“It is time to steal you away now.” Rafferty appeared beside Bree and tightened his grip on her arm. “Everything is getting a little intense. Best we get you out of here safely before some fights break out.”

She frowned, though her heart flipped when she twisted to face him. He had dressed up, the same as the others. He wore a deep blue jacket, one that highlighted the color of his silver eyes. His long hair had been pulled back. It showed off just how strong his jaw was and how sculpted his shoulders were.

“I’m Lord Dagen’s guest,” Bree said, trying to pull her arm out of Rafe’s strong grip. “You can’t make me leave.”

“Ah, but Lord Dagen is now otherwise engaged. Some of the royals are asking questions. The Prince has ordered that you now return to your quarters before the fae decide to eat you alive.”

Shivers coursed along Bree’s skin at the look in Rafe’s eyes. He was not joking. He was not exaggerating. He meant every word, which meant...well, maybe it really was time for her to go. She’d had her fun, she’d kind of gotten some information for Dagen, and she’d had enough food and drink to last her for weeks.

Still, she hated being forced to do anything, so she straightened her back, giving him a nod.

“I’ll go, but only if you let go of my arm.”

Rafe chuckled. “Very well. But the second you do anything to try to get away from me, I will not hesitate to put you in shackles.”

“You wouldn’t.” She narrowed her eyes. Or would he? Just because he had grown friendly with her over the past few weeks didn’t mean that they were anything but instructor and trainee, let alone actual friends. Rafe worked for Taveon and Taveon alone, and he was no doubt irritated by her involvement with Dagen, even if he didn’t know the full extent of their relationship.

If he did, he really would put her in shackles. And throw her in the dungeon. Or worse.

Still, he let go of her arm and allowed her to walk freely by his side until they reached the corridor outside of the Great Hall.

“Why did you come with Dagen?” he asked. “And what did you do to convince him to give you those living quarters?”

Bree took a deep breath in through her nose. “He asked me if I wanted to go to the ball and he offered me those quarters. Neither of which Taveon bothered to do. As for why, you’ll have to ask Lord Dagen why he did it. I’m not a mind reader.”

Nor did she wish to come up with a blatant lie about why he’d done what he’d done.

“You cannot trust him, Bree,” Rafe warned as they continued down the hallway to her new living quarters. “He does not want to see Taveon succeed, and he would do anything to disrupt his ascension to the throne. That could include using you. He would not bother with you unless he had something planned.”

“Maybe he just likes my company.”

“Do not be naive.” He cut a glance her way, frowning. “Does this mean you enjoy his company?”

“He’s not so bad,” Bree said.

“I find it difficult to believe that you would enjoy being around such an avid supporter of King Midas.”

“And I find it difficult to believe that you’d be such a big supporter of Prince Taveon,” she said, not even thinking as the words poured from her mouth. “You seem like the most decent fae of them all, but I really don’t think he is, Rafe. That darkness that was inside of his father? It’s inside of him, too. And I honestly believe he’d do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Surely you can see that. How can you be so loyal to a male like that?”

“Prince Taveon is determined and can be very narrowly focused, I’ll agree.” Rafe loosed a sigh. “But he is a better fae than you think. If it were not for him, I would still be stuck in a hellhole of a life.”

Bree turned to him, eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”

A pause. “I was born part Wilde Fae and into a Clan of shapeshifters. They were just as you would expect most Wilde Fae to be. Savage. Vicious. Murderous. But I never really felt as though I was one of them. That streak of savagery? I never had it. And I was an outcast because of it.”

Bree felt herself move instinctively toward Rafe as a strange sensation washed over her. She almost felt as though she wanted to protect him from that kind of world herself, but that was crazy.

He continued, “You see, my father was a Dark Fae. My mother was a Wilde Fae. I happened to get more of the Dark Fae side, and while most of the Clan never knew, it was almost as if they could sense it. Taveon found me one day in the woods when we were both boys. I had been beaten to a bloody pulp, and there was one Wilde Fae still standing over me. Taveon chased him away and brought me back to the castle here. If it were not for him, I might have died that day. And, if not that day, another one not long to come.”

Bree’s heart beat hard as she stared up at the strained expression on Rafe’s face. She could tell that while these wounds were old, they hadn’t fully healed. And Taveon had been his saving grace. No wonder Rafe was so loyal, no wonder he’d stuck by Taveon’s side. She would have, too.

“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered. “I didn’t know.”

A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. “How could you have known? It is not a story I like to tell many.”

Her heart flickered. He didn’t like to tell many. But he had told her.

“If it makes a difference, you don’t seem Wilde Fae at all to me.” Her breath caught in her throat. “Of course, you don’t seem all that Dark Fae either, if I’m honest.”

“I know what you must think of us,” he said. “And I wish it weren’t the case, though I certainly understand why. Some of us are the monsters you imagine us to be.”

