usual that night when I strode through the heavy doors. People lingered about the room, chatting in small groups as they sipped wine from crystal goblets. Mab lazed about on her throne, looking far too bored for a queen who had a room of followers at her disposal.
Fury pulsed in my veins. They stood just to the side of where my mate’s blood stained the dais, acting as if her suffering was irrelevant. Mab had bled her. She’d skinned her while I’d watched, and I’d been trapped, unable to do anything.
I’d never felt more helpless. Never wanted to rip out Mab’s throat more than in the moments when she’d buried her claws in Estrella’s flesh. I would never forget the sound of it tearing from her body, never stop hearing the sound of her screams echoing through the throne room. She’d taken the pain, suffered through it, and managed to remain strong despite knowing it would come again. But I hadn’t been able to bear the pain in her eyes, the tremble in her body as she suffered.
I hadn’t been able to listen to another pained whimper, another broken sound escaping her lips before she could stop it as Mab gripped her flesh all over again.
I’d been weak, and I feared we would all pay the consequences for it.
The Fae at Mab’s side were her closest companions. A small group of half a dozen males and females, constantly lingering and providing her with the latest gossip from throughout the court. I refused to make eye contact with the one who frequently requested my company. Mab had not granted it in centuries, denying her friend the continued pleasure of my body. I didn’t know if it was because my body had purely stopped reacting to such violations, or if it was because Mab grew bored with my lack of response to the abuse.
All I knew was that I was grateful for it, and that the timing had coincided with the moment I’d first felt Estrella come to life. It had been the mate bond snapping into place between us that made my body no longer any more interested than my mind.
Estrella had saved me, long before she’d ever known of my existence.
“You summoned me, my Queen?” I asked, kneeling at the foot of her dais.