Page 76 of The Alien's Cruel Starfrost Domain

The next time I pulled the I’m-dusting-in-here, don’t-mind-me trick, I actually saw the map—or what I was fairly certain was the map, anyway. It was housed in a locked glass case. Folded in half, barely peeking out from under several other maps, with the image of wings just visible on the section that was showing.

I needed an extended time to work in Ivrael’s study, a time when I was less likely to be interrupted and could figure out how to pick the lock on the case. Or at least a time when no one would hear when I broke the glass on the case and ran. A time when no one would be looking for me, when I’d have lots of lead time to get away from Starfrost Manor.

So when I learned of the ball for Prince Jonyk, I knew that was my chance.

No one would need me. And no one would miss me, more to the point. The servants who weren’t slated to work that evening were planning their own party behind the kitchen, and I had already told Adefina that I had no interest in attending.

Now that I have my opportunity planned, I just have to wait. And try not to think too hard about what I am going to do after I get the map. I have a vague idea of heading toward thefirelord mountains I can see from the courtyard, but what I've learned about the firelords is contradictory and confusing.

Adefina gives me plenty of work to do, and Kila keeps me company while I work in the kitchen the afternoon before Prince Jonyk’s arrival, buzzing around my head as she helps season dishes for the ball. I appreciate the distraction of her constant chatter—it keeps me from obsessing over my plan.

“Do you have stories where you come from?” she asks as she sprinkles spices across a platter of raw meat. “Like we do about the Great Split and the crown?”

I pause in my own work, remembering all the tales my mother used to tell Izzy and me. “Of course, everything about your people is considered a fairy tale in my world.”

Kila’s expression turns confused. “What’s a fairy tale?”

“You know—fairy tales. Where the handsome prince rescues the princess from the dragon and?—”

“What’s a dragon?”

I frown, momentarily distracted from my darker thoughts. “Well, it’s kind of a giant flying...I guess you don’t know what a lizard is.” They stare at me blankly as I fumble for words. “A dragon is a...a giant creature with huge teeth and wings. And it flies around. And sometimes out its mouth—or maybe its nose—anyway, it breathes fire?—”

Synchronized gasps of horror from everyone in the room stop my description cold.

“What?” I glance around at the matching expressions of disgust.

“You have firelords in your tales? And didn’t you say pixies are a kind of fairy? You have firelords in the same stories as pixies?” Kila’s voice is pitched so high I can barely make out the words in her shrill trilling voice. “So you have firelords and Starcaix raya in the same stories?”

“I guess dragons are kind of like your firelords, yeah,” I say—but I’m speaking slowly as I begin piecing together the fragments of information I’ve been gathering over the last year. “And pixies are fairies who are kind of like Starcaix raya. So sure, I guess that means ourfairy tales have Starcaix raya and firelords in the same stories. Why not?”

Dragons. The firelords are fuckingdragons.

“The Caix and the firelords have been at odds for generations,” Adefina reminds me.

“I don’t think anybody in my world actually knows that. Honestly, as far as I know, humans would think you’re all equally fictional.”

“Fictional?” Kila’s voice comes down a few octaves.

“Not real,” I explain.

The raya’s wings buzz so hard in agitation that her whole body lifts up off the table. “Humans think we’re made of lies?” So much for her voice coming down.

I snort, looking for the right words to encompass all my recent musings about the genre. In the end, I say, “More or less. Most humans wouldn’t believe the Caix truly exist.”

Kila begins peppering me with questions. “Why would they have tales about creatures like us at all, then? How long has it been since your people believed in us? How many lies can you tell in a row? Are there no punishments for lying in your world?”

With a laugh, Adefina puts her hands on her knees and pushes herself out of her chair. “Time to get back to work.”

Now that the night of the ball is almost here, I’m more excited than I expected to be. Choosing to ask the firelords for help might be a mistake—but so is staying here. The longer I wait, the closer Izzy’s birthday draws, and the more likely it becomes that Ivrael will get whatever it is he wants with Izzy and me.

Sleep eludes me as I lie on my pallet by the hearth, my mind racing with plans for tomorrow. Adefina retired to her room hours ago, leaving me alone with only the crackling fire and Kila’s tiny snores from where she’s curled up in the crook of my neck.

The creak of the doorjolts me fully awake.

Baron Svalkat stands in the entrance. My heart constricts as he takes a step inside, then another. His boots make no sound on the stone floor.

“What a charming scene.” His voice carries that oily smoothness that always makes my skin crawl. “The human pet andherlittle pet, all cozy by the fire.”

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