Page 17 of Accidentally Ever After
By the time we finally emerged from his study, disheveled and slightly dazed, I had a whole new appreciation for fairy anatomy—and a growing suspicion that I was falling harder for this otherworldly prince than I was ready to admit.
Chapter 4
The next day, Instructor Thaelon droned on about proper dining etiquette while I fought to keep my eyes open. After my “extra lessons” with Caelen, we’d spent the night together in his chambers, exploring each other with increasing boldness until dawn began to lighten the strange fairy sky.
“Consort Morgan,” Thaelon said sharply, “are you attending to this lesson at all?”
“Absolutely,” I lied, straightening in my chair. “Soup spoons on the… left?”
Thaelon’s wings twitched in disapproval. “Right. And they are positioned in order of use, from the outside inward.”
“Right. Outside in. Got it.”
As Thaelon turned back to his diagram of proper place settings, my mind wandered again to the previous day’s activities. Specifically, to the way Caelen had looked as he came apart beneath my hands, his wings flared wide, those patterns on his skin glowing like constellations.
“Consort Morgan!”
I jumped. “Present!”
Thaelon sighed deeply. “Perhaps we should end early today. You seem… distracted.”
If he only knew, I thought, fighting a smile. “Sorry. Didn’t sleep well.”
Thaelon’s expression suggested he didn’t believe me for a second. “Indeed. Well, tomorrow we shall discuss properbehavior at formal ceremonies. Please attempt to be more focused.”
After he left, I wandered to the balcony of my chamber, looking out over the fairy realm. In just over a week, this place had gone from alien prison to something closer to fascinating new home. The thought should have alarmed me—wasn’t I supposed to be looking for a way back?—but increasingly, I found myself wondering what it would be like to stay.
A knock at my door interrupted my musings. Opening it revealed a fairy courtier I vaguely recognized but couldn’t name.
“Consort Morgan,” he said with a bow that was exactly one-quarter depth (Thaelon would be proud). “His Majesty King Orion requests your presence in the throne room immediately.”
My stomach dropped. In my week at court, I’d managed to avoid a direct audience with Caelen’s father—the fairy lord who had tricked me into signing the marriage contract in the first place.
“Did he say why?” I asked, suddenly wishing I’d paid more attention in Thaelon’s lessons.
“It is not my place to question His Majesty’s intentions,” the courtier replied stiffly.
“Right. Of course not.” I tugged nervously at my shirt—one of my human ones rather than the revealing fairy garments. “Lead the way, I guess.”
As we walked through the palace corridors, I tried to recall everything Thaelon had taught me about proper court etiquette. Bow from the waist for the king. Don’t speak until spoken to. Don’t make direct eye contact for too long. Don’t scratch inappropriate body parts (that one seemed like common sense, but Thaelon had been very specific about it).
The throne room was as intimidating as the rest of the palace was beautiful—a cavernous space with soaring ceilings, walls of what appeared to be living crystal that shifted colors like moodrings, and at the far end, a dais with two thrones. The larger throne seemed to be carved from a single massive gemstone, dark purple with veins of silver running through it. The slightly smaller throne beside it was similar but with more delicate proportions.
King Orion sat on the larger throne, looking every inch the fairy monarch. He resembled Caelen in his height and build, but where Caelen’s features had a certain warmth beneath their otherworldly beauty, the king’s face was all sharp angles and cold perfection. His wings were enormous—easily twice the size of Caelen’s—and the same purple-blue hue but with silver edging that caught the light like razor blades.
As I approached the dais, I became uncomfortably aware that we were not alone. Courtiers lined the walls, watching with varying degrees of curiosity and disdain. Lady Ellaria stood near the throne, her expression one of barely concealed satisfaction that made my skin crawl.
I stopped at what I hoped was a respectful distance and bowed from the waist, exactly as Thaelon had taught me. “Your Majesty,” I said, proud that my voice remained steady. “You summoned me?”
King Orion regarded me with eyes the same violet as Caelen’s but lacking any of the warmth. “Consort Morgan,” he said, his voice like ice crystals forming in the air. “I thought it time we became better acquainted, as you are now technically my son-in-law.”
The way he said “technically” made it clear exactly how he felt about that situation.
“Thank you for the invitation,” I said carefully.
“Not an invitation,” he corrected coldly. “A summons. There is a difference you would do well to learn.”
I bit back a retort, reminding myself that this was the guy who could turn me into a toad with a snap of his fingers. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
