Fen

I always thought Zale was exaggerating when he talked about court events. He made them sound like a battle zone, when I had been pretty sure they were just parties. It made sense, I thought. Zale hated socializing, so of course he didn't like these events.

Turns out, I was just being naïve again. No one said what they really meant. Their smiles were empty and their eyes were hard, and everywhere you looked, someone was judging you or dismissing you outright. Soul bonds were lit up all over the place and it was disorienting, because they were all connected to the wrong places. A queen and a servant, with the bond strong and established enough that I knew they had some kind of relationship despite the other man on her arm. Two women who sat at a table together, surrounded by their husbands and children. A man and woman who appeared to have come together, but who glared at each other with a fierceness that made me look away. And on and on, soul bonds crossed over and around each other in ways that made me feel ill.

Poor Astrea. No wonder she hated it here.

Still, I was glad I came. Not because I liked it here. Not because the food was good, though it really was. No, I was glad because Zale was being so attentive and affectionate. I loved seeing his cold expression melt away every time he looked at me, and even surrounded by so much judgment, I felt safe and supported. It was sort of like being indoors during a huge thunderstorm. With Zale, I was sheltered.

He had somehow maneuvered it so Kyra joined us at our table instead of carrying on with Euripides. In fact, he looked happy when Zale suggested she sit down with us. I didn't understand it until Dwyer suggested with a similar gleam in his eyes that Benny and Castiel stay with us while they took Kelsey and mingled. They and Kyra's parents wanted Benny and Kyra to get married. They probably saw this as another chance to shove them together.

The idea had nerves fluttering in my stomach, because Benny was all wrong for Kyra. In fact, his soul mate wasn't even at this party. Would their parents be so excited about the idea of Kyra marrying Castiel? Or did they have other plans for his marriage?

"Forgive me, but I never realized before today that you two were siblings," Castiel said.

Now that Euripides was away, Kyra felt a lot like her normal self. She sat up straighter and met Castiel's intimidating eyes straight-on. "Oh, no. Forgive me. I didn't realize we needed to broadcast our relation."

Zale coughed to disguise his snort of laughter, but I didn't think her getting aggressive with her soul mate was very funny. Benny looked uncomfortable like I felt, but Castiel seemed amused.

"And what of your other brother? I haven't seen him tonight."

I flinched, and his eyes snapped to me before searching Zale and Kyra for reactions. How did they do it? How did they not react at all to the reminder that everyone was misinformed about Astrea?

"Unavailable tonight, I'm afraid," Kyra said in the same hard tone Zale used when he wanted to shut down a conversation.

This was going terribly. I was so used to soul mates meeting and fumbling through the adorable start to a relationship. My experience with Zale had been an anomaly, or so I thought... but this was worse. Kyra and Castiel weren't talking as themselves. They were talking as the heirs to their nations, with all the formality and reservedness and barbs that went along with that.

Something needed to change, and I thought I had to be the one to do it. Zale was too caught up in the same game and Benny seemed too content to sit back and let his brother lead the way.

"Shrimp puffs," I said loudly.

Four sets of eyes fixed on me, three perplexed and one full of amused affection that had my stomach warming.

"Shrimp puffs?" Zale asked with a little smile. Having everyone looking at me like that was uncomfortable, but Zale's hand was firm in mine and it gave me courage.

"Yeah. We were supposed to bring back shrimp puffs, remember?"

Kyra laughed a little at that. "Adras always loved them. Why don't I go have a word with the kitchen staff about packing some up for him?"

How could she do it? How could she so casually call Astrea by her deadname?

"I can't send you alone into in this reef of sharks," Zale protested.

Kyra sighed in exasperation, but didn't argue. "I suppose I can flag one of the waitstaff and ask them to do it."

"Castiel, why don't you help her?" I suggested. I knew I sounded a little too eager, but how else were we supposed to get the two of them alone? Though, I didn't know how much progress we could expect to come from a mission to procure a to-go order of shrimp puffs.

He studied me with interest for just a second before standing up and dipping into a shallow, gallant bow. "After you, milady."

Kyra stood, pausing to push in her chair. During that instant she was turned away from Castiel and Benny, she cut me a glare. She was gone before I could apologize.

"She won't stay mad," Zale murmured in my ear. His reassurance let me breathe again. I didn't like when people were upset with me.

If it was odd that Castiel had gone along with my bizarre suggestion, it was even odder that Benny stayed in his seat across from us looking largely unbothered by everything that had just transpired.

"This must be different than you're used to," Benny said to me.

"Hm?"

He made a circling motion with his hand and said, "All of this. Being surrounded by so many mer, being underwater."

If it had been Castiel asking, I might not have answered. He seemed like the sort who collected information and leveraged it for his own gain. Benny just seemed curious, and he seemed like the kind of person I could be friends with. I hadn't felt like he was judging me at all yet. He was the only one, other than Zale's close family. So, I answered him.

"People are people." It was an inelegant response, but it was true. I might feel judged when I was in Zale's castle or out in public with him, but that wasn't because we were around mer. It was because I was different, and differences always stood out.

Benny snorted. "I'm not sure everyone here counts as 'people,' but I get what you're saying."

My eyes involuntarily found Euripides and I nodded. Benny followed my gaze and laughed. "I'm not naming names," he said. Then, thoughtfully, he added, "That man was almost my father-in-law."

With a shudder, I realized there was a very good chance he would be my father-in-law. Zale laughed. "Imagine how I feel," he said quietly, but I knew Benny had heard him.

