Page 117 of Kiss of Fire

She nodded but inside her turmoil grew. It hadn’t beenallplay-acting, had it? When he’d kissed her, that had felt real. Hadn’t it?

Why was it so fucking hard to think?

“You look very serious, my daughter. There’s no room for serious thought at the Fae Court. Only joy.” Aelfric took her hand and led her to a table piled high with food and drink. “Let the band play! Come, my lords and ladies. Let there be frivolity!”

Raya allowed the music to wash over her. It was easier than struggling to remember whatever it was she was trying to remember.

And another day passed. Or week. Or month.

She neither knew nor cared.

Forty Four

“This dispute is tedious.”

Raya sat next to her father. He’d had a throne made just for her, a twin to his, crafted from gold and jewels. It was real, he told her. Not an illusion. She was flattered.

Now they were side by side hearing complaints from their subjects. She listlessly picked at her nails while the wizened old man in front of them begged with tears in his eyes.

“Please, your majesties. He’s only a boy, he ran away thinking he was playing a game.”

“You should have taught him not to go into the Forbidden Zone,” said Aelfric in a bored voice. “The centaurs kill any trespassers.”

“He didn’t know any better. He’s a child. I beg of you, let me retrieve him. Or at least warn your centaur guards…”

“How long has he been missing in the Zone?”

“Two hours, sire. If I could just…”

“Then it’s too late. Next!”

The old man threw himself onto the ground in front of the thrones.

“I beg of you, sire. You are a father, you know the tragedy of losing a child.”

“I lost mine for twenty years, and do you know what? I didn’t cry once. Next!”

“Father,” Raya said reprovingly. “Surely you were alittlesad that I wasn’t around?”

“I suppose a smidgeon. All right, daughter, what do you propose we do about this man’s problem?”

The old man looked up hopefully.

“His son’s almost certainly dead,” Raya said casually. “Maybe he’s due some compensation? I mean, if the boundaries of the Zone aren’t clearly marked…”

“Yes, that’s a terrific idea. And I’ll take it from the centaurs’ funding as it’s their responsibility. There you go, old man. The princess has solved your problem.”

“But my son…” The man was bewildered. “I want to find my son.”

Aelfric leaned forward and raised his voice in case the man was deaf.

“Your son’s dead. He went into the Forbidden Zone without permission. If the monsters haven’t got him, then the centaurs have.”

Raya looked at her father with interest.

“Is that true, father? There are monsters in the Forbidden Zone?”

“There are things in there evenIdon’t know about.”

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