Page 5 of Fated or Knot

The crush of fae below reminded me of the meadow outside of my stepfamily’s rented cottage. The gemstone brightness of glowing pixie wings stood out here and there in pops of color. Noone would notice a faded bloom slipping in amongst this number of vibrant souls.

As we descended slowly so I wouldn’t trip down the stairs, I took in the setup of the room. Guardians milled about with drinks in hand, mostly gossiping and sitting at the round tables to the side of the ballroom. Several couples danced, following the melody of a soaring, upbeat song played by a live orchestra. I couldn’t see the musicians, but I felt the vibrations of sound through the thin soles of my slippers.

A fine mist hazed over the whole event, smelling like…well, nothing. Given that my nose wasn’t assaulted by the mixed scents of hundreds of alphas plus at least fifty omegas, it had to be a cloud of scent blocker. How was an omega was supposed to find a scent match with this much mist hanging in the air?

By the time my feet reached the end of the stairs, I was sure I’d made a terrible mistake. There were more people here than the entire population of Osme Fen, and I had no idea what to do in such a large crowd.

From listening to my stepfamily plot, the whole point of the event was for omegas to meet alphas from across the country. But was I supposed to meetthismany alphas? I made a shy cringe at the notion. My earlier desire to be seen as an omega felt like utter foolishness now. I needed to get in and out of this event as quickly as possible.

“This way,” the guard said, interrupting my thoughts. He led me around the edge of the dance floor. The far side of it had a set of five raised thrones for the royal pack, though each high seat was empty. “When an alpha offers you his hand, what do you do?”

“Huh?” I glanced up and saw the set of his jaw. He was still a little worried. “I shake his hand?”

“In any other situation, yes. But at this event, he will kiss your fingertips and take abriefsmell of your wrist. You don’thave to let every alpha here do this, miss. Only the ones you like.”

“Oh, for scent matching,” I said. My stepfamily hadn’t talked about this part of the masquerade.

“This is the biggest crowd of alphas we’ve hosted in a long time. You’re going to have some that will try to insist you’re a match when you’re not,” he continued. Now he was simply sounding almost…fatherly. “Since you are without a guardian, I strongly suggest you don’t leave the castle grounds with an alpha you meet tonight. Any guard would be happy to escort you home if you’re feeling unsafe.”

I was a little choked up all of a sudden. I managed a wobbly little, “Thank you.”

“And here we are.” He jerked his chin, drawing my attention to an omega dancing nearby. Her long blonde hair flowed behind her like a pennant in the wind, along with her deep blue skirts and the pretty pink and yellow of her pixie wings. It must’ve been a quirk of her essence, but she didn’t get tangled in anything as she danced. We stopped nearby and waited as the music naturally came to a high point, suggesting the song would finish soon.

This far into the room, the light was a romantic suggestion from garlands of glowing flowers and a few decorative lanterns on the tables and pillars behind us. Still, I’d need to be blind to miss that the queen was an omega of impeccable grace, and the alpha who danced with her met her in a choreographed whirl of their bodies.

His skin was such a vivid shade of red that I blinked in surprise. Only a dragonsblood salamander, a rare type of Seelie shifter, would be such a color. As the music came to a brief pause, he wound his arm around her waist and dipped her, lifting his mask to kiss the breath off her lips. I blushed, feelinglike I was intruding, and dropped my gaze with an all too familiar hunch to my shoulders.

The guard must’ve gotten their attention, as the next thing I knew, the queen and her crimson king were heading our way. I fumbled into a curtsy and held it. “Oh, a late bloom? I’m so glad you could make it.” The queen’s voice was coming closer, and the next thing I knew, her slender fingers were tilting up my chin and she took my hands in hers.

I stood there, absolutely stunned this was happening. The salamander alpha and the guard started chatting a few feet away as if nothing was out of the ordinary here. My mind had chosen to freeze, thoughts stuttering. This was…thequeen? Queen Alora? Touching me?

“Welcome, dear,” she said warmly. “Tell me about you. Where are you visiting from?”

I cleared my throat, willing myself to rally and not make a fool of myself. “I…I’m Lark.” And I couldn’t help the nervous quake in my body. She was still the queen. “I’m from Osme Fen. It’s a little…tiny farm town?”

Her painted lips pursed thoughtfully under her glittering sapphire-dusted mask. “Oh, yes! I just met your sister, I think. Laurel?”

“Step,” I said a little too fast. “Um. Stepsister. Yes.”

“Well, how delightful that you both could make it. We’re always happy to have citizens from across Thelis attend, but especially those from so far away,” Alora said. “Don’t let me hold you back from enjoying your evening.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” My shoulders loosened with relief. I could start achieving what I’d come here for rather than dare to stand here in front of a queen while wearing an illusion over plain servant’s garb. She wouldn’t have been so quick to touch me if she’d known. Or maybe she still would have. I’d never know for sure.

I started to skulk off in shame. “Oh, and Lark?” the queen added. I turned back to look at her. The guard was gone, and she was resting her hand on her alpha’s arm. “If you happen to run into my daughter, Glory, will you let her know I’m looking for her? Her wings are this shade of red. You can’t miss her.”

She patted the salamander king, and I nodded, mustering enough nerve to say something else while they were both looking at me. “Yes, Your Majesty. That guard…the man who brought me to you. He is very kind.” I hoped the clumsy compliment would help him in some small way.

Both of them smiled. “Loren has been a loyal member of our household since before I was born,” said the king, his voice a deep rumble. “I’m glad he continues to treat our guests well.”

“Enjoy the festivities,” Queen Alora added brightly.

I went the opposite direction they did, heading for the tables laden with food at the very back of the room. Stars, this was already not going how I’d expected it to. All I’d known about Queen Alora and her pack before now was that she had one child, the omega crown princess, and the folk of Osme Fen gossiped about her lack of fertility.

They were afraid, maybe, but that fear had made them cruel. They compared her to the Queen of Serian, who was rumored to be pregnant yet again. The Unseelie had more than secured their next generation, while the Seelie continued to wait for Queen Alora to birth another child.

Maybe she didn’t want to. Maybe one was enough, despite the impatience and worry from her subjects and the weight of responsibility Crown Princess Glory must feel as the sole heir.

I entered the line for a turn in front of the refreshments, behind a pixie with beautiful evergreen wings. Her blonde hair was up in a braided coronet on the back of her head, exposing the slender golden column of her neck. The dress clinging to her curves had a leaf pattern.

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