Page 53 of Veil of Shadows

“This is where we’ll stay. The Silver Hand is where my residence is. My parents own a suite here.” Jax raised his hand to signal the barkeep. She nodded briskly in return. “And this salopas is where we typically frequent when we’re visiting Faewood. It’s easy to drink as much as we want since it’s attached to the inn.” He gestured toward the elegant bar to our left. Behind it, hovering shelves held decadent bottles and a plethora of alcoholic choices. The shelves were constantly moving, shifting up, to the side, and down as though in time with the music. A huge mirror waited behind them, and I caught sight of my flushed cheeks and excited eyes.

Stars Above. Have I ever looked so alive?

The lone bartender working in the salopas grabbed various bottles, throwing them and twirling them in the air as she made our drinks. The free entertainment garnered a few claps and thrown rulibs in her bowl from those sitting at the long bar.

All the while, enchanted trays waited nearby for her to deposit drinks, which quickly glided away to serve the patrons already seated.

The establishment was only half full, the evening still an hour away, but I had a feeling by tonight this place would be packed.

“Is this where we’re meeting the others?” I asked.

Jax dipped his head and pressed a kiss along my throat. Goosebumps broke out across my skin as he whispered, “We’llmeet them upstairs. We’re simply here to make an appearance and be seen. That’s all. It would be unusual for me not to do this, and since we do our best to keep our activity as close to normal as possible, that’s why we’re here. But after a drink, we’ll head up.”

The feel of his lips on my skin was so distracting that I couldn’t reply. I managed a strangled murmur, but my head didn’t clear until he pulled away.

When my wits finally returned, I realized we were being watched. More than a dozen patrons weren’t even trying to hide their curious stares, and I knew that the prince had just done that intimate gesture to draw even more attention. He wanted our presence here known, and he wanted to be seen in public with only me and his guards while the others remained hidden. Everything he did was smoke and mirrors and a game of deception.

None of this is real.I firmly needed to remember that, but then Alec’s claim again swirled through my mind.

Our drinks floated toward us a minute later, but the last thing I needed was alcohol. I was ready to jump out of my skin after all of the touches the prince had given me today, and adding alcohol to my system would only add fuel to the fire. I felt ready to combust. Explode. I was so ripe with wanting that I feared every male in the establishment could smell my arousal, and alcohol would make me completely lose my inhibitions.

The prince stiffened when several passing wildling males stared at me a bit too long. One of them was aniloseep. His nose twitched, and his eyes turned to slits. His species was known for their sense of smell.

The tray carrying our drinks landed on the table, but just as our drinks floated to our place settings, a dillemsill appeared in a puff of magic, standing right in the center of the table.

I jumped.

“Prince Adarian of Stonewild Kingdom, you have a message,” it chirped.

Jax frowned, but he picked up the small bird with purple feathers and a long yellow furry tail, then brought it to his ear. The bird chirped its message, and Jax’s mouth tightened.

Once the message had been conveyed, Jax set it down. “Thank you.” He inclined his head.

The bird bowed, then began to spin, moving like a mini tornado, and in a puff of magic, it disappeared and traveled back to wherever it’d originated from.

I eyed my drink but didn’t touch it. “Is everything okay?”

He picked up his ale and downed half of it in one swallow. “Everything’s fine.” But his jaw muscle ticked, and his eyes turned into chips of ice.

“Was it about...” I let my words hang, hoping he would know I was asking about Bastian.

But the prince shook his head. “No, it was just a message from my mother.”

“Oh.” I frowned and picked up my drink, my fingers curling around the cool green beverage.

“It seems someone reported to her that I was more attentive toyouon the ship than the House females, and my mother felt the need to reprimand me and remind me she expects me to take one of them to the Ironcrest Ball after the Matches.”

“Oh.” I quickly guzzled a large gulp of my leminai. “Does that mean she’s...angry?”

His lips turned upward in a brittle smile. “How my mother feels about what I choose to do is irrelevant.”

“But is it?” My fingers curled even tighter around my glass, and I downed more of my beverage as I was once again faced with the reality of the prince’s future. He was to marry another. Whether he liked it or not. And the most I could ever be was his mistress.

“Yes, it is,” he replied in a clipped tone.

I started at his harsh words, and for some reason, irritation rose in me. Maybe it was because he was avoiding the inevitable. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t being honest with himself about what would undoubtedly happen next summer. Or maybe it was because I was reminded that I had never been considered worthy of anything but performing callings in my life and certainly would never be considered worthy of marrying a prince.

Whatever the case, I quickly finished my beverage. “Are you done?” I asked a bit sharper than I intended to.

---