Page 6 of Until the Stars Fall

“Excuse me?”

Brennan and I asked the question in unison. How could my promiscuous and unreliable brother be the answer?

“The King of Arenysen is as anxious about another war as I am,” said my father, “and he’s concerned about the future of their crown. He only has a daughter, and as much as she would like to rule by herself, her need to continue the family line necessitates her search for a husband. The ruling families from the other kingdoms will no doubt be vying for her hand, and we cannot let them succeed. We cannot afford for anyone else to form such an alliance. We need you, Brennan, to do what you do best. Woo the princess. Enchant her. Secure her hand—and her heart if you wish—and secure Emeryn’s future while claiming a throne and crown for yourself.”

I had to admit the logic was flawless, perfect. Surely Brennan would agree.

Then I remembered who my brother was.

Straightening, Brennan rose to his full height and kept his voice calm and professional—more so than I had possibly ever heard from him—as he said, “Marriage has no appeal for me, Father. And an arranged marriage? I cannot—”

“You can, and you will. Because you must,” our father said calmly. Laying his forearms atop his desk, he leaned forward and regarded Brennan with an expression of understanding rather than anger. “Think of it as a challenge. Your greatest challenge yet.”

“And I must start—”

“Tonight.”

Brennan’s eyes widened, and it was a marvel his jaw didn’t drop to his chest at that single word.

The silence stretched on as they stared each other down, and I was just about to step in and argue in Brennan’s defense, to request he have one final night of freedom before he was tasked with such a mission. But our father turned his attention to me, staying my tongue.

“Connor, you will ensure your brother does not falter or fuck this up. Do you understand?”

How in the stars did he expect me to do that?

As if he could hear my unspoken inquiry, the king added, “Yours might be the harder of these two tasks, I know. But our family’s legacy and the very future of this kingdom require this of him. I cannot trust him to do this alone. Do whatever you must to keep him focused.”

Lead an army. Devise military strategy. Navigate political drama. Those things I could do. I was confident in my ability to succeed in those areas.

But constraining my brother? Keeping him in line?

That seemed altogether impossible.

And Brennan’s infernal smile and wagging brows didn’t have me feeling any better about this task.

CHAPTER 3

Connor

It was still early in the night when I lost Brennan. Silently cursing both my brother and our father, I carefully maneuvered through the crowd of guests with as much of a smile as I could muster. I should have just let Brennan take the king’s punishments all these years instead of protecting him. Maybe then he wouldn’t have become such a cocky prick.

Instead, all I’d done was convince our father that I was, in fact, Brennan’s keeper.

And I was doing a shit job of it at the moment.

Where in the fuck was that bastard?

I winced at the thought, as an image of our mother flashed in my mind. Brennan wasn’t a bastard by definition, and it was unfair to her to give him such a label.

As I neared the far corner of the terrace, Matthias Orelian, my second in command, approached with two glasses of faerie wine. He offered me one without a word, but I waved it away as I continued to scan the crowd for any sign of my brother. If I was to do the impossible, the last thing I needed was to have my head swimming in drink.

“Did he scurry off again?” Matthias asked. I nodded. He took a sip from his glass, passing the other to one of the staff walking by. “I still say we—”

“We can’t lock him in the dungeons,” I said, though the idea was sounding more and more appealing with each passing second. “He has to woo Princess Calla, remember? Hard to do if he’s imprisoned.”

“Was only a suggestion, Connor. And the princess isn’t even here tonight.” He shrugged and started to step away but then turned to look over his shoulder, saying, “If he’s not here, you know where he’ll run off to.”

He offered me a sympathetic grin before disappearing into the mass of fae dancing and chatting. He wasn’t wrong. Brennan was as predictable with his escapades as the moon was with its path across the sky. Taking a final glance at our guests to make sure he truly wasn’t among them, I stepped backwards onto the lawn as casually as I could. Spinning on my heel, I shoved my hands into my pockets with a growl. The clamor of the party faded behind me as I made my way toward the trees. I might have welcomed the silence if I wasn’t forced to come here.

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