She hungered for the touch of someone else. Of a boyfriend twisting his hands through her hair, or down the curve of her hips. Finding a boyfriend was never hard. They flocked to her like magnets to metal. She was pretty, sure, but so were a lot of other girls. She had something else they didn’t. She’d dated more guys than she cared to remember. But once the butterflies disappeared and they got bored of her saying no to sex, she’d dump them. The only guy she actually liked was Teddy, and she messed that up before it even began.
Scarlett hid under the covers, still in her nightgown. If she was stuck in this room, why bother putting on actual clothes? Cade sat on the bed next to her and pulled her blankets back. “As beautiful as you look in the nightgown, I think it’s time you change into actual clothes.”
“What’s the point?” Scarlett asked.
After Cade drained her, she would lie on the bed, numb, for a few hours. But soon enough, her pain would return and so would her mind. She’d remember that she was stuck here, and that somehow she needed to get home. But when his lips were on hers, home was the last thing on her mind.
“I’m sorry I’ve kept you up here. Faerie is a dangerous place for humans.” Cade rested his hand on hers. “I’ll take you out and show you our world. I promise. First, though, we need to get you ready.” Cade grinned. Scarlett couldn’t deny he was beautiful. Inhumanly beautiful. Dangerously beautiful. Scarlett had let not-so-beautiful boys do all kinds of things to her. How was she going to resist Cade?
Peony was back to help Scarlett get ready. Apparently, Scarlett was to be Cade’s date to a feast. Cade had been bringing her food to the room, but she’d only eaten half of it. It was her way of protesting being stuck, but all it did was leave her hungry. What she did eat was delicious. Warm turkey, or what tasted like turkey, with gravy and purple potatoes. Scarlett wondered what there would be to eat at a royal feast.
After a bath, Peony brushed Scarlett’s hair and painted her face with make-up. Unlike last time when she used neutral colors, this time Peony applied a teal shadow to Scarlett’s eyelids. She lined them with dark liner, then brushed mascara on her eyelashes. After some blush and lip gloss, Scarlett’s makeup was done. Next was her dress.
“As Cade’s human, all eyes will be on you,” Peony said as she pulled a dress out of a garment bag. “The royal designer created this just for you.”
The light pink fabric shimmered from the light of the chandelier. The dress hugged Scarlett’s bust, hips, and thighs and flared out at the bottom. The neckline dipped into a deep V and flaunted her cleavage. Scarlett felt like a walking mermaid. She sat on the bed while Peony curled her hair into long waves. The curling iron she used looked like Scarlett’s back home, except there was no cord attached to it.
“Doesn’t it need power?” Scarlett asked.
“It’s powered with magic.”
Oh, of course it was. Duh. What else would she expect? After Scarlett’s hair was curled, Peony twisted a strand on each side and pinned them back. “Perfect.”
Scarlett looked at herself in the mirror. She had thought she’d looked good when she went to senior prom. Now, she actually looked like a princess. “Isn’t it a little weird Cade is bringing a human to this feast?”
Peony fluffed Scarlett’s hair with her fingers. “Yes, normally humans aren’t as publicly paraded.”
“Oh, and this feast, it’s a big deal?”
“Cade and his brother Raith will be battling for the right to the throne at the end of the summer. This feast is the first event of the tradition.”
“How do you know all this?” Scarlett didn’t want to seem rude, but Peony was a human, too, and she seemed to know so much.
“I listen. You should, too.”
Cade returned dressed in a gray suit with gold and maroon accents embroidered on the chest. He held silver fabric in his hand, which he handed to Scarlett. “To keep you warm.”
Scarlett unfolded it to reveal a long, silky cape. She swung it over her shoulders. Cade buttoned the front for her. He latched his arm with hers and escorted her out of his room. They walked down the hall and to a wide set of stairs, which led down and opened into a large banquet room filled with long tables. Scarlett peered across the room, which was surrounded by balconies filled with tables that looked down upon them. A thousand eyes stared at Scarlett as she walked next to Cade. Kassandra sat at the head of the table text to a man wearing a crown. The king. Cade hadn’t mentioned his father, but whatever Scarlett was expecting, it wasn’t an old man with gray hair that sat upon his shoulders. The king’s eyes drooped as he looked at Scarlett.
“Father,” Cade said as he pulled out a chair for Scarlett. “This is Scarlett.” He removed Scarlett’s cape and laid it over her chair.
“A human?” the king said. He stared at her with a tilted head. Scarlett held her breath. What if he disapproved? “Welcome, Miss Scarlett. It’s a pleasure to have you.”
Scarlett sat down. Gold glassware had been placed in front of her. Chatter flowed through the room. Their table spread from one end of the room to the other, in between a similar table on each side. Above, guests looked down at them. “There are so many people here,” Scarlett whispered to Cade.
“It’s a celebration. I’ve challenged my brother to a battle at the end of the summer. This is the opening ceremony.”
Peony had already told Scarlett this, but Scarlett didn’t mention it. She didn’t want Peony to get in trouble. A hush spread throughout the room. Scarlett followed everyone’s stares to see Raith waltz into the room with a dark haired fae at his side. “Father, Kassandra.” He bowed to them. “Cade, Scarlett.” He winked at her. He didn’t bother to introduce his date.
After everyone had taken their places at the table, the king stood. He pressed his fingers to the side of his throat and spoke, “Welcome. We’ve joined today to begin a summer full of festivities.” His voice boomed through the room. He balanced himself with a cane in his left hand. “My youngest son Cade has challenged his brother Raith to the Right of Heir, which will take place on end of Summer’s eve. I wish them both well.” The king reached his hand out. A wine glass, already full with a deep red liquid, flew to his hands. The king raised it, his hands shaking. “To my sons.”
The room followed by raising glasses into the air and clinking them against one another. Scarlett joined in. She sipped the drink. It was fruitier than she was expecting. Every time she had wine, it was bitter and caused her to grimace. This was delicious. She drank some more.
“Fae wine is delicious,” Raith said to Scarlett as he took a drink. “Quite lethal to humans.”
Scarlett froze. Had this all been a trick? Did she just drink poison?
Cade reached his hand under the table and rested it on Scarlett’s thigh. “Don’t listen to my brother. Fae wine won’t hurt you. It’s just more potent than human alcohol, so you may want to take it slow.”
“Or if you’re spending the night with Cade, you may want to chug it.” Raith raised his glass to Scarlett.
She swallowed a chuckle.
Women dressed in cherry red dresses with white aprons brought out dinner. Scarlett was pretty sure they were human. Slices of turkey and ham were placed on Scarlett’s plate, paired with potatoes and a dish of fruit. Scarlett tried a piece that looked like pineapple, only it was blue instead of yellow. Like the wine, it was sweeter than she expected.
“So, brother, where did you meet such a lovely human?” Raith asked.
Cade sipped his wine. “It doesn’t concern you.”
“Curiosity has the better of me.”
Scarlett looked away. It seemed awkward to be talked about like she wasn’t there. She watched the humans walk around and fill the wine glasses from golden pitchers.
“That’s fine with me,” Cade said. He ran his hand up and down her leg, sending a shiver through Scarlett.
A woman approached their table. She lifted Kassandra's wine glass and poured more in. As she set it down, her hand slipped and knocked the glass over. Red liquid poured onto Kassandra’s lap.
A rush of panic spread through Scarlett. Panic that wasn’t her own. She could feel the woman’s terror pulse through her veins as if she were the one the queen was glaring at. Scarlett closed her eyes and breathed in the surge of emotion, causing something to buzz inside of her. Iciness spread through her, like when she’d entered Faerie.