After Dagen escorted Bree back to her quarters, she laid awake in bed with her covers clutched tight to her chest, staring up at the dark ceiling as her heart ran wild in her chest. What in the name of the forest had just happened? She’d gone to confront Lord Dagen about attacking the entire Court during their nightly feast, and instead, she’d ended up...what exactly? She didn’t even know.

One moment she’d been yelling at him and the next she’d been frozen on the spot while he ran his fingers through her hair, waxing poetic about her bright soul or some insanity like that.

And the worst part of it all? She had liked it.

No, she whispered to herself, and then she closed her eyes tight. She hadn’t liked it. She was just confused because it had come so out of the blue. Who would have thought Lord Dagen of all people was interested in her? He was so strange and mysterious. So distant and bizarre. Sometimes, he seemed incapable of feeling much of anything. And yet he had feelings for Bree?

Or did he?

Maybe Bree was getting ahead of herself here. All he’d done was touch her hair and tell her that she was terrible at wearing glamor. That didn’t mean he was into her. Maybe Bree was the only one who’d felt anything at all when he’d been touching her. Maybe she was the only one who had trembled, heart racing, heat rushing through her body.

Which made the entire incident that much more embarrassing.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but it was impossible to deny that he’d had some sort of effect on her, one she was going to have to push aside. He was dangerous. He was devious. And he was a Dark Fae.

* * *

Rafe didn’t collect Bree for training the next day, leaving her pacing from one end of her quarters to the other. Had Taveon told him about her new living situation? He most surely had. And was his absence because of it? She certainly couldn’t see any other explanation.

But what did it mean? Bree stopped to stare out the large window at the growing moonlight. The lands of Underworld stretched out far on every side. The castle was high on a hill, looking down on the world below it. She could see the thick forests, their silvery leaves illuminated from the glow of the moon.

Rafe hadn’t sent word that training was cancelled, and she hadn’t seen him after the attack at the Great Hall the previous night. Had something happened to him? Had he tried going after whoever had tried to take down the Prince? It scared her to think that he had.

A knock sounded on the door. Bree let out a relieved sigh and crossed the room. But when she opened the door, it wasn’t Rafe’s tall form standing in the hallway.

“Lord Dagen?” She asked with a frown. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s nice to see you, too,” he said with a flicker of a smile.

“Sorry. I just...well, I thought you were Rafferty. He has usually come to get me for training by now. I would have gone to the training room myself, but...” Bree gestured at the two guards that stood tall and silent in the hallway on either side of the door. “After last night, I’m just a bit worried that something has happened. Do you know where he is?”

A strange expression flickered across Lord Dagen’s face. “He is fine. May I come inside? There is something I would like to speak with you about.”

Bree hesitated. Was that really a good idea? Prince Taveon was already suspicious about Dagen’s gift to her. How would he react when he knew the Lord had come to visit her in her quarters? Plus, there was that whole thing last night that she couldn’t get out of her head. Her whole face warmed at the thought of it.

“It isn’t a request,” Lord Dagen said with a hint of a warning in his voice.

Great. It looked like her deal with the devil was coming back to bite her in the ass already.

With a faux polite smile pasted onto her face, Bree widened the door and gestured for him to come inside. The guards didn’t even blink when he strode in and shut the door behind him, but she knew it wouldn’t take long for Prince Taveon to find out he’d been here.

“What’s going on?” she asked, propping her fists on her waist. “Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to come here? Prince Taveon has already given me a hell of a smackdown for accepting these new living quarters from you.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You humans have a strange vocabulary.”

“I’m not a human,” she said, sharply. “Not anymore.”

“Indeed.” Dagen paced to the window and gazed out at the rolling hills, just as Bree had done only moments before his arrival. “How do you like your new view? I assume you noticed we have a full moon this day.”

“Yes.” A pause. “Is it always that big?”

“Only once a year.” He turned to her then, eyeing her with a strange curiosity. “I did assume that Prince Taveon would have mentioned this to you, though I have a suspicion I know why he didn’t. He thought you would insist on going to the ball tonight.”

“There’s a ball tonight?” Bree’s heart lifted a little, even though she desperately wanted to show nothing but complete indifference to Lord Dagen’s words. She loved parties and dancing and merriment. And it had been a long-ass time since she’d done anything remotely close to letting down her hair and having fun. She could let off some steam. She could dance her worries away. But...

Bree frowned. Prince Taveon hadn’t mentioned it to her at all. And neither had Rafe.

“I assume that is why your friend, Rafferty, has not come for your daily training,” Dagen continued. “They are all very busy preparing for tonight. I believe the Prince intends on making the formal announcement to the Court about the fate of his father and his intentions to take the throne after the Battle for the Crown.”

“Right.” Bree gave a nod, her heart sinking. “And he doesn’t want me there.”

“That would appear to be the case.” Dagen crossed the room to stand just before her. “However, I very much want you there. I shall send a gown for you to wear, and you can accompany me. You will be my companion for the evening, which means he will not be able to turn you away. You can be my eyes and ears. See what you can discover. There will be many royals at the castle this night, and drink can often get lips moving. I shall see you at dusk.”

