^“I actually have to walk down a flight of stairs?” she demanded, looking between her two mates, and the large staircase that descended to what she assumed must be the ballroom, but it was almost impossible tell from where they were. The air was filled with the haunting melody of stringed instruments, and while she couldn’t see the dancers yet, she could hear the rustle of fabric and the murmur of voices that was just about audible over the music.

“Yes, but it’s fine, we’ve got you,” Leth said.

“Did you not think to tell me that before we got here?”

“It hadn’t crossed my mind.” He shrugged, and Josh chuckled.

“It’s okay, E. We’ve got you.” He held out his arm, and Eira took it, glad that she’d at least be able to balance between them.

“I’ll show you how it’s done anyway,” Yuna said, bouncing along in her gown. She seemed surprisingly energetic given that she was encased in a ridiculous amount of fabric.

Without waiting for a reply, she gracefully made her way down the stairs.

“The Fae Princess of Winter, Yuna,” a booming voice called once she’d reached the bottom.

“We’re being announced?” Eira bit her lip, why was this suddenly feeling so formal?

“Are you going to be surprised by everything tonight?” Leth chuckled.

“Well if you’d told me any of this, I wouldn’t have been surprised, would I?”

“It’s our turn, guys,” Josh pointed out, holding his right arm out for Eira to take. Leth moved around, offering his left, and she hooked her arms around theirs.

“Well, this isn’t how I expected the first time being stuck between you,” she said, more to herself than to them. Leth laughed, but Josh glanced at her with a serious look in his eyes.

“You’ll have to show us what you expected later.”

Eira whimpered, the idea exciting her. They’d better actually follow through or she’d be very disappointed. One careful step at a time, she descended the stairs between two of her men, regretting that Rueben wasn’t with them, though hopefully he’d still manage to join them later. They reached the bottom and butterflies began to play in Eira’s stomach.

“The Lord Leth of the Summer Court, his mate, Lady Eira Frost and escort, Mister Joshua Bailey.”

“Lord?” Eira hissed.

“On a technicality,” Leth responded equally as quiet.

“And what technicality would that be?”

“Erm...”

“Leth, I’d tell me now before we get in there and I discover anything new.”

“I still can’t say it out loud. I’m sorry.”

“What? Why? We’re mated now, right?” She plastered on a fake smile while she asked, conscious that they were entering a ballroom full of other people, none of whom she knew, or wanted to know that she was already having an argument with him.

“Because there’s some things I can’t tell you until you’ve been introduced to certain people. I don’t know why, it’s just one of those weird eccentricities of Court life.” His explanation infuriated her, but the seriousness in his tone, and the look on his face, told her that he wasn’t messing around, he genuinely was telling the truth. Which was when she noticed something else...

“No one else is wearing a wedding dress, Leth,” she hissed, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.

“That’s because no one else needs to.”

“Explain. Now.”

“You’re a fae mate being presented at Court for the first time, it’s a combination of a debut and a wedding I guess?”

“And you couldn’t have told me that before?” Though it did actually explain a lot, even if she was far from the blushing debutante that would normally be wearing white. Or the blushing bride for that matter.

“And miss the look on your face?” He laughed, as did Josh, and she tried to stop the responding smile that was attempting to cross her face. She couldn’t let on that she was amused. It wasn’t a good precedent to set.

“Don’t think I’m not mad at you.”

“Your face was worth it,” Josh said, laughing along with Leth.

“Damn, why isn’t Rueben here to defend my honour?”

“If you think he wouldn’t be laughing too, you’d have another thing coming,” Leth said.

Eira ignored him, looking around the room and seeing the multitude of faces turned towards them, intrigue plain on their faces, though she didn’t know exactly why. Maybe it was the arriving with two men on her arms, or maybe it was her appearance, the white gown and pale hair did make her stand out a little. Though they couldn’t automatically think she was a winter fae, not with the dark-haired princess they seemed to have.

“Leth, they’re all staring.” She hated how insecure she felt, she wasn’t normally this way.

“Because you’re easily the most beautiful woman in the room,” he assured her, and she melted a little.