“Yeah. Like Prince Taveon.”

“Bree,” he warned. “You know that is not true.”

She had no answer to that. Rafe was right in a way. Over the past weeks, Bree had gone from one opinion to the next. Sometimes Taveon seemed like the monster she’d met. But then others...it seemed like his cruelty was nothing but an act.

Still...she didn’t want to dwell on Taveon’s confusing nature, not when she had Rafe by her side looking all handsome and breathtakingly gorgeous.

“I wish I didn’t have to go back into my quarters,” Bree said with a light sigh, gazing wistfully back down the hallway. “It was so nice getting out for once, and I know when tomorrow comes, everything will go back to normal. My room might be nicer now, but my situation has remained the same. I just sit inside, day after day, unless I’m training with you.”

Rafe gazed at her thoughtfully, before he finally grabbed her hand. She jerked with surprise. The warmth of his skin seeped into hers, and she couldn’t stop the gasp that flew from her lips.

“Right. Come with me. There is something you should see, and it might be a long while before you get this chance again.”

Heart thundering, she let Rafe lead her through the maze of the castle. They went up and up and up, climbing stairs that reeked of mildew and dust. This tower, or whatever it was, was definitely not used very often. It was hidden away, and probably hadn’t been cleaned in years.

At the very top of the stairs, Rafe pushed open a creaking door and strode to a small window overlooking the world below. He pushed up the window and motioned for her to go first. Head spinning, she climbed through the small space and found herself on a balcony high in one of those tall jagged towers she’d seen from so far away when she’d first arrived with Taveon. Rafe climbed out beside her. There was just enough space for the two of them to stand there with their shoulders brushing.

The world spread out far below them. She could see for miles. The forests and the fields. The lakes and the valleys. Underworld was alive beneath them, the colors so bright to her eyes after so many hours spent trapped inside of gray stone walls.

“This is beautiful,” she said in a slight whisper. “The view is amazing from my window, but this is far beyond it.”

“There is something far better than this.” Rafe took her shoulders gently in his hands and twisted her to turn left, facing away from him. Her breath caught at the sight that met her eyes. Far beyond on the horizon, fingers of silver and gold raced across the sky as the hint of the moon poked up from behind the dark ground.

“Every fae, Dark or not, should always see at least one moonrise in their life. And this one, the one after the Silver Moon night, is one of the most glorious of the entire year.”

Bree didn’t know what to say. All she could focus on was the beauty before her. Every second that passed, the glory of the moonrise only grew. More silver streaked across the sky, joined by brilliant blues and deep purples. Somehow, even in this strange dark place, color still prevailed.

“Seeing this almost makes me forget what kind of world I’m now living in,” Bree whispered. “It makes me forget that I’m living in the midst of demons.”

“You speak as though Underworld is a terrible place full of terrible fae. We are not demons, Bree, even though I know that is what the Light Fae like to call us.”

“Are you not?” she couldn’t help but ask. “Your people had a cruel and vicious King. You enslaved not only Otherworld but the human realm as well, forcing humans to turn into terrible beasts who kill innocent people. You have horns. You have fangs and red eyes.”

“We are not demons, though I suppose we are something close enough.”

Eyebrows raised, Bree glanced behind her to see a thoughtful look on his face. “What do you mean?”

“We are the fallen,” he said simply. “Our ancestors were once angels. Angels who fell. They were entranced by humanity. Corrupted by it. So, they were cast out of the heavens, doomed to live a life forever entwined to human energy.”

Bree widened her eyes. She had never heard this before, though she hadn’t been told much of anything in her time spent in Underworld so far. “You are fallen angels. So, you’re not really fae.”

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. “That is what fae are. Fallen, shortened. Fae.”

“The Light Fae, too?”

“They are angels who fell but for different reasons. They left the heavens to try and stop us from corrupting ourselves. In the end, leaving meant leaving their immortality behind, and they were cast down to their own realm.”

Bree’s heart beat a little harder. “I didn’t know all this. No one ever told me. I don’t even think Norah knows.”

“It is ancient history. It happened so long ago that it no longer matters.” A beat passed. “But I wanted to tell you. I thought the knowledge might help you better understand this world you are so doomed to live in.”

As much as she hated to admit it, Bree felt a little bad for what she’d said to Rafe. Because as much as she hated Taveon, she didn’t hate this fae. He was different. Kinder. More...more human.

“You didn’t have any horns tonight,” she pointed out.

“No.” A slight smile. “Shapeshifters do not have horns.”

“But you do still crave the energy of humans, right? You seem so unlike a Dark Fae, yet...you must need humans as much as the rest of them do. Right?”

A part of her hoped he’d say no, even though she knew he’d say yes. Deep down, she understood he needed humans to survive. He couldn’t help that. But what he could help was his response to that need. Did he want to change it? Did he want a world where humans did not have to be sacrificed?

