Page 102 of Lady of the Nightmares

I looked up and smiled, stepping over slightly to make room for Siobhan to stand beside me. Her eyes were bright, her hair sweaty on her brow from dancing, and she panted shallow breaths as she leaned in to hear my reply.

“Of Cutthroat or of the guild?”

“Both!”

She had to yell to be heard over the sound of raucous music, dancing feet, and cheering.

“It’s different,” I yelled back.

“How so?”

I was not sure how to put it into words. I could not say that the guild was exactly kind—they were clearly violent and rough in their own way, and Kaius had certainly been unpleasant, but they seemed to have a much more relaxed attitude toward many things. Humans, for one. There were quite a few human and half-Fae in the crowd, being treated no differently than the others, and since I’d been here, I’d not found nearly as much reason to hate the High Fae as I typically did.

“Royal parties are different. I’m mostly not allowed to go, for one thing.”

“That’s bullshit.” Her expression turned hostile on my behalf.

“The dancing is different…” I said. “And there’s more sex.”

She laughed, and as if on cue—it may have been; I was not precisely sure who was listening to us—the fiddles picked up, playing a faster tune. Someone near the back of the room started banging on a drum, while others clapped, urging those in the center of the room into some sort of synchronized spinning dance I didn’t know.

Siobhan passed her drink smoothly to Vander, who appeared out of nowhere behind her, and grabbed both my hands, dragging me into the middle of the room. She spun in a wild circle, her skirt flying behind her like a twirling halo and forcing the group of dancers to give us a wide berth.

“Different dancing does not mean better,” she laughed and let go of one of my hands, guiding me into one of the lines of dancers. “And as far as the sex, I’d say you can take your pick, but I don’t think you’d get very far.”

“Why not?” I asked too loud.

She didn’t answer for a moment, nodding her head in time with the beat of the drum, the heel of her boot stomping against the floor as everyone around us clapped in unison. When the beat changed, she grabbed my arm confidently and linked it with the dancer on her left.

“Because,” Siobhan said when she finally swung back around to me. “Everyone can see these.”

She reached out to point at the mark on my neck, and I almost slapped her hand away, but she stopped short of actually touching me. My reaction seemed to amuse her because her grin turned into another bout of cackling laughter. “You should see your face.”

She grabbed my arm and linked it with hers and the person beside us on either side, swaying to a rhythm that only she seemed to know.

I allowed myself to be dragged around the dance floor, surely missing half the steps but not caring as my mind raced.

“It’s nothing, anyway,” I said when I swung back around to Siobhan again.

She sobered slightly. “I hope you’re not serious. That’s one of the most blatant claimings I’ve ever seen. Not that you see all that many. With magic so low, most Fae marry now rather than mate.”

My stomach lurched unpleasantly.

“Maybe normally that’s how it is, but these don’t mean what you think they do. One was a mistake. If I should have any mark, it wouldn’t be this…”

I trailed off, unsure what to say—or if I should say anything at all. It didn’t feel exactly right to say they were nothing, but I couldn’t claim they meant whatever she thought they did.

“Oh, so you have two, then? Interesting.”

I flushed. “No! It’s not like that either.”

“Calm down. Even if it was, that’s fine unless one species practices monogamy.” She looked like she was trying to remember something just out of reach. “I can never remember who the monogamists are. Dwarves…dragons…most druids. Anything that starts with aD, apparently.”

“Er, no. Nothing that starts with aD.”

“Then you’re fine. Go wild.” Siobhan clapped and linked her arm with mine, moving us back into position for another verse. “But I still think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone here willing to get nailed to a wall just for a chance to fuck you. I’m not sure even royal cunt is worth that.”

I burst into laughter, throwing my head back. The rhythm changed again into a steady clap-and-tap pattern, and she lifted her face to me and threw a bright smile in my direction, holding out her hand for mine. I grabbed it without hesitation and followed along, clapping just as loudly.

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