Fanning my face, I shout at Richard that I need another drink and flee before he can offer to go with me. The lanterns above dim, the music slowing.

A love song. Ugh.

Fighting free of the crowd, I find myself searching the other side of the courtyard for a certain Evermore. One with silver eyes, midnight-blue hair, and a devious smile.

And then, as if summoned by my thoughts, Valerian appears a few feet ahead. My chest aches as I take him in. A cerulean blue dinner jacket with silver embroidery shows off his wide shoulders, his wavy hair brushed to one side.

A wry smile plays on his lips. “Care to dance, mortal?”

I’ve been so mad at him these last few months. I even wrote him a letter only to tear it to pieces. I swore tonight if I saw him I would tell him exactly where to stick it.

But now . . .

Valerian Sylverfrost is asking me to dance, and I don’t have a chance in hell of refusing.

37

I accept his hand, hardly daring to breathe as he guides me to the center of the Fae dance floor. The Evermore stop dancing to stare at us. Their pinched faces make it more than clear what they think about a human in their midst.

With one of their princes, no less.

He rests his free hand on my waist, drawing me to him. “Don’t look at them, look at me.”

“How do I know you’re . . . you?” I whisper, Bane’s little trick from last year fresh on my mind.

“I could kiss you and you would know, I promise.”

His teasing tone sends a shiver through my torso. “True. But if you’re Bane, I would have been tricked into kissing him, and I’d rather not.”

A chuckle. “Spoken with the cleverness of a Faerie.” His hand moves to the bare skin between my shoulder blades, his fingers tracing my spine as they glide down to the small of my back. “What does your body tell you?”

Heat blossoms from my core, and I swear the air gets thinner with every circle his fingertips make against my flesh.

Only one Evermore has this affect on me.

“They’re all staring,” I whisper.

“Let them.” His breath is cool against my ear. His hair nearly black in the soft lantern light.

God, even with everyone watching . . . this feels so right. And yet, I’m pissed at myself for falling into his arms after months of his coldness. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

He pulls back so that I can see his face, limned in shadows. “After Yule, I thought about what you said. About what you needed to understand the depths of my feelings for you.”

Depths of feelings. That has promise.

“And?” I press. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Not after what Eclipsa said, but . . .

“And I realized I was asking you to give up everything, but not willing to do the same.”

I blink. Where is he going with this?

“The last few months, I’ve been visiting the Winter Court, dealing with some contractual issues.”

“Contractual?”

“Yes. There was a contract made between my father and Inara’s father guaranteeing our marriage. I found a way to sever it.”

Whoa, shit just got real real. I remember the Winter King’s toast.

“So your dad okayed that?”

“Okayed? I’m the heir to the throne. He can’t force me to marry her, only strongly advise me to. I agreed to it years ago because an alliance with her father was beneficial, if not necessary.”

“And now?”

“And now, it’s not. I paid recompense to Inara’s father using my mother’s jewels, ending Inara’s claim over me. The only person who can claim me now is you.”

Holy frick. My heart is thundering in my ears, making it hard to focus. Inara’s threats come to mind. “But won’t her family retaliate?”

I may not be a true Fae, but I know a woman scorned has nothing on a Fae female scorned, and Inara was already homicidal before he publicly shamed her.

He shrugs. “Her father will be angry over the slight. Some in the Winter Court will side with him and leave. But they can be won back eventually.” He must see the concern in my eyes because he takes my hand, squeezing it. “I refuse to be ruled by fear. I can deal with losing duplicitous courtiers, but I would never get over losing you.”

My mind is spinning, the stars above making lazy pirouettes across the night sky. We’ve given up any semblance of dancing, making our being together even more conspicuous.

My vision might be blurring, but around me, the hateful stares of the Evermore are perfectly clear, as are their silent accusations.

I stole Valerian from Inara. Me. A lowly, unimportant human. I’ve bewitched him with magic or my human wiles—whatever the heck those are.

“Doesn’t that look bad?” I press. “Choosing a mortal over a powerful Evermore?”

“I’m tired of caring about what the other courts think. In fact, I only care about what one person thinks, and she’s standing right in front of me.”

He brushes his lips over mine. A part of me wants to kiss him back in front of everyone. A giant eff you to Inara and the entire school. A part of me wants to finally, finally give in to what my body wants.

