“If you’re trying to be sexy you’re utterly failing.” A total lie. God, what made fae so attractive? Scarlett could see herself on top of him, riding him like a…
Stop it! Focus, Scarlett. Head out of the gutter. What had gotten into her?
He smirked as he chewed the strawberry. “Can’t say I didn’t try.”
“Shouldn’t you be out there dancing?” Scarlett broke eye contact with him and looked out into the crowd. Where did Raith and Natalie go? Should Scarlett try to find them?
“Worried about your friend?” The fae tossed another strawberry into his mouth.
“Excuse me?” How did he know who Natalie was?
“Your mind is an open book, darling.”
Shit. Could he read her mind?
He nodded.
“Stop it!” What an asshole, peering into her thoughts without permission.
“I’ve been called worse.”
Scarlett searched for Natalie again, wanting to look anywhere but into this fae’s eyes. Something about him brought out the dirty side of her imagination. Almost as if it was out of her control. Cade weaved through the dancing couples toward Scarlett. She sighed with relief.
“Well, hello there, Prince Cade,” the fae said. He popped a grape into his mouth. “How rude you are to leave poor Scarlett here all by her lonesome.”
“Kaelem,” Cade said in vicious tone. “Who do I blame for your presence?”
“Your mother,” Kaelem said. “She invited all the courts’ monarchs, as tradition dictates.”
“I’m surprised you fit us into your busy schedule.” Cade pulled Scarlett close to his side, his arm lingering around her waist.
“And miss a brotherly duel? This time, I’ll get to be a spectator. A pleasant change.”
“Well, thank you for the interest, but Scarlett and I will be going back to the dance floor now.”
“Ahh, yes, enjoy some dancing before the feeding.”
Cade stiffened next to Scarlett.
“Does poor Scarlett not know what she signed up for? And you summer fae think you’re nice to the mortals.” Kaelem shook his head side to side.
“What feeding?” Scarlett asked.
“It’s a ritual to open the challenge ceremony,” Kaelem said. “The two brothers must feed off of the energy of the same sacrifice while she relives her darkest memory. But don’t worry, dear Scarlett. It’s only one of the dates. Some courts have the girls fight and loser is stuck with the honor. Others roll a die.”
Why wouldn’t Cade have warned Scarlett? Then again, what did she expect? She was his after all, or so he’d said over and over again. A mere hen led into a world of foxes, now wondering why they fought over her for breakfast.
“Oh, how rude of me,” Kaelem said. “Sometimes it’s a princess battling, not a prince, and she brings a male mortal as her date. Unless she’s a lesbian, of course. Love is love.”
“Come on, Scarlett.” Cade looped their arms. “Let’s dance.” He pulled her away.
Scarlett looked back at Kaelem, both annoyed and thankful he warned her. He winked before Scarlett disappeared into the crowd.
Chapter Sixteen
Neither Scarlett or Cade spoke as he led her in a dance. The piano music was nothing more than a muffle in Scarlett’s ear as she thought about the mess she’d gotten herself into. All because she was too weak to face her pain. Life with her mom hadn’t raised her to be so delicate, but even the thought of her mother brought a clench to Scarlett’s stomach. She felt the tenseness disappear.
“I want you to be happy,” Cade said.
Of course he was feeding from her emotion. That’s why he brought her here, after all. Scarlett didn’t respond.
“Don’t let Kaelem get to you. He’s an ass.” Cade’s hand kept Scarlett’s body close to his. “I didn’t tell you about the ritual because I didn’t want you to worry. It isn’t so bad.”
She saw the lie in his eyes and swore she felt guilt under his surface. “Who is he?”
“Kaelem? The newest king of the Unseelie Court. The power has gone to his head.”
“You two have a history?”
Cade shrugged. “He’s a year older than Raith, so we saw each other at occasional cross-court functions growing up. He’s always been a cocky bastard, the Unseelie crown is just the icing on the cake.”
The fae who announced everyone walked back up the stairs to a balcony overlooking the ballroom. “Attention everyone. It is now time for the opening ritual to begin.”
Scarlett searched the room for Natalie and found her and Raith near the stairs. Natalie was laughing about something. Cade directed Scarlett toward them. Each couple walked up the stairs to the announcer.
“We begin the opening ritual of the Battle of Heirs. One human will be used, and as the oldest participant, Raith decides how to select the human.”
“Rock paper scissors?” Raith replied.
“I’ll do it,” Scarlett blurted. She’d already known it should be her, and the words slipped out of her mouth before she could talk herself out of it. If it weren’t for her, Natalie wouldn’t be here. She was sure of it.
The announcer looked to Raith, who quickly said, “Or that.”
Scarlett pulled her arm away from Cade’s. He glanced at her, eyebrows creased. If that was worry on his face, Scarlett didn’t see the point. He knew she could be the one chosen for whatever this ritual was.
“Very well.” The announcer pulled a small vial of black liquid from his pocket. He popped off the lid. “Drink this.”
Scarlett gripped the vial with her thumb and index finger and lifted it in front of her face. Energy buzzed from it. Who knew what it would do to her? But if she wouldn’t drink it, then Natalie would have to. Before she could change her mind, Scarlett poured it down her throat.
The liquid was thick like tar but tasted like grape juice with a hint of mint. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. As it slid down her esophagus, it grew warmer.
The announcer took the vial from her.
Cade and Raith each grabbed one of her hands.
The warmth grew hotter until Scarlett’s insides burned. Her vision blurred. The world around her blackened. There was no sound or smell or feeling of any sort. Just darkness.
Then everything changed.
She was walking up to her house, alcohol on her breath. The party had been fun, and, to her relief, Teddy wasn’t there. She’d missed him like crazy, but if she had to see him at a party with another girl again, she’d lose it.
Wait, Scarlett knew this moment. No, no, no. She tried to pull away from Cade and Raith—to make it stop. She couldn’t relive this. Not like this. This felt too real. She’d had nightmares of it nearly every night, but they were different. This was as if her life was a movie and she was replaying the scene. The remote wasn’t hers to control.
The night was dark, cloud cover blanketing the moon above. Scarlett fumbled for her keys in her purse, but her front door was cracked. Sweet. She pushed the door open quietly, careful not to wake her mom.
She didn’t want to see this again.
Something smelled off—metallic. Scarlett switched the living room light on and her world shattered. Her mom was sprawled out in the middle of the room, long slits crawling up her wrists like snakes, lying in a pool of blood.
No. No, no, no.
Scarlett dropped her purse and rushed to her mom. She dropped to the ground, blood seeping into her clothes. Her fingers touched her mom’s neck, searching desperately for a pulse. Nothing.
No.
Her mom’s eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Scarlett crawled to her purse, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She searched frantically for her phone and dialed 9-1-1.
When the paramedic told Scarlett her mom was gone, Scarlett’s legs buckled as she fell to her knees.
The bomb inside Scarlett exploded. She couldn’t feel her body anymore. The following hours blurred together. She didn’t know anything except that her mom wasn’t here anymore.
And, for a brief moment, a small part of Scarlett felt relieved.