* * *

Lord Dagen hadn’t been joking around when he’d told Bree he would send her a gown. In fact, it only took a short while for another knock to sound on her door. A small, quaint female stood just on the other side, bowing her head as she handed Bree a dress made from a cascade of stars. It was almost blinding in its brilliance.

She took the dress over to the bed and slowly unwrapped it, gasping when she found a small dagger hidden inside the folds, as well as a small leather strap she assumed was meant for one of her thighs. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared down at the glittering steel. Surely he didn’t intend for her to use this blade this night.

Still, she strapped it to her thigh, taking comfort in the knowledge that she wasn’t going to this ball unarmed. There would be a lot of Dark Fae in attendance. Most of them would have no idea who she was or that she was a Light Fae, much less that she had ever been human. But if they somehow discovered her identity, she knew it wouldn’t go down well. It was part of the reason that Prince Taveon hadn’t announced what she truly was to most of his Court. He’d only told the council and those closest to him, and even then, Bree knew he was worried the wrong fae would find out.

The apparent danger didn’t stop her from wanting to go to the ball though. Bree wasn’t one to back down from a challenge so easily. This room was still a cage, though one that was much nicer than her previous cell. She wanted out, if only for one night. And she’d be Dagen’s spy if that was what it took to breathe.

* * *

Lord Dagen widened his eyes when Bree opened the doorway. He was right on time. The moon had begun to disappear behind the trees in the distant forest, casting a strange orange-grey glow across the horizon. He let out a low whistle, and a roguish smile crossed his face.

“You are certainly looking quite breathtaking, my dear spy.”

At his words, Bree sucked in a sharp breath and steeled herself for the guards’ reaction. But then none came. When she turned to them with a bumbling explanation on her tongue, she discovered that they were no longer standing beside her door. They were gone.

“Where are the guards?” she asked.

“I thought it was best not to have any complications,” he said, his eyes still flickering across her dress. Or her body. She wasn’t entirely sure she was right, but it almost seemed like he was checking her out. “Prince Taveon would never risk making a scene in front of the entire Court, but he might secretly allow his guards to stop you from coming with me. So, I made sure they were busy elsewhere.”

He flashed her a brilliant smile, one that made her breath catch in her throat. He’d just called her breathtaking, and she would be lying if she didn’t admit that he wasn’t looking so bad himself. He wore midnight finery, the edges detail with embroidered silver stags. Around his waist, he wore a belt that held a sword, one that seemed more ornamental than anything else. On the end of the silver hilt, a large stag had been carved with gold that matched his hair.

Dagen caught her staring, and her entire face and neck flushed.

“We need to come up with a cover story for you,” he said, without taking an eye off her face. “When I make your introductions, I cannot very well call you Bree Paine of the human realm, but everyone will know you are not a Lady.”

Bree raised her eyebrows. “Are you saying I can’t pull off the Lady thing? I look far too much like a peasant for your liking?”

His lips quirked. “Nothing of the sort, but there are no unknown Lords or Ladies in these lands. It would be unheard of for there to be a member of royalty that has never met anyone else. No, I will introduce you as my new aide instead. You have been studying to become a scholar, one who has focused on learning more about the humans.”

“Hmm.” She lifted her eyebrows. “Not a bad idea. But won’t they all know I’m Prince Taveon’s slave after what happened at the feast?”

Dagen gave a quick shake of his head. “Most of the fae here tonight have only just arrived at the castle. A few will recognize you but only that. If anyone starts talking to you about Dark Fae issues that you have no knowledge of, just politely excuse yourself from the conversation. Whatever you do, do not get caught out being ignorant of something that most fae would know. You will stand out, regardless, but we want to make sure you do not stand out in the wrong sort of way.”

He flicked his eyes across the dress again, though this time, she was certain his gaze lingered just a moment too long on the curve of her hips. She swallowed hard, and her blood pounded hard in her chest. There was something about Lord Dagen, something that caused a thrill to sweep down her spine. She shouldn’t trust him. She shouldn’t trust any of them. But she still couldn’t stop herself from being drawn to him in a way that made her pulse race.

It must be some sort of Dark Fae magic. Which meant it was dangerous.

She needed to watch herself.

“Come.” He held out an elbow. “We should get moving before the guards return.”

Swallowing hard, she slid her hand into the crook of his arm, her fingertips brushing against the edge of his jacket. Through the material, she could feel the curve of his biceps. They were large and firm, a signal that the power he radiated was far more than just magic.

He gave her a crooked smile, almost as though he could read every word that ran through her mind. But no matter what kind of dark powers he had, she knew he couldn’t do that. Otherwise, he’d have no need for her to spy.

She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her thoughts written all over her face. So, she kept her expression blank, and she kept her gaze locked on the door before her instead of risking a glance his way. But everything within her yearned to see exactly what was hidden in the depths of those golden eyes.