Valoukai drags me away and once we're out of the ballroom, he increases his pace, forcing me to jog after him while my hand is still in hot grip.

He enters the same room the royals had sat around, on Norvick and I's first day of arrival.

The curtains are pulled aside, allowing the natural light to spread a golden gleam over the room.

After slamming the door shut, he frees my hand and paces the place. I cross my arms in front of my chest and glare at him, grinding my teeth to not scream profanities at top of my lungs. Who the hell does he think he is!

"I do not want to see you around that man ever again." He spins and faces me, holding out an index finger as he sternly looks at me. His gaze flickers to the door before latching back on me.

"I don't remember asking for your permission."

He clenches his jaw hard enough to make a muscle jump as his eyes harden. "What are you trying to prove?" he booms.

I shrug. "Is there anything you want me to prove?"

He purses his mouth, and as I hold his fiery eyes, I realise I'm enjoying irking him way more than I'd like to admit.

He shoves his hand through his hair, his long slender fingers ruffling it. "What was he saying?" he asks in a more composed tone.

I run my hand over my purple gown as if smoothing out the invisible wrinkles. "He was offering to take me around the palace grounds and later on show the town around."

He curses under his breath before taking a long stride and planting himself an arm's length away from me. "And you declined, right?"

I smile at him, and his features harden. "Now why would I do that?"

"You cannot go out and be seen with him!" he yells.

I furrow my brows and tilt my head. So Fyla wasn't exaggerating. "Why?"

Valoukai points at the door, as though Reese is standing on the other side. "He wants my thrown and now he's after you too. He wants everything I have-"

I laugh, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You don't have me, Prince Valoukai."

He fists his hand and his eyes take on an odd gleam, a predatory-like glint. "You are here as my betrothed. The only reason he's bothering to speak to you is now he wants you for himself."

"Why are you overreacting? It's not like you've wanted to be mated to me right off the bat."

"It's more complicated than that," he mutters.

I take a small step towards him, holding his steely stare with ease. "Is it now? Care to enlighten me?"

"Stay out of these matters," he growls, leaning down at me.

I mockingly smile at him. "I'm not taking orders from you and I haven't been told what's at stake, so I see no reason to pay heed to your warnings."

He glares at me and I smirk at him, moving even closer to him, sensing the heat of his body and his musky scent. "Prince Valoukai," I start, and dare to straighten the collar of his shirt. "Reese is offering to do what you were supposed to do from the beginning. But since you're busy with your lover, he's being kind enough to make me feel welcomed. I see no reason for rejecting him or calling off our arrangement. Unless you decide to act like a proper man who is to be wedded to a lady." I take a long stride backwards putting distance between us.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Audriea," he gruffly says.

"Am I? Perhaps I like danger, but of course, how would you know that? Ever since I've arrived here, you were busy either sulking or screwing your lover."

"You said you couldn't care less about who I sleep with." He smirks at me, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Was it a fake bravado?"

I fake a soft giggle. "You think so highly of yourself. All I'm claiming is, if you're not going to give me time and attention, I'll receive it from someone who is more than willing to spend time with me."

"He's using you," he spits, the devilish glint giving place to annoyance.

"Let me be the decider of that. And I was convinced you couldn't care less about who I spend my time with." I bite my bottom lip, clasping my hands behind myself, swaying from side to side.

"I don't. Just don't hang around with my enemies."

I grin at him. "I'll be with whoever I wish to be... just like you're free to be with whoever you want."

He opens his mouth but no words come out.

I quirk an eyebrow. "What? You thought it was a one-way thing?" I laugh and shake my head. "Prince Valoukai, if you will not be committed to me, it's not logical to expect me to stay faithful to you either." I dip in courtesy. "If you would excuse me now, I have a party to be present at." I raise to my full height and spin on my heels. The skirt of my dress swishes on the floor, and I saunter to the door.