And yet . . .

I pull away.

“You still haven’t answered my question from months ago.” I place my hand on his chest, just over his heart. The coldness of his body seeps through his jacket into my palm. “Do you love me?”

His fingers stop caressing my back. “What?”

“It’s a simple question. Are you in love with me?”

He stares at me as a mixture of shock and confusion play over his features. “I just told you I gave up everything for you, and you want to argue about a word?”

My throat tightens. My chest hurts. I suck in a breath, fighting the sudden ache of disappointment that fills me. “Why can’t you say it?”

“Why can’t you just let it go?”

“Because I’m human. A silly, irrational human and I need love. I need it professed from the rooftops. I need it whispered to me in bed for no reason at all.”

He frowns, unable to mask the hurt in his face. “What I’m offering you is better, Summer. It’s a guarantee that I will never hurt you.”

“But you are hurting me right now.”

His hand drops from my back. He retreats an inch. “What you ask . . . it’s too much.”

I swallow, clearing the emotion from my throat. I feel like my words are twisting, coming out wrong. “So you’ll never be able to love me?” He goes to answer, but I interrupt. “Truth.”

Silence. I can see him struggling with what I’m asking. “What would you like to know? That I think love is a poison disguised as a cure? That humans are fools for believing in it? That my mother once said those very words and I would rather cut out my own tongue than utter them?”

I flinch from the bitterness in his voice. The pain. “Here’s my truth. I think what you feel for me scares you. I think it terrifies you. So you rely on a bond of magic rather than risk opening your heart to me.”

His silence scares me. Infuriates me. I can see him building a wall between us as real as if it were mortar and brick.

In my desperation, I try to shatter it. “The truth is, I think you’re a coward. Afraid to love me. And if that’s true . . . you don’t deserve me.”

His face closes off, and I know—I just know I’ve lost him. He dons the cruel, impenetrable mask from the first time I saw him. “I think it’s clear that I can never give you what you desire.”

Words lodge in my throat. Words I imagine saying but can’t quite utter. Wait. That came out wrong. I don’t want us to end this way.

But maybe he isn’t a coward. Maybe he’s the brave one for finally saying what we both know.

Valerian Sylverfrost will never be able to look me in the eyes and say, “I love you.” And perhaps that shouldn’t be important. Perhaps what he offered me should be enough.

But it isn’t. It never will be.

Laughter and whispering remind me that we’re front and center, on display for everyone. I look around at all the Evermore watching us. A few take videos with their phones.

Tears prick the corners of my eyes.

No. I will not give them the satisfaction.

Wiping my nose on my forearm, I dart away from Valerian and through the tangle of Evermore. Some grab at my dress. My hair. They call me horrible names. Laugh at me.

Inara and the new Six sneer as I race past, leaving a trail of dandelion heads floating in the air.

Her hate-filled look promises retribution for Valerian’s slight.

Part of me is relieved that he doesn’t go after me. But that’s when it really hits that we’re over. This, us, the whole mate thing, whatever we wanted to call it.

It wasn’t enough to make him trust me.

To love me.

When I reach the stone walkway that tunnels beneath the main hall to the other side, I let the tears fall. Let the rush of my emotions from everything that’s happened over the school year flood me until I’m choking with quiet sobs.

This entire year can go straight to hell.

Sniffling, I enter the dim tunnel. The sounds of revelry and laughter echo off the walls, growing quieter the farther I press into the darkness.

I quicken my pace. There’s no lanterns to chase back the shadows. Only the meager light from a lamppost on the main lawn in the distance. It’s yellow glow glistens off the stone walls as I near the end.

A stairwell opens up on my right. It’s layered in shadows. On instinct, I press against the wall, recoiling from what I cannot see—but feel. The prickle against my skin that means I’m being watched.

“That was an entertaining show you two put on,” comes a soft, lazy voice.

Hellebore.

My gut tightens as fear slowly wends its way through my heart.

The Spring Court heir has finally come to collect his part of the bargain.

38

I know running is pointless. That’s what he wants. But my body screams to flee, my thigh muscles quivering in anticipation. My lungs greedily sucking in air as I prepare to dart toward the light.