Summer's Child [Titania's Court 2] by Cari Z

Author:Cari Z [Z, Cari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B00DW967PI
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing
Published: 2013-07-10T12:00:00+00:00

* * * *

The feast that night was as ostentatious as any of them, and all of the fae had taken careful pains to make themselves as beautiful and ethereal as possible. Adelaster had outdone herself, her bright red hair braided and coiled around itself like an ouroboros and her green gown as wispy as a cloud, but she never even spoke to Dis that night, instead ruling her own little court of admirers and ignoring him altogether. The food, while delicious, was hard to swallow, and Dis only listened with half an ear to Graven as he spoke of ancient hunts.

“Of course, when we were one court, most of the kills went to Sable,” he said casually, and that was enough to grab Dis’ attention. “She was fierce beyond all measure and had a vicious streak in her that not even Oberon could entirely quell. I assume she does the same now as she did then.”

“Not anymore,” Dis said without thinking. He flushed then, fearing that he’d given too much away, but Graven simply shrugged.

“Some warriors do tire of the chase eventually,” he said.

Dawn stood up then, and Dis was glad for the distraction. “Our wait is almost over,” she told the fae, and her words were met with a cheer. “Another year has passed, and we are nearly at our zenith. This shall be a Solstice like no other, and we have this changeling to thank for it.” There was another cheer, more muted since Adelaster wasn’t participating, but still fervent. “Dis,” Dawn addressed him directly, “would you do the honour of tonight’s toast?”

Dis pushed back his chair and stood up. He lifted his glass of water, but the fae on his right, a friend of Adelaster’s, laughingly replaced it with fairy wine. “It isn’t a real toast without using one of our own vintages,” he said.

The glass felt unnaturally cold in Dis’ hand. He cleared his throat awkwardly, then began to speak. “Tonight, each of us should think on this past year. We should…consider how we got here, to this place, and imagine how bright a future might be before each of us. We should think about those who we love the most, and be sure we let them know how greatly we value them.” Dis raised his glass. “To our loves.”

“To our loves,” the rest of the fae murmured, then drank as one. Dis had no choice but to drink as well, his first time sipping the brew of the Summer Fae. It was every bit as potent as that which he got back home and after just one sip his head felt light. He sat down with a bit of a thump, but by then no one noticed, the revelry increasing as more wine was drunk.

“You must finish the glass,” the fae to Dis’ right encouraged him. “Finish it!”

“Finish it!” another called.

“Finish it!” Adelaster added, sounding a trifle spiteful. “Or is our wine another thing that isn’t good enough for you?”

Dis felt trapped by their expectations, and his desire not to hurt Adelaster any more than he already had.

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