Page 51 of Crowned By the Fae King

"Speaking of which, I'm gonna go get naked and wet," I said pertly. "Last call for the bathroom."

His predatory focus snapped onto me, eyes darkening and ears cocked forward. A moment later he relaxed again, but my heart kept beating with the regimented calm of his control. Cass might not be touching me, but he was definitely attracted to me.

I could work with that. "Toodle-oo," I said, turning and sauntering to the bathroom with some swish to my steps, the floor warm beneath my feet.

Cass didn't move until I shut the door, and I reveled in every second of my soulmate's gaze.

Beautiful Things

My coronation feast dress had been stunning, but as soon as Kat started putting me into my outfit for the revel, I understood why the first one hadn't rated as "spectacular." As sexy as it had been, it was still only a dress.

This one? Was magic.

I'd known, intellectually, that fae were famous for glamor. It was in all those spicy fae romance books the girls at the bar liked to read, and I'd heard enough about glamor while in Faery that I knew that it was the most common magical gift and a favorite of the fae. That was a lot different, though, than having Kat bring out a box of jewelry instead of a dress, and watching clothing unfurl when she placed them against my bare skin.

The style of the dress itself was fairly simple; a backless halter top with a low-cut neck and off-the-shoulder sleeves, all in heavy silk that draped over me like water flowing down a mountainside. Unlike an illusion, the glamor-cloth really was cloth, as solid and real as any other clothing. Of course, unlike actual cloth, that wasn't all it was.

Where it touched my skin, the silk was silk. But the moment it dropped away, it turned into drifting mist, floating down in streams like pictures of the Bridalveil Falls—a waterfall plummeting from the heights to be shattered into nothing more than fog. It caressed my legs, giving glimpses of my bare thighs and smooth legs; it fell off the peaks of my nipples to drift down in half-mist, half-silk drapes to cling to my hips and caress my stomach.

Vaduin had chosen to pair the outfit – which already came complete with engraved cuffs and a heavy torc – with a set of pigeon's-blood rubies from his hoard, set in what had to be fucking platinum. They hung from my ears and dripped down my bare chest like blood, the color drawing the eye against the backdrop of my sun-warmed skin and the silver-white of my dress. Combined with the smoky eyes and deep red lip Kat gave me, I looked like someone who could stand in front of a fae Court and be admired, mortal or not.

Vad arrived to do Cass' hair while I was bolting my pre-revel dinner and getting a henna-style illustration based on the Court of Mercy's seal painted on my bare back. The door was open, but he still knocked, flicking his eyes down along my outfit when I looked over.

"You look great," he said in a friendly tone. "You can keep the rubies, if you like. They suit you better than Danica."

I touched the necklace without thinking, staring at him. "That's crazy."

He laughed, his long tail curling behind him. "Consider it a coronation gift, for you to wear and Cass to admire. We got the honor of carrying your crowns, so we didn't get the chance to do a gift presentation, but we're still your loyal dukes, your majesty." Vad put his hand over his heart and gave me a playful bow. "Besides, you didn't get anything that was selected for you during that interminable affair. If you like them, keep them."

"Well, if you insist," I said, starting to smile. "His Splendor's in the consort's suite getting ready, but you can have this bathroom if you want."

"Nah," he said, sauntering over to the adjoining door. "I wouldn't want to rob you of the look on his face when he sees you for the first time in your full glory. I suspect his capacity for rational thought will vacate the building."

"Tch, sure," I said, trying not to laugh but privately delighted to get that sort of compliment from a man whose soulmate looked the way Danica did. "Whatever you say."

"You'll see." Vad rapped on the adjoining door, then flung it open without waiting for a response. "Oh, good gods, Cass, you're not even dressed?"

Cass growled something back before Vad shut the door, and I managed to stifle my giggles until the latch closed.

"Your soulmate isn't very formal, is he?" Kat asked in a diffident voice. She asked, though, which I liked. I preferred a friendly assistant than one there for nothing but the power.

"Apparently not, though I can't imagine why," I said cheerfully. "I was poor as fuck, up until I acquired a King for a soulmate. All the events are a bit crazy-making, but the luxury sure doesn't suck."

She laughed, a soft sound. "From what I've heard, and given that he's elected to sleep in what's supposed to be my bedroom, I imagine that His Majesty doesn't have much care for admiration or luxury."

I craned my neck around to look back at her, careful not to move my torso so that I wouldn't make her smudge my temporary tattoo. "Where are you sleeping, by the way? Since Cass is squatting in your bedroom."

"In my old room in the servants' wing," she said with a shrug of one shoulder, not pausing in her careful work. It tickled. "I don't mind."

I made a disgruntled sound at that. Though I wasn't familiar with fae politics, five days of formal events had made it very clear that appearances meant a lot to the fae, both on the surface and in layers. It wouldn't serve my purposes to have my body-servant housed with the rest of the staff.

I'd have to raise changing the layout with Cass. Maybe we could make something that suited everyone.

Kat finished with me before Vad finished with Cass (not surprising, given that Cass apparently hadn't even had on his formal clothes when Vad had showed up), so I got delivered to the royal waiting room first. I also got delivered to the waiting room last, because when the harried event manager showed up to get me and Cass to make our entrance, I was still the only one there.

I held up a finger to stop the poor man from trying to delicately ask where the King was, and leaned into my sense of Cass. It was easier now that I knew him, and had a little practice. In the space of a heartbeat I had his anxiety running in my veins, and could feel the movement of his muscles as he paced. Cold air in his lungs; wind playing through the feathers of his wings and catching on drifting tendrils of hair hanging around his face. That same breeze kissing the bare skin of his chest, his abs, his back.

He didn't seem to notice my attention, too focused on whatever it was that was keeping him from showing up where he was supposed to go. I got the sense that I could make him pay attention, prying my way to the forefront of his mind, but the idea made my skin feel slimy. Whatever was between us gave me more of a connection to him than I thought soulmates ever had. I didn't want to abuse that bond.

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