“No, but I was a human without magic, and now I have it and have learned to control it. He thought that might mean I could help you.”
I raised my eyebrows in question when she met my gaze.
“Oh, you want to know what I am?” She chuckled, then shrugged. “Faolán’s a shapechanger—a fae who can shift into another form.”
A man passing wrinkled his nose like she’d just said Faolán ate shit.
“And he was able to turn me.” She showed me her forearm where an arc of teeth marks showed pale against her freckles. “I’m a werewolf.”
I stared at the scar. “You mean… werewolves are real?”
“Oh, yes. Very real.” She flipped her arm over, revealing another set of marks, as if that proved it.
Another fae stiffened and hurried across the road.
“Don’t worry,” Rose called after them, “you’re safe. It isn’t a full moon. Or—wait—is it? Oh no!” Her back arched and she clawed the air.
I stopped mid-step. Was I meant to get help? I glanced up the hill—I could find my way back to the palace and fetch Faolán.
But… no. Her eyes weren’t wide in fear.
“I can feel myself losing control, I’m going to—”
She howled.
Fae scattered.
I was torn between concern about the attention she’d drawn and relief that it kept people at a distance, so I didn’t need to worry so much about poisoning them.
Pulling her sleeve down, she rolled her eyes. “Fucking hypocrites.”
I raised my eyebrows at her performance. “So… fae don’t like werewolves?”
“Or shapechangers. Even though,” she added in a voice that filled the street, “the first Day King was one. In case you’d all forgotten that side of your beloved hero.”
The few remaining fae bowed their heads and hurried past. One clicked their tongue and muttered, “Exactly what I’d expect from such animals.”
Rose huffed a long breath out. “I’m sorry, it just really…” She gritted her teeth and shook her head. “Most shapechangers try to keep what they are secret so they don’t upset other fae. But I say screw them.”
“So I see.”
She frowned ahead. “Some think it’s just name-calling and being the last served at a bar, but in some villages they’ll attack you the moment they get a whiff of something animalistic.”
“You don’t need to apologise to me.” I went to touch her arm, but the sight of my gloves reminded me why that could be risky. I clasped my hands together. “I can get behind a bit of anger.”
Truth be told, I envied her. From the way Faolán had kissed her cheek and called her “little flower” so casually to the way she didn’t hide her feelings—I envied her.
“Thanks.” She shot me a smile softer than her others, like this one came from somewhere deeper. “Much as I love Tenebris, fae can be so ridiculous sometimes.”
“No arguments here,” I muttered.
From the corner of her eye, she gave me a look that felt more knowing than I expected, but when she stopped outside a shop and opened her mouth, it wasn’t for a probing question. “Here’s our first jeweller.”
12
Kat
The fae behind the counter wrinkled her nose as she eyed my necklace. “No, not me.”
Not a promising start.
But I was out of Bastian’s rooms and I was doing something, so even her expression couldn’t sour my mood.
“Any ideas who might’ve made it?”
More nose-wrinkling as she shook her head and wished us a good day.
“Don’t worry,” Rose told me as we left and started along the road, “there are plenty of jewellers to try.” She widened her eyes. “Dozens, in fact.”
The next place, Clio’s, with a moon forming the C yielded similar results. It was only when I glanced back at the sign as we were leaving that I registered. These were people from Dusk Court. I didn’t know who unCavendish had worked for, but since he tried to kill Bastian, it seemed most likely they were from Dawn.
“Maybe the necklace was from a Dawn jeweller, rather than a Dusk one. We could focus on them instead?” I glanced at Rose, all nonchalance.
Her brow furrowed. “If you think so. Seems weird that Bastian would buy a necklace from a Dawn jeweller.”
I barely kept the wince from my face. “It… wasn’t from him.”
“Oh.”
Even though I avoided looking at her, I could feel the closeness of her attention. She expected an explanation that I wasn’t going to give.
Still, the weight of her attention pulled on me, especially after she’d been so friendly, so I threw her a quick smile.
“We can go to some of Dawn’s jewellers—there are a couple on the next street. But, I warn you, they’ll charge us more and won’t be as welcoming. Especially when they find out this is to go on Bastian’s account.”
“What?” My eyebrows shot up. Since I wasn’t planning to actually buy any jewellery, paying for it hadn’t crossed my mind.
“Anything you want to buy is taken care of. You might want to make the most of that, since it’s a deep well you’re drawing from.” She chuckled.
I frowned and pulled my arms tighter around myself as we passed a large group of fae who watched us. Their darker clothes suggested they were of Dusk, yet their attention prickled over me, unsafe.
“And the price is different depending on who you are?”
“More… Dusk sees you as one of their own—they do with me, too. Dusk looks after Dusk, and Dawn… well, they might turn a blind eye if you were on fire.”
I scoffed at the image, and her grin widened. “It’s not entirely a joke, is it?”
“Afraid not. Welcome to a city of two courts.”
Although the city’s appearance changed with the sunset and rise, most streets tended to be dominated by one court or the other. This one we walked down was full of shop signs with constellations and crescent moons, decorated in the deep sunset colours of Dusk Court.
A palace divided by two planes of existence. Two courts divided by day and night. And, so it seemed, a city also divided.
Still, I had a mission, even if it might make Rose believe me a spoilt aristocrat. “Well… I still want these earrings to match, so…”
“Dawn jewellers it is.” She shrugged and led me to the next road over.
Suns and clouds took over the iconography, together with shades of soft pink, blue, and lavender. The change was so stark, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed before.
More gazes followed us, but here the eyes narrowed. Just a little, almost unnoticeably, but enough that I caught it. Conversations stopped. Folk turned.
I fought to keep my expression neutral.
Never reveal your heart. That included not letting them see I was affected.
We tried another jeweller. This one gave us a stiff smile as we entered, yet her eyes gleamed as she no doubt detected a great opportunity to overcharge Bastian’s account. But she shook her head when I asked about the necklace. “I haven’t seen it before. Though, I could make something to match.”