The Half Blood Book 5

My eyes fluttered open, revealing the familiar gold and blue ceiling of my reality. I shook off the remnants of my dream, got out of bed, and dressed for another day.

Another day in this Court. Alone. Not that I minded the solitude. But I yearned for my old life in the mortal realm. A life with Tara, Reeona, and Bianca. A peaceful life.

That’s why I needed to find a way out of here. I needed to escape, to ensure Riathan would never lay eyes on me again.

But then a thought struck me. If I went back to the Mortal Realm, he could just trap me and drag me back here. I’d likely lose the few privileges I had left.

No. Simply escaping wouldn’t cut it.

Riathan would hunt me down and probably punish me. I needed to do something to get him off my back. Maybe even make him want to get rid of me. A new plan started to take shape in my mind.

If I became Riathan’s property on the night of the Hunt, there had to be a way to reverse it. I just needed to find someone who knew how, and that person wouldn’t be here.

Everyone here was loyal to the Lord of the Court of Tears.

No.

I needed someone from another Court. Maybe the Court of Fears.

The Lord of the Court of Fears was rumored to be almost as powerful as the King himself. He might be able to help me. But I wasn’t certain.

From what I’d seen during my time here, he was feared by many. They spoke of his coldness and cruelty.

But I had to try. My first opportunity would be in two nights at the Court of the King of the Unseelie.

***

As I sat eating the nightly feast Riathan insisted on, I studied his minion. Thallan had been one of the faes with Riathan on the night of the Hunt.

He was the one who had offered his cloak to cover my nakedness. Now, as I looked at him, his face was set in a constant scowl.

His default expression made him seem cold and distant, but the truth was different.

Despite being one of Riathan’s closest allies, Thallan was the only one who had offered me a smile, albeit a guarded and weak one, on my first night here.

Our friendship, if you could call it that, was odd. We rarely spoke more than a few words to each other, but there was a certain understanding between us.

As if we both knew there was a shared secret.

Thallan looked up, his black eyes meeting mine. They reminded me of Teias, the general of the demonic legions. His eyes were like dark, bottomless pits.

Thallan always seemed to be calculating, as if his mind was constantly strategizing.

“Sorana.” Riathan’s voice pulled my attention to him. His expression was one of displeasure. “Do you have something to say to Thallan?”

“Actually, I do,” I found myself responding. I refused to be intimidated by the Lord of the Court of Tears.

I might not have my powers anymore, but I was as pureblooded and immortal as they were. I wouldn’t let these arrogant bastards bully me.

“I was wondering if Thallan’s power is as strong as yours.”

Riathan’s jaw tightened. Thallan seemed unfazed, but his black eyes hardened as he looked at me.

“Who told you that?” Riathan asked, tension lacing his voice.

The table, filled with at least ten of his people, fell silent. Everyone was waiting to see what would happen next.

“No one in particular. Just rumors I heard.”

“Seems like you’ve been hearing a lot of rumors lately, demoness.” Riathan picked up his goblet and took a drink. “Thallan is my brother. I am the Lord, and he is not.”

His answer surprised me, but I noticed Thallan visibly relax. Interesting.

They were brothers. Why was Riathan the Lord and not Thallan?

I wanted to ask, but I held my tongue. I couldn’t afford to provoke Riathan too often. Not if I wanted to risk my plans due to his wrath.

“My lord, everything is ready for tonight,” a servant announced from the doorway.

“Good,” Riathan responded. “I hope you’ll attend this time, demoness. Last time, you didn’t seem too thrilled.”

Laughter echoed around the table. I gave Riathan a hollow smile. “I’ll be there.”

Riathan occasionally threw lavish balls, where humans were the main attraction.

The fae used their magic to transform, to deceive others, and to trick those who were susceptible…like me.

I had felt a desperate urge to vanish from the last dance I attended when I witnessed a human lose his mind and continue to consume rotten, maggot-infested fruit.

As everyone else laughed, the man craved more and more of the fruit.

And when the magic finally faded, the human realized what he had been consuming, and his stomach couldn’t handle the disgust, causing him to vomit everything he had eaten onto the floor.

Laughter echoed throughout the room at the poor man’s expense.

It was a revolting scene, and although I didn’t pity the human, I didn’t want to witness such brutality.

The humans who ventured into these lands were promised eternal youth and wealth, seduced by beauty and false assurances.

Only later did they discover that in the realm of the most powerful, they were merely the bottom of the food chain.

If this occurred at Riathan’s Court, I wouldn’t be shocked if it happened at others as well.

I never got the opportunity to ask Tara about her Court, but knowing her, I didn’t believe she would tolerate such behavior. Maybe the Court of Fears was different.

After all, Tara always seemed content when she spoke of her home.

***

Dinner concluded, and I headed to my room to change.

This time, the dress Riathan had selected for me was fit for someone of high status. Its white hue was adorned with sparkling silver stones stitched into the fabric.

The effect was as if hundreds of stars had descended onto the dress, leaving it speckled with their radiance. The sleeves were long and flared at the wrists.

And my chest was displayed provocatively with the dress’s sweetheart neckline.

Looking in the mirror, I understood why Riathan had chosen this ensemble.

The dress accentuated every curve of my body, and the silver hue of my hair highlighted the sparkles sewn into the dress even more.

What would his reaction be if he saw me dressed like this?

The thought flashed through my mind. My reflection stared back at me with a furrowed brow. Why did his image come to mind?

The stranger from my dreams, with his wolf mask, was not real. He was the result of a recurring dream. It was bizarre and odd to think of someone who didn’t exist.

Without giving it another thought, I headed to where the party was in full swing.

