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Except, in this state I can’t stay mad. My body wants to lean towards him, even closer. I fight it, willing myself to stay strong.
“You look like a sunset rose,” he murmurs.
“I do.”
“You dressed for me?” Rainer flexes his hand at his side.
“Maybe.”
When he speaks, it’s careful, controlled. “But you kissed him.”
I twirl, shooting him a toothy grin. “I kissed you first.” My grin morphs into a frown. “And you pushed me away.”
“So you sought solace in the first warm body you could find?”
I scoff. “I’m tired of your games, Rainer. You treat me like I’m nothing to you—even though we both know it’s a lie—and instead of letting me in, you push me away. Then you expect me to wait for you? To not take care of myself? I deserve to have a happy moment, Rainer. And you don’t get to ruin that for me.”
He runs a hand through his onyx waves. “I know.”
“For someone with such a pretty face, you have an ugly heart.” I don’t mean to say it, but it slips out on its own. I wish I could stuff it back in my mouth.
His spine goes ramrod straight, and he pauses, his mouth twisting into a frown. His eyes sparkle with a sadness I recognize, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t steal my breath.
“Have fun tonight, mo róisín,” he murmurs. “You do deserve it.” He pauses, cocking his head at me. His eyes flicker a deep cobalt then back to icy blue. “You deserve everything you want and beyond. But if you kiss Eoin again, I will kill him.”
My brows fly up and I blink, trying to understand where that came from.
With his hands stuffed into his pockets, he leaves the revelry behind, heading toward the castle.
I gape after him, wondering why he resorts to pushing me away and threatening me, when it’s clear he harbors feelings for me. It’s there for both of us, whatever is between us, no matter what he says.
The pang in my chest tells me to go after him, but he’s not my responsibility. I already tried to be there for him, and he sent me away. Until he’s willing to make an effort and stop with the nonsense, he’s not my problem.
So, instead of following him, I mosey on over to the table of faerie wine and pour myself another glass.
“This is for us, Char.” I tilt the glass up toward the starless sky and down it whole. “We do deserve all the fun.”
Let the faerie wine flow.
Somehow, in between seeing Rainer and getting more wine, I get lost in a throng of fae. Or rather, I get sucked into a whirlwind of dancing fae who pull me into their orbit. Time twirls by, and I don’t know how much I’ve lost before I finally manage to pull free.
Stepping away from the mayhem, I move toward the dark gardens to catch my breath and rest my aching feet. I’m searching for the stone benches amidst a sea of overgrown flowers and oak trees when I hear it.
“Alessssssiaaaa.”
“What?” I yell, snorting a drunken laugh.
Over the music and chatter, I hear it again—the call of the creepy shadow.
Glancing around, I wonder if anyone else heard it. But no one appears to notice.
The curse in the forest is supposedly muted tonight. If there was ever a time to leave the wards, confront the spooky shadow thing and figure out what it wants, it’s now.
Plus, there are so many magical beings around. If anything happens, they can protect me. Right?
The faerie wine swims through my veins, giving me the extra boost of courage I need. My mind screams not to go, but my legs move on their own accord. I let them carry me toward the voice.
Trailing around the castle, out of sight of the revelers once again, I search for a gate further down the wall—one out of immediate sight of the party.