“I thought you would have realized by now that the Tithe is not what I nor Taveon want for our future. We would like to see a world where this no longer happens, but ideas and dreams take time. The Dark Fae will not be rushed into this. Not until we are certain of a different way. A better way. We need human energy to survive, but we do not know a way to take it without harming them.”

“Well, maybe there’s a way to do it that doesn’t involve innocent humans,” Bree said. “Instead of just letting Redcaps loose on the world, what if you targeted humans who are their own kind of evil? Killers, rapists, torturers.”

It was a thought she’d had before, though she hadn’t had the chance to bring it up to anyone else. There were flaws in her idea though. Terrible flaws she couldn’t ignore.

“Hmm. Have you presented this idea to Taveon?”

Bree shook her head. “To be honest, he didn’t give me the impression he wanted to hear it. I know he’s using me as a test, hoping I’ll be able to be a different answer for the Tithe. But I also know that still means turning others into these horrible beasts.”

“You did volunteer, Bree,” Rafe said in a low, quiet voice as he rested a hand on her shoulder. “I do not envy your position, but you did volunteer.”

“I volunteered because I thought it was the only option to save Otherworld and everyone within it.” She took a deep breath in through flared nostrils. But now she knew that wasn’t the case, though it seemed Rafe had no idea about Taveon’s lies that got Bree to come here.

“Loyalty and fearlessness.” He squeezed tighter, shifting so close that she could feel his chest brush against her back. “They are such admirable qualities, and two that are often not paired together. Taveon is lucky to have found that in you.”

Bree tensed, despite herself. “You speak as though I am loyal to him, as if I had a choice in the matter. I’m his servant, Rafe. I have no choice but to do whatever he says. That isn’t loyalty.”

“No, I suppose it isn’t.” His voice dropped into a low murmur. “Though perhaps you may grow to feel that way toward him in time, when you see what a strong King he will become.”

“That is seriously unlikely. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone this much in my life.”

A long moment passed between them. Rafe was loyal to his Prince. Bree knew that. He would never say anything against him. At the same time, she appreciated that he didn’t try to stop her from voicing her irritation. When they’d first met, he’d told her to be quiet and careful and to keep her thoughts to herself, but he no longer asked her to keep her emotions locked up tight.

“I am certain the Prince was unable to say it for himself, due to this night’s circumstances, so I must pass on how unavoidably beautiful you look in that dress,” Rafe said, almost in a whisper.

A smile tickled her lips. “And that’s straight from the Prince, is it?”

A long pause. “No. Those thoughts are mine, though I saw the look on his face. He shares my sentiments. Besides, he would be a fool not to notice your beauty.”

Bree’s cheeks flushed with heat. “Well, ah, thank you, I suppose. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

He let out a low chuckle. “Careful. You have such a human way of saying things sometimes. If the wrong fae heard you...”

“Yeah, but you aren’t the wrong fae, Rafe. You’re the right one.”

Had she just said that out loud? Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was all the masks and the horns and the songs. Maybe it was the thrill of getting caught in the Prince’s chambers with Fillan.

But Bree felt bold. And she felt alive. Far more alive than she’d felt in a very long time.

She had felt trapped in the human realm, stuck in a life that would go nowhere, stuck in a world with concrete floors and walls. Otherworld, the realm of the Light Fae, hadn’t been much better. She’d spent half the time trying to battle against the Redcap venom in her veins and the other half losing friends to the disease left and right. That life, it had held nothing but fear and pain.

It was strange. She would have thought it would be the opposite. She was Prince Taveon’s servant, slave, or whatever he wanted to call her. She was stuck doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and she was secretly acting as his enemy’s spy. She couldn’t trust anyone, not fully, not even Rafferty.

Still, she’d never felt more alive.

Bree twisted to face Rafe, dropping back her head to gaze up into his eyes. Her heart fluttered, and her breath caught. They were so close, stuck here on this balcony high up in the clouds, the moon drifting higher and higher into the silver-streaked sky.

“You know, there is one more thing I could show you before I return you to your quarters.”

Her stomach tumbled over on itself. He couldn’t mean...no, it was impossible. Rafferty wouldn’t go there, not even if he wanted to. And she doubted he actually did. He could tell her all night that he thought she was beautiful, but that didn’t mean he was actually interested in her.

He had only collected her from the ball because Prince Taveon wanted her out of there. It wasn’t because he’d had the idea himself. In fact, that was the only reason he spent any time with her at all. Their friendship was a lie as much as she wanted it to be the truth.

Rafe scanned her eyes, frowning. “Why has that upset you? I thought you would be thrilled to have an excuse to stay out a little while longer.”

“I would love to stay out a little while longer, but I don’t want to be a burden to you.” She flicked her gaze away. “I’m sure you’d like to return to the ball.”

He snorted. “Do not be so daft. That ball was turning into chaos. Besides, why would I rather be there when I can be here with you?”