In an act of tactfulness, Benny changed the subject. He looked in the direction Kyra and Castiel had gone in and said, "I wonder what's taking them so long."

I didn't know how long it took to ask someone to set aside a to-go container of shrimp puffs, but it did seem like they should be making their way back by now. Instead, they were nowhere to be found. At least, I thought that until I caught sight of her ruby dress on the dance floor. She and Castiel were performing a whirling sort of dance that looked rather impressive with her swishing skirts and their coordination with the couples around them.

Castiel twirled Kyra during a swell in the music before they sidestepped and were lost in the crowd. I stared after them in wonder. How had they gone from shrimp puffs to this? Could it be that they were already feeling some kind of connection to each other?

"Wow," Benny said, drawing my attention away from the mass of dancers.

"Yeah, wow," I echoed.

"They look good together," Zale said. His brows were a little quirked and he was watching Benny closely.

"That would be my father's doing. He made Cas and I go through years of dance lessons," Benny said. "It's impressive your sister can keep up with him."

I focused on the dance floor again with that other sense, the one that let me see the bonds between people. From this distance, it was harder to make them out, but I could manage if I really concentrated. Zale and Benny's voices faded into the background and I caught sight of Kyra and Castiel again. They were still moving together in sync like they'd been practicing together for ages. Their hands parted and they spun away from each other, performed a few steps, and came back together. The bond between them shimmered bright, and the romantic in me swooned.

This was what a soul bond was supposed to be like. This was how a meeting should go. Even not knowing what they were to each other, they were still drawn in.

The song drew to a close and they stopped moving but didn't move away from each other right away. Kyra's chest heaved as she stared up at him, and his hand reached out to move an invisible strand of hair behind her ear. He spoke, and I wished I could hear it. These two were more interesting than TV.

They walked slowly back to us and I thought they would sit back down, but when they arrived, Kyra said, "The staff is getting Adras' shrimp puffs together. I should go see if my father needs anything." She hurried away before anyone else could get a word in.

Castiel was unbothered by this, and he even looked a little amused. Zale squeezed my hand and said, "We had best be going."

"So soon?" Castiel asked.

"Unfortunately. Perhaps we can get together soon?" Zale suggested smoothly.

"I'd like that," Castiel agreed. His eyes flicked toward where Kyra was chatting with an older couple. "Maybe your sister could join us."

"I'll arrange something," Zale agreed.

"Sounds fun," Benny chimed in. I smiled at him. It seemed like we would be seeing more of Castiel, who honestly made me sort of uncomfortable. It would be a nice trade-off if that meant seeing Benny more. He really did seem like he could be a good friend to have.

Zale nodded and started leading me away. Almost as an afterthought, I called over my shoulder, "It was good meeting you both." Benny waved and Castiel inclined his head in that regal way he had.

Zale led me to a member of the waitstaff. "I believe a package of shrimp puffs should be waiting for us?"

"Yes, sir." The man went out a nearby set of doors. While we waited, I straightened Zale's bowtie. It wasn't crooked, I just liked the excuse to move in closer to him. He smiled at me, his first real smile since we arrived here.

My guard was down while we waited. Since we were planning to leave in the next few minutes, I prematurely stopped paying any attention to our surroundings as I mentally checked out of the party happening around us. Zale knew better. His eyes still scanned the room when he wasn't looking at me. He tensed and I watched the affection in his eyes fade away and was replaced by the same vacant mask he'd been wearing throughout most of the evening.

I spun around to see Zale's father approaching us, and my heart sank. Had the man not done enough tonight?

Euripides didn't stop until he was close enough not to be overheard, and when he spoke, he leaned in for good measure. He wore his usual polite smile and by all appearances, must have looked like he was just having a nice chat with his son. But his eyes were hard and his tone harsh when he said, "You will not behave like this in my palace again."

Zale's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth, but he couldn't get a word in before his father continued. "If you come here, you represent me and my family, and you will act the part. If you can't do that, then don't come."

I thought Zale would finally let loose some of the deep anger he had for this man, but somehow, he managed to rein it in. "Yes, sir."

I caught a glint of satisfaction in Euripides' eyes that made my stomach turn, but Zale didn't respond. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him, letting me feel just how tense he was. You'd never know it by looking.

Maybe Zale's move reminded Euripides I was here. Maybe he just wanted to get in one more parting shot. Just before he turned and walked away, he said, "And teach your fairy boy some manners. If you're going to bring him into polite company, at least make sure he's fit to be there."

Zale let me go and took two storming steps after his father, but I managed to snatch his arm and pull him back.

"It's okay," I whispered. No way did I want to be the cause of a scene, and it was clear a scene was just what Zale was about to start.

"No, it's not. You can't expect me to let anyone speak that way about you."

But Zale didn't understand. I didn't care what Euripides thought; in fact, I was pretty sure being something he approved of would have turned me into something I didn't want to be. It might be a compliment that he didn't approve of me. But that didn't even matter. Any sting Euripides' judgment might have inflicted was completely nullified by Zale's anger on my behalf.

"Let's just get the shrimp puffs and go home," I pleaded. "Maybe we can get Astrea to join us for a movie in the theater?"

That sounded so good right now, curling up with Zale in a dark room and just being with him. And Astrea probably shouldn't be alone too much tonight. I could only imagine how sad she must be to miss a party at home, even if this place did turn out to be about as bad as she described.

Zale glared after his father for a few more seconds, then sighed. "Fine."

I kissed his cheek in thanks. Moments later, the servant returned with a large white box. "Your shrimp puffs, sir."

Zale took the box with a nod. "Let's get out of here."