“That’s not a very nice thing to say on my birthday, brother,” a female voice said from behind them. Eira dropped her hold on their arms, and turned to find a woman who was quite obviously Leth’s sister. She had the same brown hair, except hers flowed to her waist, and the same brown eyes that swirled with summer. She was probably the most beautiful woman Eira had ever seen, and she was very glad that Leth was related to her, or she’d be feeling even more insecure about herself than she had moments before.

“Rose!” A smile broke out across Leth’s face, and he pulled his sister into his arms. “Yuna says I need to dance with you?” he asked, glancing briefly at Eira, who nodded. She had Josh to dance with after all.

“Yes, Mother suggested a few others who could do the honour, but...”

“But none of them were Yuna so you refused.”

“Pretty much, yes.” Sadness filled Rose’s eyes, and Eira just wanted to hug her, despite the fact they hadn’t even been introduced.

“I’m sorry, Rose.”

“I know, but there’s nothing that you can do about it.”

“Maybe there is.”

“Let’s not talk about it. Please Leth? Just dance with me?”

“Very well. One second.” Leth turned back to face Eira properly, and leaned down to kiss her softly. “I’m sorry I can’t dance the first one with you. Technically, I should, but I can’t abandon Rose, and no, I can’t tell you why yet, but I promise, you’ll find out in a moment.” He cupped her cheek in his hand, and looked deep into her eyes, emotions swimming close to the surface, much like they had in Rueben’s earlier.

“Why does that fill me with dread?” she asked, amusement filling her voice.

“It shouldn’t, I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Josh will dance the first one with you, then you’re mine, understand?” His eyes danced with lust, and awoke something in Eira. If they were going to carry on like this, then she was never going to survive the rest of the night.

“Yes.” She licked her lips, and his eyes darted downwards.

“And Eira?”

“Mmm.”

“When you find out this next bit, remember I love you.”

Her heart skipped a beat, and her pulse began to race. “I love you too,” she whispered. “But this next bit?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Eira sighed, but he leaned down and kissed her, blanking her mind. He broke away and held his arm out to his sister, whisking her into the middle of the dance floor.

“I think we need to wait for them to start, but after that, would you do me the honours?” Josh asked with a mock bow. She swatted him on the arm.

“Don’t you start, I’m no lady and you know it.”

“I don’t know, E. You scrub up pretty well.” He smirked at her, but pulled her closer with a protective hand on her waist. “And he’s not the only one that loves you.” He whispered the words in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

“He’s not the only one I love,” she whispered back, looking up and meeting his adoring green eyes.

“I’m glad to hear it.” He nuzzled his nose into her neck, and she was reminded of their night together.

“Josh?”

“Yes, E?”

“If I use my sparks on you, will it feel different to when you use them on yourself?”

“Huh, good question, I wouldn’t know, I’ve never tried it.”

“We can if you want?”

“I’d love that, but maybe not here.” He laughed, low and rumbly and delicious. Damn, she was an absolute goner, completely head over heels for her men.

“We can try later?” she suggested.

“There’s a lot of things you seem to want to do later,” he said, laughing more.

“Well you keep promising me, and it all sounds so good.”

“That’s because it’s with you, E. Anything is good with you.”

“Flatterer,” she teased.

He laughed louder this time, filling the room with the sound and drawing attention to them. Trumpets blared, pulling Eira’s attention away from a laughing Josh and towards the same person who’d announced them as they’d entered the room.

“Please clear the dance floor for Rose, the Fae Princess of Summer, and her brother, the Lord Leth,” the announcer blared, and Eira’s mouth dropped open as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing.

“Wait if she’s the Princess—” she started saying, but only to herself. Before she could complete her thought, Josh pulled her into his arms and began to lead her through the same steps that Leth had taught her the other night.

“It means his Mother is the Queen,” Josh finished.

“You knew?” she demanded, managing to get distracted and nearly falling over her own feet. Luckily Josh caught her.

“No, but I worked it out.” He spun her around, making it look surprisingly easy, and her skirts flared out around her. She’d never actually worn a full gown before, she’d never needed to, and even though it was a wedding dress, she found herself kind of enjoying it. There weren’t many times in her life when she’d felt like a princess, but this was definitely one of them.

