Faryn ducked her head hoping Endri, the Sandman, would see it as a sign of respect and embarrassment. His dance partner was Jasy, whose suit had a long tailcoat that reached the floor. In his long blond hair was a crown of thorns and purple berries that Faryn imagined were poisonous.

"Apologies." Faryn tried to keep her voice meek. Endri had heard her speak in the cell. But would it have been enough for him to recognize it?

She risked a glance and saw that they had drawn the attention of the three on the dais . . . and Klaus. She shuffled closer to Peter and dipped into a curtsy.

"I fear I got a bit too carried away with her," Peter said. "Please forgive us."

Endri waved his hand. "It's all right."

Jasy stepped forward. "Is it? If you're going to fumble the steps, then it would be best if you did not dance at all."

"Jasy, stop. These things happen"

Peter pushed Faryn behind him, shielding her face from all. "We were needing a break anyway. We'll go." Holding onto Faryn he tried stepping past them, but Jasy Jatere placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Jasy," Endri hissed. "Enough."

"They come into our Court. Eat our food. Drink our wine. And think it's all right to make themselves at home."

"I assure you that is not the case."

"Apologize."

Peter's grip tightened on her. "She did."

"Both of you."

"I'm so—"

"On your knees."

She felt Peter tremble against her. He was a Court member, and being ordered to beg for forgiveness on one's knees by a rival Court was an insult. But he couldn't reveal his identity. There would be far worse consequences

Peter's shoulders and back were stiff as he and Faryn lowered themselves to their knees, Faryn having to move her dress out of the way so it would not get trapped under her.

"Forgive us," Faryn said wondering what it would be like to whack Jasy with his magical staff though he did not have it on him.

"What a lovely couple."

At the sound of Klaus's voice, Faryn's breath caught. With her head still down, his boots stepped into her line of sight. He would recognize both of their voices. At least none of them had the ability to tell by their scents who they were.

"Come." The Adze tugged on Klaus's hand. "I only have a minute before I have to go."

Yes, please take him. As long as Klaus was here, she felt as if her voice had been stolen.

"I'd like to get back to dancing. Do you think we can do that?" Endri's voice was harsh, but as he bent down and took Faryn's hand, he was gentle. "I'm sorry about Jasy."

Faryn ducked her head even more as he pulled her to her feet. Around them the music built toward its crescendo.

"Please enjoy yourselves. I know it was an accident."

The music hit its highest point creating a sound like a shattering glass as Faryn dipped into a curtsey.

The lights went out.

And Acurials screamed. They laughed. Shouted and cheered.

A hand slid into hers, tugging her back. She could only hope it was Peter. She could smell him, but there were too many scents flooding her nose to distinguish who had hold of her.

Overhead, little pinpricks of light flickered into existence somehow managing to cast what looked like candlelight over Peter's figure beside her. She sighed with relief and didn't look back at Klaus or Endri or Jasy. Peter slowly moved them through the crowd. Most of the crowd gawked up at the lights overhead.

They were coming from fireflies.

Fear prickled up Faryn's spine.

The Adze. That's who was overhead. Hundreds of them emitting more light than a typical firefly.

"Is this usual for Spirit Court balls?" She asked Peter now that they had moved far enough away from her half-brother and the two Spirit Court members.

"You mean being watched over by blood thirsty Acurials? Yes, every time."

She shuddered.

A few couples moved toward a different archway than the one she had come through, and as a new song began, Peter took her by the waist and pulled her into a slow waltz. He guided them toward the arch.

Faryn clutched his arm and shoulder. Did the Adze also like to suck blood during the balls?

Peter tilted his head. "They make you uncomfortable."

"I prefer my blood to stay inside me."

"You've never had your blood drank then?"

Under her veil she arched a brow. "And you have?"

"On more than one occasion."

"You've let Adze get the jump on you more than once?"

"What makes you think I didn't offer my blood?"

Faryn bit her lip. What could she say to that?

"There's many interesting places an Adze can bite after all."

She could feel him studying her through his veil, and she lowered her eyes.

"You might try offering up your blood sometime."

"That sounds highly safe when their leader is on the dark side of the court."

Peter chuckled. "Dark/light, that didn't stop you from befriending the Krampus. To you, isn't Nick the bad guy and Aurelius the good one?"

She frowned, not liking hearing Aurelius's name thrown at her. "He was."

By this point, they'd reached the edge of the dance floor, and Peter led them into the small crowd of exiting guests and guided them through the arch.

She released her breath, but her shoulders refused to relax.

The archway led them into a large hallway at the end of which were a set of wide-open doors. Through it was a courtyard where carriages waited.

Hand in hand, they stepped outside except there was no sky above them. Only rock where a yellow and pink mist hung like clouds. It felt like being in a large atrium. A very large atrium.

The stepped onto the gravel and got into one of the two lines of carriages. The carriages were all built differently but all were elegant. Half were black, and the other half were silver.

"The black will take you to the closest station in Darhafium while the other will take you to Corinth," Peter said.

"And what if you don't want to go to either?"

"Then you should have brought your own carriage."

Faryn smiled underneath her veil.

The line they had joined was for a silver carriage. It moved quickly, and in only a minute or so, it was their turn to board a carriage pulled by two white horses.

The silver footman who had been helping guests into the carriages frowned and tapped an earpiece.

At the front of the other line, the man about to board his carriage was asked to remove the veil covering his face.

The silver footman faced them, his expression pinched. "Would you please raise your veils for me?" A pause. "It's protocol."

Faryn shifted toward the carriage. "You didn't ask the other guests."

"Please, Miss. And then you can be on your way."

Faryn turned over her hand and raised it toward her face. You will work. Before her fingers could touch her veil, she dropped to the ground and slammed her hand into the gravel, biting back the pain as rocks dug into her palm.

Ice shot out from underneath her hand, freezing the wheels of the carriages except for theirs to the ground and covering the boots of the footmen, guards, and guests. She scrambled to her feet. Okay. She clenched her hand. That actually worked. Her magic had known what she needed better than she had.

Wasting no time, Peter hopped onto the bench where the driver still sat. Throwing her hands up, the driver stood and backed off the platform.

Faryn trembled from what she'd managed to do even if she was sure her family would have been able to coat the entire courtyard in ice.

"Faryn," Peter snapped, and she quickly climbed up beside him. He clipped the reigns, and the horses took off, pulling the carriage out of the courtyard and onto the road. As Peter steered the carriage to swerve around the other carriages, Faryn gripped the bench. The horses continued to build speed. There was a high chance they just ended up crashing and that would be the end.

"I take it this wasn't part of the plan."

Peter discarded his crown and veil at their feet. Her own was starting to slide precariously, and so she tugged it off, feeling the full force of the wind hit her.

"No."

"Cassian and Clíodhna?"

"They'll find us somehow."

She twisted in her seat and saw riders on horseback behind them. They would easily outrun their carriage. Peter clipped the reins, urging the horses faster. The carriage rattled underneath them.

To the right of the road, about a dozen or so yards, a cliff looked out upon a city in the distance. Despite the lack of a sun, trees dotted the landscape, the trunks and leaves black.

"Since I don't think you'll be able to recreate that . . . icecapade, you're going to have to steer." He passed her the reins before she could say yes or no, but she held onto them and tried to convince herself she knew how to do this. Peter threw out some instructions and stood up on the bench. "Try not to get me thrown off."

I can't believe Wattcon is already over! I had stickers of the cover of Claus made, and I have some left over, and I would love to share them with you! If you feel comfortable with having me send you one and you live in the US, you can send me a DM on here or on Discord.