Dark Promise by Annika West

23

When no answer came, I heard the sound of steel sliding on steel. “Answer, halfling maggot.”

“Woah, woah!” I exclaimed, forcing myself to my feet. However, I definitely got up too quickly because I instantly lost balance and crashed into a pretty decorative console table, knocking down a fancy vase of flowers.

It shattered on the floor, and although I tried to keep the console table from tipping, I mostly succeeding in pulling it onto myself and sending us both to the ground again.

With the wooden table on my lap, I laid in a puddle of the vase water and blinked up at the prettiest man I’d ever seen. He had silver hair that stood at sharp contrast to his warm brown skin.

But the smile was as icy as a frozen mountaintop.

A diamond-encrusted crown graced his very pretty head. White robes wrapped his body, making him look like some angel that was definitely about to play tic-tac-toe on my face with his sword.

A sword currently pointed at my nose.

“Let me take a wild guess,” I squeaked. “Winter Court.”

He bared his teeth at me. “You dare address me, scum? If this were my house, I’d give you to the frost. Where is your keeper?”

I gestured to Willow. “Probably her?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You do not know?” Turning to Willow, he demanded, “Is she unintelligent? Why does she not know?”

I could practically feel Willow holding back the sharp retort. She so badly wanted to make some snide comment about my intelligence, but she did have better sense than me.

This dude was clearly off-the-charts powerful.

So, Willow calmly replied, “She’s a guest of Lord Adair’s, as am I. Please, do not mind her. She’s always like this. It might be contagious for the fae, so I’d take a step back.”

The man’s upper lip curled, and he lowered his blade.

“My pants are super wet!” I exclaimed.

Everyone’s eyes found me.

Including the terrified staff members.

And the scary fae lord.

“This is the company Lord Adair keeps? I —” His striking gray eyes went wide.

The hair had swept away from my cheek, and now, my fae birthmark stood out proudly. There was no mistaking the way his eyes stuck to the symbol like dirt on jelly.

“Adair,” he growled.

That was the last thing he said before sweeping away, his robes billowing righteously.

“That man needs a nap. Or a cookie,” I informed everyone.

The staff who’d watched the fiasco gave me odd stares. One man with silky blue fur for hair asked, “Are you alright?”

Willow refused to look at me. She was so mad.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry about the flowers. And the vase. And the table. I panicked.”

“Don’t worry,” the faery said, helping me to my feet.

I helped clean up the broken ceramic and the scattered flowers. We tried to pick off the slivers of vase from the potato sack, but it was really a lost cause. So, the faery, whose name was Jean, found me a different set of clothing to wear.

I didn’t want the dresses. I’ve never been averse to them before, but wearing a dress seemed too much for the benefit of Adair’s image, and I was feeling petty.

Also, I just didn’t trust myself not to fall and flash everyone.

There. I admitted it.

Even in that hallway, I’d been knocked on my ass in front of the Lord of the Winter Court. If I’d been in a dress, there’s no way I wouldn’t have flashed him.

Talk about expert foresight. People should pay me for these kinds of predictions. I’d make a killing.

Jean found a pair of silky blue pants and a silver tunic that shimmered like it was spun from metal.

This all looked suspiciously like Adair’s fashion style, and I didn’t like it. But no one seemed willing to lend me another pair of potato sacks, so I relented.

I tied my damp hair into a messy knot at the top of my head and followed Willow outside.

In the center of the gardens was a huge clearing of smooth marble. People danced. Lights floated above as the two moons shone down on everyone.

Everyone wore the most elaborate clothing I’d ever seen in my life. I’m telling you, this shit was unreal.

There were dresses made of butterflies. Literal butterflies!

Another person walked by in a suit that looked like ice, even though it moved like fabric. She was even emitting a soft aura of chilly fog.

Adair sat on the throne, lifted on a platform before the dance floor.

The man I’d run into earlier sat beside Adair in a throne just slightly lower. On each side of both lords were a slew of colorful, attentive people. Some looked like guards, while others seemed to be there to look pretty.

Or not.

That weird Belial chick was next to the lord too. She seemed cute, but I definitely remembered that she liked to eat people.

The Winter Lord, or whatever you called the faeries in charge of the Courts, landed his hateful gaze on me.

Nothing is quite like it seems. Except for that dude.

I shuddered and knocked my knees together in defense.

Do not flash the leader of the Winter Court. Keep your snatch to yourself. Shut the back door, front door, trap door —

“What are you doing?” Hux asked.

I jolted and whirled, fists ready.

His bored expression didn’t hide the tinge of amusement.

“Monologue,” Willow drawled. “She ran into tall, dark, and icy earlier. He threatened her life. She’s not doing too well in the diplomacy department at the moment.”

Hux didn’t reply. He was staring down tall, dark, and icy with the blank expression that probably hid a brewing murder plot.

“Hold up,” I said, grabbing his arm. “Please don’t burn him down. He didn’t see my vagina, and I call that a win. No need to go all Dragon Monster and burn the Spring Court to the ground.”

“What does your vagina have to do with anything?” he bit out. Flames danced in his gaze, and his upper lip curled.

I swallowed hard. “Nothing! That’s the point!”

He turned on me, pulling me in by the waist and searching my visible skin, likely looking for bruises. “Did he try to force himself on you?”

“What the fuck? No! He thinks I’m an actual amoeba, and in his mind, amoebas are really, really bad.”

The dance floor was in the center of the Spring Court gardens. To the right, there were open pathways and grassy courtyards that led to the manor.

To the left was an intricate network of hedge mazes. I’d been avoiding those, since that was a great place to get accidentally murdered.

And that’s exactly where Hux dragged me toward.

He ignored my cursing and pulled me into the shadows. Part of me wanted to disappear and piss Hux off, but another part wanted to see what he’d do.

What could he possibly want from me right now?

The voices and music and crowds disappeared as we turned corner after corner. Finally, when I was convinced we’d found plenty of privacy, I ripped my arm free of his grip.

He immediately backed me against the hedge wall.

As the shrubbery brushed my skin and Hux closed me in, the rest of the world seemed to disappear. My vision tunneled, leaving only the hulking dragon.

My pulse pounded in my ears. My breathing grew shallow as I stared at his full lips and remembered his taste.

Nothing else mattered but the ache building inside of me.

This is really, really, really bad, isn’t it?