To Carve a Fae Heart (The Fair Isle Trilogy Book 1) by Tessonja Odette

Author:Tessonja Odette [Odette, Tessonja]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crystal Moon Press
Published: 2020-05-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

With the ceremony over, we adjourn to the dining room for a celebratory feast. I’m about to take my usual seat at the middle of the table when Foxglove sidles up next to me. “Not anymore, sweet one,” he whispers, then ushers me down to the end of the table, opposite of where Aspen sits. It’s the secondary place of honor. Cobalt’s usual seat.

“What about the prince?” I whisper.

“You’re the king’s mate now,” he says, “and soon-to-be queen. Your place is here.”

The king’s mate. I grit my teeth, trying not to think about that infuriating kiss. As if he can sense my thoughts, Aspen lifts his eyes and meets mine from the other end of the table, a crooked smile quirking his lips. I avert my gaze and take my seat.

The guests quickly fill up the remainder of open chairs. Cobalt sits to the right of his brother at the other end, while Foxglove and Lorelei sit on either side of my end. I’m relieved to have them here, especially surrounded by so many strangers. The remaining guests are the fae ambassadors as well as Sableton’s vicar. I’m surprised to see the latter take the seat opposite Cobalt, next to Aspen.

I look over the table, finding it laden with aromatic fruit, plates of oysters, bowls of violets, and towering tiered trays of chocolates. Several decanters of wine in every shade of red are set out. Everything is rich and decadent, evocative of sensuality. Even the room has been decorated to match the mood; deep red tapestries cover the walls, the floor is strewn with plush velvet pillows, and dark red lilies fill every vase.

My eyes rove to the fae ambassadors. They chat animatedly as they settle in, reaching for foods to fill their plates, holding their glasses for the servants to fill with wine. I can’t see much of their faces, since only Aspen and I have taken off our masks, but they all appear quite civilized. I see a few whiskers, snouts and swishing tails, a few mouths with pointed teeth, but nothing I haven’t already seen here at the palace.

I lean toward Foxglove. “Are all the fae ambassadors seelie?”

He nods approvingly. “You are correct in your observations. The ambassadors from every court, regardless of political affiliation, are seelie. This is because they must interact with humans on occasion, and we learned long ago that unseelie make terrible ambassadors to the human lands.”

It makes me wonder what it would be like if I were in a room with unseelie fae instead. Are the unseelie kings and queens goblins and trolls? Vicious beasts like the kelpie? Whatever the case, the ambassadors are an interesting sight. Their gowns are bright and elaborate, like costumes in a play. The more masculine suits are composed of varied colors and fabrics, some with padded shoulders, others with trailing, glittering coattails.

A painful thought comes to mind. Amelie would have loved to see this. My throat tightens, lungs constricting as I try to keep the tears at bay.

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