Page 46 of Crowned By the Fae King

"It's a pleasure to see you again, your grace," I said, not taking my hand away when he didn't immediately release it. "I'll admit, I've been hoping for a chance to speak to you. I'm rather jealous of those lovely gloves you gifted my soulmate, though I prefer my opals hanging from my ears and throat."

His mouth curled up into a cat's smile of satisfaction. "A neck as lovely as yours ought to be adorned, your majesty," he purred, tracing his eyes down along the line of my throat to my cleavage. I wore only a single pearl on a chain, hanging heavily in the shadow between my breasts. Talien's eyes lingered. "As you've admitted to a fault, I'll respond in kind, and say that I was unprepared for a beautiful Queen alongside my new King. I didn't have a chance to select something that might please you."

I laughed, the bright sound practiced and light. Anyone I knew back home would have been able to pin it as the same one I used with handsy men at the bar. "I'm a greedy thing," I said playfully, flashing him another smile when his eyes flicked back up to my face. "I love glitter and sparkle. Maybe that makes me a frivolous girl, but why bother being rich and powerful if you can't drape yourself with expensive gems?"

My ribs went so tight that I glanced over at Cass, who looked like he was warring between anger and nausea. His poker face could really use some work—but at least the only thing showing his unhappiness was his face. It wasn't like the walls were bleeding.

Talien dropped another kiss onto my knuckles before releasing me and stepping back. "I would certainly like to please my Queen," he said, with a lilt on "please" that suggested he'd be perfectly happy to do that pleasing with his silver tongue. "Perhaps I can send a message to the jeweler who cut the opals I gifted your soulmate on your coronation. She may know how to acquire more."

"How thoughtful of you," I crooned back, giving him a flirtatious sidelong glance as I turned towards Cass.

My eyes snagged on Ace's along the way, a moment of contact. The tiniest of smirks flirted with his mouth. He knows I'm playing Talien, I thought, not lingering. The Sagebrush Duke is no fool.

None of them were likely to be idiots, socially or otherwise. Talien might very well know that I was playing him, too, but that was all part of the dance. It would be easy enough to play up being an ignorant mortal who liked being pretty and didn't care for politics. All of those things were true, after all. It was simply a matter of scale.

The Misted Duke hadn't wasted his time while I'd been flirting with Talien. He'd positioned himself with military precision, so that when I took my seat next to Cass, he claimed the nearest table with such clean efficiency that there was no chance for any of the other dukes to protest. It was probably meant for Vad, given that it was right by Cass, but Vad strolled over to the far side of the array and took a splayed-leg seat next to Ace, casually dragging over a table with his tail.

Cass gave me a sideways look as the Duke of Flies took the position nearest me. His ear turned towards me—no, towards Talien, I realized with some bemusement. Cass tracked the man's movement like a wary cat following a nearby dog. Whatever enmity the two had going on, it was clearly mutual.

"Well," he said, in a low rumble. "Let's eat."

Refraction

After the high formality and sneering politicking of the past four days, I'd expected lunch with the dukes to be yet another miserable experience. Instead, it was kind of nice. Tech was aggressive and extroverted enough that he provided an unbreakable backbone to the conversation, Vad and Talien sniped slyly at each other and at Tech, and Ace and Cass mostly held their peace, save for the occasional witticism from Ace or dry-as-bone commentary from Cass.

Despite Cass' obvious dislike for Talien, he didn't seem nearly as stressed or controlled as he had the past few days. The dukes clearly had rapport, and Vad moved through the conversation with ease. Three courtiers and two friends was apparently a comfortable enough ratio that he could… not relax, exactly, but at least not be on high alert.

For the most part, I observed and enjoyed the combination of good food and a lovely locale. The soft splashing of water provided a nice auditory backdrop to Tech's emotive baritone and the lazy purrs of the others, and I appreciated the chance to sit in the sunlight.

By the end of it, pale-skinned Vad and Tech were sporting light sunburns across their cheeks and the tips of their ears, a fate the other two men evaded by possessing melanin and I evaded by possessing Cass. My soulmate took notice; when we'd said our farewells to the three dukes and headed back into the palace, Cass flashed Vad a wicked smile.

"You've got something on your face, Vaddy," he purred, eyes dancing as he tapped his cheekbone.

Vaduin lifted his lip. "You didn't tell me we were spending three hours outside. I would have worn sunscreen if I'd known."

Cass chuckled, then stepped in front of Vad. "Come here." He licked the pad of his thumb and swiped it across Vad's cheekbone like he was cleaning off a smudge. The sunburn vanished in his wake, the skin losing its pink glow. "There," he said with a warm smile. "Better?"

It was enough to make a girl wish she'd gotten sunburned, after all. Having someone use their licked finger to clean your face was so much more intimate-feeling than them subconsciously keeping your skin unburnt. I wanted Cass to touch me.

Vaduin made a grumbling noise, his long tail slicing through the air. "It's the least you can do in recompense."

"I suppose," Cass said with a smirk. "I wouldn't want you to look less than splendid for tonight's revel, anyhow. The red wouldn't go with your formal Archangel regalia."

Vad snorted at that, getting us back into motion by dint of starting to walk again and assuming we'd follow suit. "As if you'll even be looking at us with your soulmate in the room. Maybe I should change out your jewelry, though, Quyen, after that little tail-tweak you gave Shamais."

Shamais? Oh, right. Talien's last name.

"Oh?" I asked in an idle tone of voice. "Do you happen to have some opals on hand?"

An animalistic snarl cut through the air—Cass' snarl, something as dangerous as that out of the throat of a tiger. "Don't you fucking dare, Vad."

He rocked back, looking taken aback. "I know you don't like the man, but it's a good play. Quyen was clever to think of it."

Cass clenched his jaw so hard mine locked, too. His ears pinned back and wings flared behind him in deadly menace, all the feathers slicked down. "It's not Shamais," he gritted out, stalking down the hall without looking at either of us.

I had to trot to keep up. "What is it, then?" I asked, annoyed. "If you're just being pissy for no reason—"

He growled again. "It's the gods-damned opals. They're—" He stopped, breathing too hard, his shoulders and wings shifting with every breath.

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