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She sighed deeply, and then nodded to him. He envisioned his knots all around her until he heard her gasp in shocked pain. She stumbled ever so slightly, and he grabbed her elbows to steady her.
“Are you okay?” he questioned.
Anin took several deep breaths before she stood straight again. She clenched her jaw a little bit, then put back on the mask of indifference she wore so well.
“Fine.” That was her only reply. It did nothing except make him want to poke at her some more.
Just as he was getting ready to continue the conversation from his chambers, the scroll appeared, and it was time for them to go. He grabbed each of their hands, and in the space of a breath, they were all standing in the massive ballroom directly behind Ciaran’s throne.
Twenty Seven
Etainwasimmediatelyoverwhelmed.The room was vast and filled with all kinds of beings, from the beautiful to the terrifying. All eyes were on her. She was having a hard time focusing on what Ciaran was saying, but she caught the tail end of it. It sounded like he was giving everyone ample warning of the promise he made to her. She really hoped she did not have to witness any hands or eyes removed, but she was grateful for it. She did not wish to be touched by anyone beyond the three beings she trusted standing with her.
Etain drifted closer to Ciaran without even noticing it. It was as if their bodies were opposite ends of a magnet and could not help but find each other. He must have felt her drawing near him, because he held his hand out to her from where he lounged on his throne. He had one leg thrown over the armrest opposite her, giving a general air of boredom. She placed her hand in his and he gave her a gentle squeeze to reassure her. Then he pulled her around in front of him and directed her to sit on the cushion at his feet.
Etain bristled, but took her seat, remembering they all had a part to play to keep her and Anin safe. On the step below Ciaran’s throne and off to the right was a chair, not quite a throne, but still too grand to be just a chair. Etain watched as Kes led Anin towards it by the shimmering strand attached to her neck. The room turned its attention to them with the movement.
Immediately, you could hear the animosity in the heated conversations that had begun to erupt throughout the room. Apparently they had not noticed Anin until that moment, and the idea of having a Day Court member in their midst was highly unsatisfactory; likely made worse by Ciaran informing them neither his nor Kes’s pets were to be touched.
Kes gave the whole room a menacing glare. The disruption died down enough, so he took his seat and directed Anin to a cushion similar to Etain’s at his feet. Everyone looked to fear him, and no one in the room was willing to cross him. Now that the room had quieted again, Ciaran stood and clapped his hands together a couple of times to gather the attention of all the beings in the massive ballroom.
“Now, now, my delightfully wicked court,” he said as he began to gently caress his fingers over the top of Etain’s head. “Let us do what we do best and celebrate the Moon in all her glory by making this the most dissolute and horrifying Lunar Ball yet!”
This gained hundreds of cries and shouts around the room.
“Let the fun begin!”
Immediately, hauntingly aggressive music began to play. Etain had never heard anything like it. It made you want to dance as much as it made you feel like you were in some kind of trance. All the revelers parted to create a dance floor, which quickly filled with the most diverse group of beings Etain had ever seen. There was a beautiful female who looked entirely human, except she looked to be perpetually wet, yet she never left a puddle.
The dance floor became a sea of moving bodies. Etain had never seen dancing like this before. They would transition from harsh jerking movements into fluid flowing ones. Every being had paired up, and the whole floor moved together as one. The dance was violent and sensual all at the same time. Bodies were as close as they could be, and on certain beats all the dancers would let out a shout while they stomped their feet making that single beat deafening. Etain could watch them dance all night. They were incredibly mesmerizing, and Etain watched their steps and tried to learn the dance from where she sat.
She wondered if she were allowed to speak to Ciaran, or if she was expected to sit here in silence. She was about to discreetly ask him, but she noticed a line forming at the bottom of the stairs to the dais. She assumed they were the beings who wished to greet Kes and Ciaran, and likely gawk at her and Anin.
