Page 64 of Crown of Slumber

“Yes, of course,” I said quickly. “The king and queen of the Summer Court made no objections to our announcement. They aren’texactlyas thrilled as we are, but that’s to be expected.” I chuckled again as if we were sharing a joke.

Tyrone did not smile. Another tense moment of silence passed.

Aurelia took a deep breath. “Your Majesty, if we are unwelcome, we will take our leave. I understand if things are strained between us because of past circumstances…”

“Nonsense,” Tyrone said, waving his hand again. “It is merely a surprise, that is all. Of course you both are welcome, as well as any attendants you have brought with you.” He glanced behind us expectantly as if searching for our traveling party, though he likely already knew we traveled alone.

Aurelia’s cheeks flushed. “Ah. Right. Well?—”

“We have none,” I said with a grin. “We thought a more… intimate situation would be fitting. It can get awkward with attendants when we can’t seem to keep our hands off of each other. I can’t tell you how many of my valets and manservants have had to witness my hands?—”

“Fenn,” Aurelia said sharply, her fingernails digging into my arm again.

I laughed as if I hadn’t expected to reveal as much. “Forgive me. Needless to say, our party consists of only the two of us.”

Tyrone’s face was beet-red, his brows lowered in rage. I only smiled innocently in return.

“That is highly inappropriate, don’t you think?” asked Tyrone’s mother. “Not to mention unsafe. What if you encounter robbers? Or the unseelie?”

“You’ll find I am a capable swordsman,” I said. “And Aurelia is quite impressive with a blade in her hand. She felled an entire clan of goblins on our way here.”

Aurelia turned to gape at me, while the crowd whispered frantically in excitement. Tyrone’s brother raised his eyebrows, a small smile playing at his lips.

“Well,” Tyrone said, sitting up straighter in his throne. “Regardless of how… unorthodox this all is, you two are welcome to stay as long as you wish. We have our Equinox Ball tonight, if you wish to join in the festivities.”

Aurelia sank into a curtsy. “That is most kind of you. We would be delighted to attend.”

My smile was lethal as I replied, “Indeed we would.”

I was goingtostrangleFenn.

If I didn’t know him, I would have assumed he was blind. That he was incapable of reading the emotions of the people around him.

Unfortunately, Ididknow him. And he was doing this intentionally. He delighted in setting fires and watching as the world burned around him.

Throughout our introduction to the court, I kept my gaze either fixed on the floor or demurely aimed at King Tyrone. I never let myself glance toward his brother, as much as I felt Callan’s eyes searing into me.

And Fenn was doing a spectacular job stoking my ire. By the time we were escorted from the throne room, my fists were shaking with rage.

I held my tongue as a servant showed us to our rooms. Fenn tried to convince the attendants that we would share a room, but they informed us they were under specific instruction to prepare separate quarters. It was also painfully clear the servants would be punished if we did not comply, judging by their pale faces and stammered responses. One young woman seemed on the verge of tears.

Fenn and I exchanged uncertain glances. Our quarters were on opposite ends of the hall. Although I should have been relieved to have so much space between us, a darker part of me presumed Tyrone had done this on purpose.

My insides twisted at the thought.

I was shown my room first, the Golden Room. Every inch of it spoke of its namesake. Gold tapestries, plush gold pillows, a gold and umber rug running from the doors to the open windows that boasted the dark purple rays of the sun’s descent.

I’d stayed in this room once, long before Tyrone and I had begun our courtship. I was grateful I hadn’t been placed in the Magenta Room—that one held some of my darkest nightmares, and I had no desire to ever return to it. Small mercies, I supposed.

I ran my fingers over the delicate gold embroidery of the comforter on my bed. My eyes took in the grand armoire against the wall and the oval mirror atop the vanity on the opposite end. Wide, frightened eyes met my own in the reflection.

I was unrecognizable. Not the firebird Fenn claimed me to be, but a scared, trembling creature that I did not know. This place turned me into a weak prey, simply waiting to be hunted and devoured.

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. I refused to be cowed.

A knock sounded at my door, and I whirled, my heart racing, my breath catching in my throat. Terror seized my heart in the tightest of clutches, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing…

“Aurelia?”

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