“Thank you.” Narissa bit into the dessert and immediately thought that perhaps she should start carrying a variety of sweets with her for just such an occasion. The delicate confection had a slightly crisp outer shell, but the insides werewhipped magnificence, melting across her tongue and tasting lightly of sugary lemon. “This is wonderful.”
“It’s one of my favorites.” Lady Aria’s head bobbed in agreement as she sipped a frothy lavender drink. “I do apologize for the short notice of my invitation. I put the serum I previously purchased from you to good use, though now I’m regretting my decision.”
She lifted two fingers, signaling for another purple drink, and when she faced Narissa again, there was a distinctive shadow in the depths of her rich eyes. “I fear I may have learned too much about my brother. About how truly merciless and monstrous he is, despite presenting himself as a proper lord of Aeramere.”
The dessert Narissa ate was suddenly too sweet, and her stomach turned, roiling with nausea. If anyone else found out Calfair drugged Narissa, then bedded her, it would stain her marriage to Solarius. They would never escape the plague of his misdeed, it would follow them like a shadow the rest of their days. And Narissa didn’t know if Lady Aria was one to keep secrets—or spread them.
“I…I should have warned you that a truth serum can be incredibly potent.”
She danced around the subject, careful to not appear invested in Calfair’s doings.
But Lady Aria waved off her concerns as another frothy lavender drink appeared before them, this one topped with whipped cream and a cherry. “Potency is neither here nor there. Did my brother admit he planned on marrying me off to one of the Starstorm brothers? Yes. Did he tell me which one or when? No. But before I could even ask, he started droning on and on about his pets.”
She shuddered, twirling her straw around in her drink while Narissa’s remained untouched, a dollop of cream dripping over the rim.
Narissa had heard rumors about Calfair’spets,as he called them. The humans he collected against their will. Men. Women. It made no difference. He kept them delirious on a concoction of herbs so they no longer knew their own minds, and locked them in rooms in the lowest levels of House Galefell for his own personal entertainment. Though sometimes other lords and ladies took part in the pleasure the mortals unknowingly provided. The entire affair was sordid, with Calfair more or less heading a secretive operation where Aeramere’s nobles could partake in wild revelries, releasing their inhibitions for a night of debauchery. While Calfair claimed his pets were in Aeramere by choice, that they’d agreed to bekept, Narissa knew better. She’d seen the glazed look in their eyes when they wandered aimlessly throughout the ballroom of House Galefell, she’d witnessed the slightly slack-jawed, dazed expression they wore as though they’d lost control of their minds. He stripped them of their morality until they were shells, walking husks suitable for an evening of amusement and nothing more.
It was appalling.
Lady Aria dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin, covertly muffling her words. “I should have known those poor humans weren’t there voluntarily. He admitted as much after ingesting the truth serum. No wonder one or two mortals always mysteriously vanish right before Queen Elowyn closes the Veil at Midsummer.”
The Veil was nothing more than a common glamour put in place by the queen to give the citizens of Aeramere a false sense of security. But as far as Narissa knew, only the Starstorm family was aware of that well-kept secret.
At least Lady Aria did not seem to have an inkling about the torment her brother inflicted upon her, and for that, Narissa was only slightly grateful.
“I have the sleeping draught you requested.” Narissa tucked it into a sewn-in pocket of her gown for safekeeping.
Immediately, Lady Aria’s demeanor shifted. A newfound tension bunched along her shoulders, and her eyes flitted about the cafe teeming with Galefell nobles. She leaned forward across the plate of confectionary sweets, her voice low and sultry.
“Would you mind terribly if we stepped outside to make the exchange?” She smiled, her crimson lips turning up, but they were pinched. “There are a number of faces I recognize here, and I would hate for word to get back to my brother that I was pocketing potions or tonics. I can’t afford to rouse his suspicions toward me.”
A sensation Narissa understood all too well.
“Of course.” She nodded readily, tossing a haphazard glance over one shoulder to ensure no one was loitering about or pretending to mind their own business. “Did you have another place in mind?”
“Actually, yes.” Lady Aria stood from her seat, plucking the last cloud-like treat from the plate and popping it into her mouth. “We can slip out the back and no one will be none the wiser.”
Narissa followed her lead, shaking off the twinge of remorse for leaving the untouched lavender drink behind. While it looked delicious, she knew a proper cup of tea would be required to soothe her nerves for the return carriage ride home.
She stayed a step or two behind Lady Aria as they wound their way through the darling cafe where the sun catchers dangling from the windows sent rainbows dancing around the space, and the plush, cushioned floor muffled the noise of footfalls. Lady Aria nodded toward a door at the rear of the cafe, its woodwork engraved with swirls and whorls, then brushed with shimmering blue paint. She grabbed the crystal handleshaped like matching wings and pushed it open, gesturing for Narissa to come along.
Narissa stepped out into the brilliant yet brisk afternoon when a burning pain pierced the side of her neck. She gasped, wincing against the sudden sting. Her balance faltered and she stumbled forward blindly, blinking against the harsh sunlight. Without warning, the radiance surrounding her ebbed, and the entirety of her world went black.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Solarius was dying.
Either that or he was suffering from quite possibly the worst hangover in existence, but that was practically the same thing as dying, was it not?
His head was aching. No, throbbing. Pain hammered at his temples, pulsing to the back of his neck, and behind his eyelids. His throat was raw, like he’d been forced to swallow gravel and sand. Though he couldn’t be sure, he thought he was still breathing. Air continued to fill his lungs even though each breath was an agonizing feat of resilience. The beating of his heart was a slow thump, as though his blood was sludge moving through his veins. He felt lethargic, his bones too heavy, his muscles too limp to even move. To function.
Something cool and solid was pressed against his cheek.
There was a good chance it was the floor.
He groaned as someone peeled him from the ground, propping him up into what he assumed was a sitting position. His head lolled from side to side, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t quite open his eyes. It was like they’d been sealed shut with an adhesive.
“Come on, Sol.” Ariesian’s voice drifted over him, a familiar pull to his subconscious. “I need you to drink this for me.”