She was mostly ignored by the never-ending throng of creatures approaching Ciaran, many of them taking his warning to heart. There were a few whose gazes began to linger longer than Ciaran liked, even if they were only out of curiosity, causing him to growl a warning and ask if they enjoyed having their eyes attached. There were also a few who gave her a disgusted sneer before firmly ignoring her. Etain didn’t mind being ignored. It gave her the chance to observe the creatures uninterrupted. She hoped Anin was faring just as well.
Left to herself, Etain turned her attention back to the ball. The room was absolutely magnificent. It, too, was made entirely out of black obsidian that was given a mirrored finish. The walls and incredibly high ceiling had millions of tiny shimmering silver specks set into them making it look as if they were encased by the night sky. The effect was dizzying, the room felt too big and too small all at the same time.
Everywhere she looked there were shimmering silver candelabras with stacks of white candles burning, even though their wax never seemed to melt. The ceiling was decorated with several silver chandeliers with a giant white ball of light floating in the center. She supposed that was meant to represent the moon. The entire perimeter of the room boasted many lounge areas with chairs, couches, cushions, and round plush platforms which appeared to be large beds. Some gave the illusion of privacy with sheer curtains draped around them, while others were lit with an unseen light from above to draw your eye.
Long tables of food were scattered everywhere, along with fountains overflowing with what looked like wine. Etain would have loved a glass of it to settle her nerves, and perhaps a chance to peruse the tables laden with food. She had not been able to eat much earlier with her nerves making her stomach flip. Before her stomach could begin to make its demands heard, Etain moved her eyes away from the tables and watched the dancers once again.
She had been making notes in her head of questions she wished to ask Ciaran later when they could speak again and had not really been paying attention to the conversations that were happening right next to her. The group of what Etain had guessed were pixies, little winged creatures with mouths of razor sharp teeth and claws on their hands sharpened to points, were moving on; the next fae were making their way up the stairs to Ciaran.
The two creatures ascending the stairs were wildly different. The male was an ugly, short green creature with incredibly large ears and sharply clever eyes. He was accompanied by a beautiful female whose hair was the palest of silver silk; it looked like actual moonbeams. Her skin had a shimmering opalescent hue and was slightly transparent. She looked regal in her tight, black silk gown which clung to every perfect inch and curve of her body flaring slightly at the end. It had a long slit up one leg that ended above her hip showing off her beautiful skin. She could almost pass for human if it weren’t for her liquid silver eyes and a neck that had to be nearly double the length of a humans. She also had the standard features Etain was beginning to notice on all fae – elongated fingers and pointed ears.
Etain sat up a little straighter and decided she hated this female when she noticed the way she was looking at Ciaran. Something inside her screamed Ciaran was hers, and she would kill this female fae for daring to look at him in such a way. She was even close to growling at the female if she didn’t stop her perusal ofherprince.
As if sensing her rising agitation, Ciaran began to softly caress her head and play with her hair, his touch calming her nearly at once. Doubt began to creep in when the male began to speak.
“Prince, I’m sure you remember my beautifully vicious daughter, Leona. I believe at the last Lunar Ball you got to know each other rather well if memory serves me right. I was told you both put on such a show there have been murmurs of a possible repeat this festival.”
Ciaran’s hand stilled for just a split moment. Etain was sure she was the only one who noticed; she wasn’t sure if it was in anger or excitement. Etain thought there was no way any male wouldn’t want that beautiful fae. She felt her heart begin to crack. Although Ciaran had told her he belonged to her, perhaps she misunderstood what that meant.
The female came nearer and stood close to Ciaran placing a hand on the leg he still had draped over the armrest on the opposite side from Etain. “My Prince, I would be delighted to give the court another sho…”
Etain sneered and a growl wrenched out of her from somewhere deep inside. How dare this female touch her prince; she was the one who wanted to remove hands now.
Leona jerked her hand away from Ciaran’s leg only to raise it and send it flying faster than Etain could track towards her face. The fae screeched her disdain for the human who dared challenge her.