As I open the door, I throw a glance over my shoulder at his blank face, staring at me, dumbstruck.

Although the matter of having multiple lovers at the same time is not an odd case between the faes, I can't understand why he's so surprised. Maybe he wasn't expecting me to be upfront about it.

A new plan forms in my head. From now on, I have to occupy him with enough of these side matters to not allow him to have any headspace for his thoughts to venture astray to figure out my ulterior motives.

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Three days.

The faes partied nonstop for three days.

Back when I was training, I learnt about fae folks' boisterous ways of entertainment, but I was not expecting I'd have to endure it once I step foot into their territory.

However, right now being perched on top of a magical auburn coloured horse, specific for the Fire court, makes up for the awful experience.

The mane is silky soft and in different shades of orange and red, the same as its tail. Gripping its reins, for the first time in a few days, I feel at ease with the steady rhythm of my mount's hooves hitting the ground.

Reese totters his horse next to mine as we walk down the alleys of the town. His ride has a greenish hue to it once the warm sunlight shines on his skin.

Some alleys are narrow but most are wide. The ground nearing the local market is cobbled.

One thing I've learnt is local faes don't buy anything, instead, they trade, even the ones using gold coins insist on calling it trading.

As we go further down into the heart of the town, noting so many true-blooded faes is a sight to behold. Sure, they're nothing compared to the magnificence of the royals, but they're still mesmerising, with their variant shades of skin and hair, colours, and designs, even their shapes and sizes.

Some look like magnified insects, while others appear like molten rock.

"You mustn't be used to crowded places," Reese speaks up, making my head whirl away from the little shop in the street's corner, showcasing small enchanted trinkets.

Fixing the collar of my white shirt, I survey the fountain signalling as the centre of the town. "I'm not used to many things, but time will fix that." I offer a smile to him.

"Tell me more about your life before coming here."

I run my thumbnail over the thin leather of the rein. "If I tell you everything right now, my mystery will be solved. What's the fun in that?" I quirk an eyebrow while holding my head up and glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

He chuckles and shakes his head, nodding at a few by-passers bowing at him.

"Lady Audriea," a sharp chirping voice calls out.

With a frown, I shift. I'm greeted with gigantic almond-shaped obsidian eyes, taking almost half of his face, staring at me with a crooked smile. His face is ivory and too pale to be healthy and his mouth is a thin red line. Even though his body is long and slender, his hands are bulky.

"I go by the name Black mage," he bows his head and I nod for him to continue. "Allow me to present a gift for your arrival."

With a quick scan, I notice the ones who were nearby had stopped whatever they were doing and are curiously looking at us.

"I don't intend to offend, but a gift is unnecessary."

A harsh cackling sound escapes his torn mouth, showing thin, razor-sharp teeth. "I insist." He takes a step toward me, and from his black cloak he brings out a small pouch. "This crystal ball will alert you of your future. May it always be brilliant." He holds out the pouch while bowing again.

I glance at Reese, and he's frowning at the man. Noticing my gaze on himself, he gives me a subtle nod and hesitantly I accept the artefact.

"I appreciate your thoughtful gesture."

"Whenever you found yourself in need of anything magical, I'd be more than happy to present it to you." He draws himself to full height, dips his chin and walks away.

"The first gift he gives is usually harmless, but if you ever want to ask something from him, his price is high, and sometimes his items come with a deadly curse."

"I wouldn't say enabling someone to look into their future is particularly harmless," I mumble as I put the pouch away inside the satchel attached to the horse.

"That's because you haven't seen what he's truly capable of," he answers lightly, but foreboding words send an unpleasant chill down my spine.

I push my tied hair behind my shoulder as we set down the widest alley, but most places are closed. Only the owners of businesses are ambling around, preparing for a night full of service.

From the way everyone's been treating me with respect and some event enthusiastic, as much as I'm surprised and hate to admit, the Fire court's folk love their royals. I have yet to decide if this matter can have a major impact on the coming war and if I need to do something about it.