“Oh.” He pulled her back into hold, and she clasped his shoulder tightly as they spun around. Over his shoulder, she could see Leth and his sister laughing and dancing, looking surprisingly at ease. Just metres away, Yuna stood watching, and odd expression on her face that even Eira could see from her distance. Something really wasn’t right there. “What do you think is going on with Rose and Yuna?” she asked Josh, watching his face as intently as she could through the dance. Surprisingly, she was finding it easier to get through the steps when she wasn’t actually thinking about it.

“You mean are they in a relationship or not?”

“No,” she answered instantly. “It’s pretty obvious they love each other, I was just wondering what else was going on.”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “But I think it’ll be something fae related. They haven’t touched each other since they’ve been in the room, which must be hard when they’re mates.”

“They’re definitely it then?” she asked just before he twirled her under his arm, and pulled her back once more.

“Yes. Something tells me they definitely are.”

“A gut feeling?”

“You know about those?” He seemed surprised, but she liked that. Meant that she wasn’t a completely open book.

“I picked up on it a couple of years ago.”

“How long have you known I’m a witch, E?” He frowned as he asked, and she longed to distract him with a kiss, but knew that this wasn’t the time.

“Since Leth told me. But I knew you weren’t a normal human long before that, it’s not something easily hidden.” His frown deepened as she spoke.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What was there to say? It’s a pretty awkward conversation to have. And you didn’t seem to want to have it with me. Besides, it’s not like knowing could have changed anything.”

“I suppose...”

“It’s true, Josh. You still wouldn’t have been able to touch me, I’d still have needed to...” she trailed off, unable to think of the right way to phrase it. She hated thinking about what she’d had to do. It hadn’t sit all that well with her at the time, and now even less so, especially knowing she’d made Josh a witness to most of it.

“Top up?” he suggested with a short laugh.

“Yes, top up.”

“I’m just thankful that you’ll never have to view it like that again.”

“Me too.” She looked up at him adoringly, and he spun them again. “When did you get so good at dancing?”

“Rea made me go when we were younger. She used to tell Mum that she wanted to be a ballroom dancer.”

“Did she ever make it?” Eira asked, surprised by how little she actually knew about Josh’s sister given how long they’d known each other. She’d have to change that. Maybe she could get Rose and Reagan to come over for a girls’ night or something, and send her men out to watch sports or play pool or something like that.

“She’s still trying. She’s good actually.”

“Can I meet her?”

“Of course, I can call her when we get home.”

“Oh no, you won’t. You have too many promises to keep when we get home.”

“Do I now?” he half-growled, pulling her closer than the dance should technically allow, not that she was complaining. She was enjoying his proximity far too much.

“Careful, Josh, or you’ll get us thrown out of Court,” she murmured, the heat curling in her belly overriding any sensible feelings she had on the subject.

“Maybe I don’t care.” His voice was a delicious low rumble and Eira pressed herself closer in response, so close that they were now slow dancing as opposed to actually waltzing.

“You might not, but I think Leth might be upset with us if we caused a scene.”

“Hmm, good point, but then hasn’t he caused enough scenes today?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she let out a tinkling laugh, enjoying the moment.

“It’s his sister’s birthday, we can’t ruin that,” she pointed out. She liked what she’d seen of Rose, and she liked Rose’s mate too, she didn’t want to cause a scene at something so important to them.

Josh opened his mouth, ready to respond when there was a loud crash from the side of the room. She sprung back from Josh, looking towards the sound of the commotion, and saw the last thing she’d expected.

Rueben stumbled past a table filled with goblets and plates, and almost fell again. Panicking, Eira hiked up her dress and ran towards him as fast her heels and her dress would allow. The moment she reached him, she propped him up by pulling his arm around her shoulder and letting him rest his weight on her.

“Eira,” he groaned.

“Shh, Rueben, I’m here.” She supported his weight, flashing looks at both Leth and Josh to hold down the fort. She imagined between them they could distract everyone long enough for her to get Rueben out of the room and do something about the terrible state he was in. At least she had an idea what that something was, even if she was a little disappointed that the first time he was going to drink from her was when he really needed to, rather than when they both wanted him to. Not that it made any difference to her, if it helped him, then it was important, and she was willing to do it.