The room was packed with faes of the Court. They were dressed extravagantly and sipping fairy wine, which had no effect on them but did impact others who didn’t belong in this realm, like me.

As I mingled with the crowd of unfamiliar faces due to the magic, most of them looked at me with curiosity and desire.

Glancing around, I noticed some wore simple masks covering part of their faces.

It was nearly impossible to distinguish the servants, likely under the same magic as before, only appearing before you with a drink just when you felt the need for one.

I looked up at the ceiling. The golden hues that decorated my room were present here as well.

The ceiling was arched with gold stripes creating intricate lines and patterns with blue highlights in the center.

Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling, supported by the same gold that adorned the top of the hall. The dim lights made my dress stand out even more in the crowd.

It was impossible to slip away from here unnoticed. Damn Riathan.

“Demoness,” Riathan whispered in my ear.

Suppressing a barely noticeable sigh, I turned around with one of my practiced smiles. “My lord.”

“You look stunning.” His eyes dropped to my chest and then back to my face in seconds. His gaze held the promise of another solitary night.

“The dress is beautiful.”

I would never consider saying “thank you” to a fae. If I did, I would be acknowledging a debt, and it was well known that owing them a debt was never a wise decision.

Lifting my hand to his lips, he kissed my knuckles. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

As he walked away, I caught sight of Thallan, who was standing in the corner drinking, scanning the room with a bored expression.

His eyes shifted to me as I approached.

“Enjoying the party?”

Thallan did nothing but gaze at me for a few seconds, disregarding my question.

We stood there for a while, side by side, observing the rest of the fae laughing and drinking without a care in the world.

Some of the females occasionally glanced at us curiously. I could see the malicious and envious questions in their eyes, wondering about my relationship with Thallan.

“He didn’t do you any favors by giving you that dress.” Thallan’s voice drew my attention. I looked at the side of his face as his eyes focused on his drink.

“You’re well acquainted with him. He’s your sibling, after all. This dress is just another one of his tactics to broadcast my identity and warn everyone to keep their distance.”

“You don’t seem to be protesting. In fact, you appear to be relishing the attention from the Lord of the Court of Tears.”

My gaze shifted back to Thallan, taking in his dark eyes and his curls, now styled impeccably.

He wasn’t as handsome as Riathan, but there was something about his demeanor that made him more intriguing than the others.

Perhaps it was his aloofness or the strong muscles concealed beneath his green and black jacket.

“Can you tell me what other option I have?” His silence prompted me to repeat, “Is there no other reality? It’s either this or become just another plaything like them.”

I motioned towards a group of humans in their early twenties, guzzling the fairy wine without restraint. Oblivious to the fact that they were likely losing track of time, ensnared in this realm.

“I’m skeptical that you would have ended up like them if the roles were reversed.”

“Really?” I quirked an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on my lips. But Thallan regarded me with icy seriousness.

“You’re different. You’re not human. You’re a powerless, worthless demoness. Yet, the Sirens of the river released you.”

Choosing to ignore his insult, I questioned, “They released me? They didn’t seem hostile when I encountered them.”

“Exactly.” Thallan handed his empty cup to a servant and abruptly departed.

Even though I wanted to press him for clarification, I held back from pursuing him.

Numerous eyes were trained on me, and the last thing I needed was to attract Riathan’s attention during his party and jeopardize my plans to visit the Court of Darkness.

As I scanned the room with feigned disinterest, my gaze halted near one of the windows.

There, amidst the masks, was a wolf’s. One that I had only seen in my dreams at night. The coincidence was so striking that for a moment, I felt as if the night was starting to make sense.

The man donning the mask seemed to be searching for someone.

I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was with his jet-black hair and brown jacket. As I observed him scanning the crowd, his gaze suddenly locked onto mine.

Fixated on me. As if I was the one he had been searching for all along.

The longer I watched him, the more suspicious I became. The man seemed familiar, and the notion that he was the man from my dream the previous night began to take root in my mind.

The realization that it was truly him would catch me off guard.

His eyes remained on me. As if he was waiting for me to approach him. With nothing to lose, I did.

Others crossed my path, and when I looked again, the man with the wolf mask had vanished.

I discreetly searched for him among the other masked faces, but the room started to fill as the music picked up pace.

It had been a futile endeavor. Believing that this person truly existed was absurd.

A hand gripped my waist, and as I recognized his voice, I plastered on my fake smile once more.

“Dance with me.” Riathan took hold of my waist, guiding me through one of the traditional dances exclusive to this realm.

His eyes twinkled with each movement of my arms. “I can’t wait for them to leave so I can have you all to myself.”

Smiling, I replied, “You’ll only have to wait a little longer, my Lord.” I spun away from him three times to continue dancing with the next man.

With my back to my new partner, but his hands clasping mine, I continued the dance steps I had learned months ago.

My partner’s hands began to move from my fingers to my collarbone, a move that was unusual for this dance.

“I believe your hands are misplaced, sir,” I commented as his hands slid down to my waist in a deliberate yet gentle motion.

“Sir? I thought we had moved past formalities,” he murmured in my ear.

“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”

He chuckled deeply, causing the skin on my neck to prickle at the sound of his voice. “You look stunning tonight, Sorana.”

I had to confirm it. I had to turn around and verify that it was real. That it wasn’t just my imagination.

I spun around to face him but found myself alone. The man’s voice was identical to the one I had heard in my dreams.

Could it really be a coincidence? First, the wolf mask I had seen moments ago, and now his voice.

A feeling was brewing inside me. It was a distasteful sensation, slowly poisoning my cheerful disposition. Someone was toying with me.

If my hunch was right, it meant a fae had been tampering with my dreams. That jerk was going to get what was coming to him the next time I drifted off to sleep.