Page 86 of Moonmarked

The prince beamed. “Thank you for playing with me, beautiful Nilah.” And he bowed dramatically in front of me.

“My pleasure,” I lied.

“And now comes my favorite part,” he said with a wide grin. “As the winner, I get to claim my prize—which is for you, Nilah, to be my date at the Whispering Ball three nights from now.”

“I—wait, what?” Because that wasnotwhat I was expecting at all.

“The Whispering Ball. It’s a masquerade, and pretty much the only public gathering I can attend because everyone in it is masked. No words are allowed, only whispers. I think you’re going to enjoy it. I knowIwill if you join me.”

He stood before me with that smile and those bright eyes sparkling, like a kid waiting for his candy—and if I said no, he was going to be heartbroken.

I didn’t want to go to a fucking ball, of course, and I was going to politely decline, when Rune said, “Not to rush you or anything, Your Highness, but some of us have work to do. Can we walk and talk at the same time?”

Lyall rolled his eyes, but it was just for show. “Since you’re so polite to your prince, bastard, you will be attending, too.”

“No, thanks. I’m busy that night,” Rune said without missing a beat.

And Lyall grinned. “I’m so deeply sorry. In that case, my friend, it’san order.”

Rune shrugged and waved him off, but I knew him well enough to see that he didn’t like this one bit.

“I suppose it’s an order for me, too?” I asked with a raised brow, but I didn’t mind going to the ball all that much now. Since Rune was going to bethere, too.

“Not at all. Your attendance as my date is merely my prize for winning the game.” He turned, waved for me to follow Rune, who’d already walked ahead among the trees. “Shall we?”

You didn’t win—we all did.

The words remained inside me when I smiled. “Of course.”

twenty-eight

He mademe tell him about Earth on the way back. Rune walked ahead of us, and Lyall stayed by my side throughout the whole way, but even though we walked a straight line from the mist river, we didn’t find the willows or that tunnel made of trees that we passed on our way in. It was just a forest, quiet and peaceful and smelling of flowers—and then we were at the gates.

I told Lyall things about back home—very general things as I couldn’t bring myself to tell him anything from my personal life, and I couldn’t even tell you why. He wasn’tbadby any means, and I’d told Rune pretty much everything about me without hesitation, yet with Lyall it was different. I didn’t care that he’d claimed victory—it was a silly game and he wanted me to be his date for a ball. No big deal. It was just that I didn’t know him, and there was something about his smile that was…too genuine,if that makes any sense.

Hewas entirely too much for me, I figured.

The horses and the guards had waited for us, and when we returned to the palace, both Rune and Lyall walkedaway, and the guards escorted me back to the bedroom. Poppy and Pera were there, having prepared a bath for me that smelled both sweet and citrusy, and absolutely delicious. I didn’t get much time to think as they pampered me, treated my hair and did my nails, plucked my eyebrows and put lotions on my skin.

After that came lunch, and then I convinced myself to pick up a book and start reading because, I suspect, I was subconsciously trying to run away from my own thoughts for as long as I could.

But when night fell and my eyes were half closed, and I slipped under the soft golden sheets of the bed, I thought about the fact that my heart’s biggest desire had somehow become Rune, and I hadn’t once seen my father, my sister, or my best friend in that mist.

I didn’t seeRune again that day, or the next, or the one after that. And I couldn’t even sneak out to go to his house at night because the guards refused to leave my side again. No matter what I said or how much I begged them to give me privacy, they didn’t even reply, and they didn’t stay back.

I took walks during the day, though, close to the field full of those forges that weren’t really any busier when the sun was up, apparently. Probably because Lyall had cut the staff down to only people he trusted, since he was playing dead still.

I saw the smoke coming from beyond the trees on the other side, but no Rune. I went there two days straight and walked slowly. The fae workers all looked at me as I passed,but none spoke to me, and none went to tell Rune I was there so that he could come see me—like it happened in my imagination.

It’s her, it’s the mortal, come quick!And then he would come running out of the woods withonlytwo swords and a pair of pants that hung extra low on his hips.That’s it, that’s all he’d bring with.

Alas, reality was a dull, boring bitch because I did not see his face anywhere, no matter how hard I searched.

I didn’t see Lyall, either, and that surprised me, too. The way he behaved around me had me thinking that I would have to come up with excuses to get him tonotwant to hang out with me, but no. I didn’t see him, didn’t hear from him, and any time I asked the chambermaids who came to my room, they told me he was busy, and they had no idea when he’d be available for me.

At first it had been kind of insulting that Poppy, Pippa and Pera always seemed to be there when I ate or when I got dressed for the day, when I wanted to take a bath, or even put on my pajamas to go to sleep. But by day two they became an important part of my day because they were the only ones who spoke to me. The guards never said a single word. The other palace workers never spoke to me, either, only lowered their heads as I walked by, and most rooms were closed for me as well.

I still saw plenty, though. The palace in daylight was a dream. Light filtered in through arched crystal windows, throwing soft rainbows across the shiny marble floors. Each hallway was similar but different at the same time. A domed atrium with soft orbs of lights dancing in the air, flickering in and out of existence, casting reflections on the floor that seemed to be made out of water. A vaulted room filled entirely with music, but not actual instruments, justsound—notes that shimmered in the air like dust motes. They looked identical to the ones I learned in music class, and the melodies were coming from nowhere and everywhere, weaving between shelves of books and velvet lounge chairs that looked incredibly comfortable.

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