Page 212 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

“I missed you,” I whisper when he lets me go and gently puts me back down on the ground.

I haven’t seen him since we left for the mountains. His eyes are as stunning and soft as ever, but I can’t help but notice that he looks paler, if such a thing is even possible with his skin already as white as mine.

“I missed you too, my sweet, sweet little villain,” he says. His hand brushes my cheek ever so briefly before I hear servants behind us come streaming out of the kitchen. He gives me a gentle smile. “Later, then.”

***

The gathering is quieter than the parties. There are just a few already familiar faces I recognize, and the mood is somehow more official, although there is still a lot of exposed skin—fae don’t seem to mind that in general, I should know that by now.

I spot Riven joining in a little later, in his usual opulent evening attire. Caryan’s accompanied by that breathtaking, dark-haired elf woman, who doesn’t once leave his side. He doesn’t look at me, though, not for the whole evening, while in return, I can’t help but notice the possessive way the woman touches him and stands close whenever she can.

It’s only deep into the night, when the sun has long set and there are only a few people remaining, that I spot Caryan walking out onto the terrace alone.

“Elderberry wine with lavender ice. Your favorite,” I say quietly when I step up to him.

He regards me distantly, as if he has totally forgotten about me.

“I added a splash of lime. I think you’ll like it,” I add with a shy smile that dies on my face when he keeps looking at me in that serene way. I let my gaze drop to my hands when he eventually takes the glass from me, avoiding touching my fingers.

“You were gone so long,” I add, my voice a whisper.

“I was.”

I glance up at him again, at his stone-gray eyes. Reverent and cold.

I want to sayI missed you,but suddenly I can’t find the words.I want to askDid something happen?,but this too dies on my tongue when he says, “You should lower your eyes.”

I say nothing, just quietly step away, not daring to look up at him again, my heart aching from a phantom pain, pulsing so hard I feel it wants to break my ribs and rip free of my chest.

***

Later, after my shift, the celebrations are still in full swing. I meander down the halls, the music echoing through them. When I hear someone singing eerily, hauntingly, I briefly think it’s coming from the throne room, but then realize the sound is traveling up from the dungeon. A modern song, just a weird interpretation.Kiss me hard before you go.

I stop, consider, and then—fuck it—head down. Down to the prison, to the clammy cold, fragrant with mold. I pause in front of a cell, only to find the woman with the formerly wine-red hair there.

She’s still alive. The woman who tried to kill me, only to spare my life. So Caryan kept his promise.

We stare at each other from a distance. She looks so different now, her hair white as freshly fallen snow. She’s slimmer, too, I realize with a kind of shock. Her torn clothes hang on her. And cold, her cherry-red lips are tinged blue.

“Look at you, Caryan’s little pet,” she snarls, getting up from the ground and walking closer to the bars before easing into a crouch again, as if she’s too weak to stand.

“What happened to you?” I whisper.

She looks feral, the way her amber eyes rove over my exposed flesh, filling up with hunger. Her skinniness does nothing to hide the starved killer beneath.

“I could ask you the same. You reek of desperation,” she hisses.

Before she can say more, I turn around and run up the stairs. I head to the kitchen, and when no one’s looking, grab everything I can find—a tiny apple tart, raisin bread, a duck leg, plums—allleftovers from the celebration. I stuff them into a kitchen towel and run back to the dungeon.

She’s still crouching in the very same spot. I fight my fear and step up to her, putting the towel with the food on the ground so she can choose.

“What do you want, human?” she spits, but her eyes stay on the presented things.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing in the world is free, especially not kindness. What do you want?”

I frown, then shake my head. “You’re starving. Eat. I can get more tomorrow. And eat quickly before someone comes looking for me.”

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