I have to find some alone time and send a letter to Rageni as soon as I can.

Just as I make my mind for sending the letter, another realisation dawns on me. Faes do most of their activities at night. The town must come to life at night, especially this part, filled with many shops and services, yet Reese brought me. It can only mean one thing; he wants to talk.

Once we're in a secluded area, I start, "You and Valoukai don't seem to be on good terms."

"We're not."

Questioningly, I gaze at him. He sighs and runs his hand over his raven black hair, his amber eyes sweeping over the surrounding buildings.

"We've had some problems in the past. Has he told you anything?"

I play with my horse's mane, pondering over my answer. At last, I settle on choosing the option that will earn the most dramatic result. "He didn't explain to me anything, he's been too busy." I fake a bitter smile.

The nod Reese gives floods me with relief. He's buying my act.

"Torilia," he says and I nod. "He's a fool for entertaining with her instead of getting to know you."

"You could say that to him, instead of telling it to me."

"True." He grins at me. The stretch of his mouth emphasises the hollowness of his cheeks. "But perhaps it's because I want to spend time with you first... more."

"Valoukai calls you his enemy. As his betrothed, I wonder if being around you-"

"You can trust me," he interrupts me.

I frown and pull my horse's reins to a halt. "Why is that?"

He stops a beat later, turning his horse around and coming in front of me. "I mean you no harm."

"What is that you want?"

"You as my friend."

"Are you planning on using me against Valoukai?"

He doesn't answer right away and I believe that's an answer. If he's convinced I'm a full-blooded fae, he's trying to find a way around the words to lie through his honest words.

The sun is too warm and as it beats down on us, while we stay unmoving with no breeze to cool down the heat, beads of sweat roll down the back of my neck. My leather trousers are not helping either. I comb my fingers through my horse's mane as I wait for him patiently.

"Do you care for our prince?" he asks at last.

"Every subject in Fire court care about their royals."

He nods, a thin black strand of his hair falls over his face. "There was a beautiful faery Prince Val adored. She left him and came to me. Ever since then, he's been holding a grudge against me. Torilia grew intimate with me while still being committed to Val, which only made things worse."

"Where is the faery who started it all?"

"She's no longer here." His amber eyes burn into me. The tips of my fingers grow cold and I grip the rein harder.

A corner of his mouth lifts and my heart beats faster as I fail to look away from him. In the pit of my stomach, a shrewd sense of danger and savagery twist knots. The feeling there's more to his words curdles my blood, because no matter how hard I'm trying, I can't suppress my initial instincts. He's far beyond an evil, malicious fae.

"How will befriending me benefit you?" I inquire, tightening my clutch over the leather rein, so hard it painfully digs into my palm.

"I can make you the Queen, lady Audriea only if you choose your side wisely." He moves his legs, beckoning his horse to trot closer to me as he goes around my mount and stops right next to me. "I aim big, Audriea, and I've heard you possess your late father's gift. I value that, maybe even more than the royals. The Fire court has lost its glory. We were born to rule upon everyone, not just one court, and I intend on winning it back."

My eyes widen. He wants to overthrow every other Elemental King.

Now, this can be useful.

For a moment, I get too occupied with how I can use this information to my advantage and almost forget to ask, "Why are you explaining all these things to me? You could have left it at Torilia making everything worse."

"I want to earn your trust. I'm willing to show you my deepest darkest secrets, only if you do the same." Again, the bone-chilling smile returns to his face.

Hundreds of bells go off in my head, chiming danger.

"Consider my offer, lady Audriea."

I nod.

As we silently head back to the palace, I can't help but think the game of chess I've been preparing for my entire life is being played by an entirely different set of rules. Everything is far more complicated and intertwined together than what I've been taught, and prepared for... and now I'm throwing myself into the middle of it.

For the first time, I can't tell if I'll be able to make it out of the situation unscathed or not.

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