Page 89 of Moonmarked

“Other fae.” Red hair, and dark hair, too—a woman with dark hair that almost gave me a heart attack because I thought she was Rune.

“Yes, the queen has invited her most trusted friends over from our neighboring courts. Is that a problem?”

I looked at Lyall, thinking he was joking, but he wasn’t. He was genuinely asking me—and not in a threatening kind of way. In a way that made me think he just might kick everyone out if I saidyes.

“No, of course not. Just surprised.”

“There will be more species here, I’m sure. Vampires and the incubi have always been friends with the fae through the centuries.”

Great.I swallowed hard and looked away, even though I was wearing a mask. I didn’t want him to see my discomfort at seeing the incubi.

So far, though, there were none that I noticed. Only fae moved passed us, most in pairs, a few on their own. Their attention flicked to us, then away. They were curious, nothing more. Theyreallycouldn’t tell who Lyall was or who I was. We were truly anonymous here.

“And what about the queen?” I asked, sure there would be a dais and a throne somewhere in the room, but…

“She’s here somewhere”

That certainly surprised me. “She is?”

“Titles don’t matter in this room tonight. And when the ball begins, everyone must be silent. We can only whisper in the guests’ ears.”

That was no surprise, considering the name.

“Whisperwhatexactly?” I wondered.

“Anything at all. Comments, secret messages, confessions—or challenges. Anything goes in the Whispering Ball, and we must always obey.”

Well, fuck.

“Tell me, beautiful Nilah, before the true music begins—what have you been up to these past few days?” Lyall asked, slowly slipping his blue drink, looking at mine in my hand in question that he never asked out loud.

“Nothing much. I took walks and read books. You were gone. Rune was gone. Nobody would talk to me except for the chambermaids,” I said, eyes wide open as we went through the crowd, still searching for Rune.

“Yes, well, we’ve all been busy. And I gave the order to leave you in peace. I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t necessary,” Lyall said, slowing his step, and I had no choice but to slow down, too. “I’ve wanted to come see you a few times, Nilah. I must confess—your company does something to me. It fills me with positivity. I found myself craving it more and more these days.”

My cheeks suddenly heated up so much I thought they were melting underneath the mask. And then my skin was itching, too, because of it.

“Oh, I’m sure it’s just because I’m your Lifebound, Lyall,” I said because my best bet right now was to take his flirting lightly. “Tell me, what haveyoubeen up to?”

Lyall chuckled a little. “Meetings, mostly. Reading. Meeting with the seer. Going over everything that has happened in my court since I’ve been…unwell.”

Since you were poisoned,you mean.And that would beyour mother’scourt, not yours.

Something told me that I didn’t want to be this honest about what I was thinking with Lyall. He wasn’t Rune. Something about his aura stopped me—perhaps the simpleknowledge that he was going to be the actual king of this place soon?

Could be.

But I kept my eyes around us as we moved and didn’t comment.

To the left, glass doors led onto a wide balcony that looked out into a garden beyond, which I could only see a little from the inside of the room. Flowers the size of my head decorated the railings, and these golden fireflies hovered over the petals, too, casting beautiful shadows.

Then there was Rune.

I stopped walking for a split second, my body coming to a halt all on its own.

Lyall asked me what was wrong, and I think I said my dress caught on my heel. He believed me.

Or maybe not. I didn’t check because I only had eyes for Rune.

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