“What’s changed between us?” I asked when he stopped to study the menu.
Fried pastries dipped in honey and sugar were visible in their display. Something that decadent couldn’t be found in Firlim’s harvest market. Of course, the prince purchased two of them, then held one out to me.
“Nothing’s changed.” He bit into his, his strong jaw working the pastry. “It’s simply become apparent that you’re going to be working at my side for the foreseeable future. Therefore, I need to put you on the court’s payroll.”
“But you’re acting . . . nicer now.”
He gave a wicked grin. “Shall I go back to being a bastard?”
I laughed, unable to help myself, then realized I was laughing with the male who’d murdered my family.
But even that realization didn’t sober my enjoyment.
Ock. It was official. I was either certifiably insane, or his regret at what he’d done to my family was thawing my resolve to hate him.
The prince held out his arm. “Come. I’ll show you the ice caves before it gets too dark.”
The prince flew us north of Pentlebim, to the coast of the Brashier Sea. Tangy salt nipped the tip of my tongue as the rich air grew denser the lower the prince flew.
Icy waves crested the shores as ice caps floated in the frigid water. My new beautiful leather gloves covered my hands, and I didn’t think my fingers had ever felt so warm.
“Thank you for the gloves,” I said softly just as he touched down, his booted feet hitting the snow-covered sand. “I didn’t properly thank you back at the market.”
“You’re welcome.” He released me and held on to my waist until I was steady.
My breaths increased, but I made myself step away, anything to stop these strange reactions I was having to him.
Ahead, a looming mountain rose right at the coast’s edge. Jagged ice crystals covered the entire base as snow blanketed its peak.
“It’s so big.” My head tilted back and back and back. It was as though the peak touched the stars.
“And unusual. This area is well known simply because a mountain of this size at the sea’s surface is geographically rare. Some say the God Xerious built it as his temple, and the ice caves within it were his private chambers.”
He gestured for me to walk at his side, and within minutes we reached the entrance to an enormous cave. Blue ice with veins of silver and white running through it made up the entire exterior. As we walked inside, I shuffled my feet along the cave’s slippery floor so I wouldn’t fall.
A hum of magic washed over me the farther we went, and amazingly, it didn’t grow dark—just dim—as we ventured more inside. When we rounded a corner, a light shone from farther in the cave’s belly.
“What’s that?”
The prince smiled, and with a start, I realized he’d been watching me the entire time we’d been walking in the cave. “You’ll see.”
When we rounded the next turn, I gasped.
Millions of sparkling gems poked out from the ice, not only above us but all around us. The cave’s ceiling, sides, floor, continuing tunnel, all of it. It was as though light illuminated the precious gems from behind them. Like the sun itself lived in the belly of this mountain.
I gazed in awe, turning slowly in a circle as a grin stretched across my face. It looked as if a galaxy of stars lit up the cavern, and that I was suspended in the midst of it. But there were so many colors and shimmering textures here, even more so than one saw in our great universe’s sky.
“So this is why fae believe this mountain belongs to the gods.” Tears formed in my eyes, and my breathing stuttered. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t take a breath. I never thought I’d witness beauty like this. My life in Mervalee was so small. So insignificant compared to something like this.
An ache formed in my chest. If only my parents and brother were here. My mother had loved beautiful things. She had always kept a patch of our garden reserved for flowers—pretty little petals that in no way helped feed us—but their vibrant colors and enchanting fragrances had always made her smile even on our darkest days.
When I finally found my voice again, I whispered, “It’s so beautiful. Possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I think so too,” the prince replied, his voice so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him.
When I shifted my tear-filled eyes to his, his comment pierced my soul, and the emotion strumming through me caught in my chest.
Not because he agreed with me that the cave’s sight was extraordinary, but because when he said it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, he hadn’t been looking at the cave.
He’d been looking at me.
CHAPTER 22
Daiseeum held up a floor-length royal blue gown that looked to be made of the finest silk and was encrusted with thousands of tiny gems. It glittered and shimmered when she swayed it in the light.
The lady’s servant gave a wistful sigh. “’Tis lovely, is it not?”
I eyed the silky material with the plunging neckline, cinched waist, and nearly bare back. The bareness would have suited any female with wings, but since I didn’t have wings, my naked flesh would be exposed for all to see.
“It is beautiful,” I agreed, even though my hands were clammy and my entire body stiff.
All day I’d been thinking about what the prince and I had experienced together yesterday, and it’d been hard to focus, even more so when Sandus had popped his head into my chambers a few hours ago with a ledger from the court’s bank. More rulibs than I’d ever owned in my entire life had been transferred into my name in a newly opened account. It seemed as though the prince hadn’t been jesting when he’d said that he would pay me for my time. Even though I hadn’t accomplished anything aside from the flourishing garden in the courtyard, he’d still paid me for each day I’d been at court.
Daiseeum’s smile grew. “Shall we put it on you?”
I began picking at my fingernails. I still couldn’t believe I was going to the ball or that I was going to meet the king, but now that Lord Crimsonale was telling everyone of my existence and the prince’s interest in me, the entire court knew of my month-long stay in his wing.
It didn’t help that, apparently, the prince’s behavior toward me was unusual. According to Daiseeum, no other female had ever captured his interest like I had.
I snorted at that thought. I supposed having the ability to save our continent would garner that kind of attention, even from a prince.
“Well?” Daiseeum asked with raised eyebrows when I remained quiet.
I plastered a smile on my face. “Um, I guess so?”
She tsked. “Your head’s been in the clouds all day. Now, come, we must get you ready.” She beckoned me forward and sighed in contentment. “I shall finally be able to dress you as a lady should.”
After I slipped into the gown, which fell over my body like liquid silk, she smiled.
“Beautiful, just beautiful. Now, have a seat.” She patted the stool in front of her. “My affinity shall have you ready in no time.”
The minute I propped myself on the stool’s plump cushion, she set to work on my hair and makeup.