Page 58 of The Shadow Heir

I chewed on that a moment. I’d believed so wholeheartedly that lovewouldsolve my predicament that I’d never paused to think of the fact that even if I had found true love before my twentieth birthday, I might still have been stolen away.

“Hmm,” was all I said in return.

We made another pass through the cavern that was equal parts charming and eerie. Our quiet stroll was interrupted as Ariana hurried into the blueish light, glancing around several times before seeing us.

“There you are,” she breathed, walking up to us with quick steps. “You need to come with me. It’s time to get ready.”

Ivy and I exchanged a glance. “Ready for what?” I asked. “More training?”

“Not training,” she said, staring at the cavern’s smooth floor. When she straightened up, her eyes locked on me. “You are to bathe and prepare for your first evening as a centerpiece.”

My face fell and a shockwave of adrenaline spiked through my blood.

I’d seen the other entertainers endure it. Whatever grace period there might have been protecting me from this humiliation was now over. I couldn’t fight the violent sinking sensation in my stomach. I bent forward, hands clasped around my middle.

Ariana cleared her throat. “I brought your chosen outfit to your room already. At least you get to wear a real dress, not just scraps of food. Be grateful.”

I stumbled forward and clung to Ivy. “Grateful,” I repeated as sweat broke across my forehead.

Ivy squeezed my hand. “They can’t kill you tonight,” she muttered. “You will survive this.”

Ariana nodded firmly. “Come now, to the bath.”

The baths were fed from natural hot springs that flowed from the heart of the mountain and housed in an arched cavern dotted with two dozen small pools carved from stone like everything else. The walls in the women’s bathing chamber were etched with a pair of massive shadow fae locked in an embrace, their wings arcing from the ceiling and down each wall. Though the baths were more luxurious than any I’d ever seen or used, no amount of lavender oil, salt scrub, or floating roses could distract me from the horrible mental images I conjured as I washed. What would they make me do tonight?

I said nothing to Ariana as she led me back to my room, pulled a brush through my hair and pinned it up, and helped me into a form-fitting white dress entirely covered in glittering beads. Only as I walked toward the armoire to retrieve the small ruby from where I stored it out of sight on the top shelf did I break my silence.

“Ariana,” I said as my hand withdrew with the ruby. When I turned around, one of her brows was lifted. The pointed facets of the stone dug into my skin as I rolled it between my fingers, deliberating.

“Yes?” she finally said, setting one hand on her hip.

“I…” I swallowed, briefly picturing what I was about to endure. The ruby in my hand had provided me with a sense of comfort these past two weeks, and I saw now that it was a lie. A pretty little lie cleverly meant to chip away at my resolve to stay strong, to fight back against the fae and their machinations. Casimiro was not my ally. He was a master craftsman wielding a tool he needed for a task. I was nothing to him, and the only reason he didn’t want me to die was so he could glean information from me. Then, before I could change my mind, I stuck out my hand. “Here.”

“What is it?” Ariana didn’t step toward me.

“Take it. Before I change my mind.”

She stepped toward the ruby in my outstretched hand, eyes widening.

“It’s a gift,” I said. “One that will protect you against the poisoner, whoever that may be.” I assumed that if the stone had kept me safe, it would do the same for her.

She inhaled sharply. “How did you get that?” She didn’t question its effectiveness, as if magical stones were a well-known commodity around here.

“I found it,” I said. I hadfoundit…in my hand when Casimiro gave it to me.

Her eyes narrowed quickly as she shot me a scrutinizing look. “Then how do you know what it does?” She took a step back.

I shrugged, not prepared to answer this. “I found it before the last trial. It’s how I survived.” Also true.

Her head tilted. “I see. And why do you want to give it to me now?”

“Because,” I sighed, “you need it more than I do. I want to help.”

Lips pursed, she took the jewel from my hand and examined it against the candlelight, almost like she’d seen stones like this before. She pocketed the ruby and squared her shoulders. “Thank you. But you really should have kept it.”

With that, she turned on her heel and waved me forward.

We walked silently to the dining cavern. It had taken so long to bathe and style my hair that it was close to the midnight meal, the fae court’s largest meal.

---