CHAPTER 5
In the embrace of night's velvety curtain, a young girl ventured into the heart of a forest. Liliana's steps, deliberate and unhurried, stirred only whispers of sound, like secrets shared with the moonlit trees. Her path was lit by a thousand fireflies, hovering above her, and she followed them as they led her deeper.
The cool night air kissed her cheeks, bearing the aroma of damp earth and the faint perfume of woodland flowers. The forest, usually cloaked in bustling life by day, had transformed into a cathedral of whispers. Crickets serenaded her with their rhythmic symphony, and the occasional hoot of an owl overhead punctuated the night's everlasting symphony.
She wore a gown of the palest blush pink, a delicate shade that seemed to mirror the first light of dawn. The dress featured a modest neckline adorned with intricate lace and a satin ribbon, as soft as moonlight, encircled her waist, drawing attention to her slender figure without overshadowing her poise. The gown flowed effortlessly around her, like a cascade of silken water, gracing the soft moss with every step she took.
It was the first piece she had designed.
She wore a pair of pearl stud earrings that shimmered in the candlelight and a clutch bag in the same gentle shade as her dress. Her hair, a cascade of her natural auburn waves, fell to her waist. A few loose tendrils framed her face and her lips were painted in a soft pink hue, the same shade as the blush that adorned her cheeks.
Her right hand was clutching the pearl-colored invitation, personalized by the crown prince Darren himself, inviting her to his Nocte Neverending.
The fireflies ahead of her stilled in mid-air as she reached a lake and a small boat anchored on the shore that would take her to the event. The boat was made of a smooth silver metal and had intricate carvings of another universe, of brutal war and peaceful coexistence between creatures that no longer existed - minotaurs and dragons and centaurs and phoenixes intertwined in an eternal dance.
She stepped onto the boat, and the moment she settled in, ensuring her balance, it started moving, propelled forward by magic as it slowly started sinking.
A faint silver glow spread from the bottom of the boat and enveloped her, fading almost instantly. Water began seeping into the boat and Liliana shifted her rose heels to avoid touching it, although the effort was not necessary.
The water, even as it enveloped her, never touched her. She could feel it around her, but no part of her was damp. It was disconcerting.
Soon enough, the water was at her waist and rose rapidly. Out of a force of habit, she took a deep breath just before it reached her lips, although she could immediately breathe underwater. The boat kept sinking and water covered her hair, not one strand out of place.
Beneath the velvet curtain of the ocean's inky depths, time flowed like a lazy river, unhurried and eternal, carrying with it the secrets of the deep.
Bioluminescent creatures danced in graceful arcs, their radiant bodies painting a celestial tapestry of colors. Neon jellyfish glowed like drifting stars, casting their ethereal light upon the vibrant coral gardens below. The coral itself thrummed with a silent symphony, its ancient music resonating through the water.
At the heart of the lake lay a city whose spires pierced the cerulean abyss, gleaming like diamonds against the ever-present twilight. Towers of living coral rose from hidden depths and dark, serpentine beings with eyes that shone like tarnished gold slithered through the kelp forests.
A merman, with a brilliant white tail greeted her the moment the boat touched the bottom of the lake, gliding through the water, his voice echoing in harmonious unison with the whispers of the water around her.
He introduced himself as Adonis and led her to the actual event. Schools of fish performed graceful dances, twirling and swaying in perfect unison. Seahorses raced through underwater tunnels, their tails fluttering. Dolphins leaped from the depths, their acrobats something she had never even heard of before.
A luminescent coral reef displayed a dazzling light show, mimicking the constellations above. It was a mesmerizing spectacle that filled the underwater world with a sense of magic and wonder.
Soon, almost too soon, it was her turn to meet the prince. Despite it being what she had come for, it required effort for her to turn away from the celebration and toward the man whose heart she was trying to win.
She followed the sea nymph who called her through chambers decorated with seashells and lost treasure until she climbed up a spiral staircase to see a tall man, facing away from her.
He turned toward her, his gold crown hanging over one brow, chestnut hair falling to his shoulders. His presence was commanding, drawing all the air in the room toward him.
Eyes the color of polished sapphires met hers and he smiled and Liliana's cheeks reddened with a blush much deeper than the one she had worn.
The light of the moon mixed with the north's ancient magic turned the fog into an iridescent mist that set the streets aglow and made the tips of the needletrees shimmer with hints of gold blue and fairy green.
Evangeline was incredibly nervous. Her hand kept circling her other wrist and her legs kept shaking up and down.
Liliana smiled at her, and reached over, squeezing her hand, "You'll do great. Remember everything I've told you. The most important bit is just relax. If you're too stiff, it'll be hard to talk to others."
She had given the girl as much advice as she could, but each Nocte Neverending was different, so she wasn't sure how much of it was applicable.
Evangeline nodded in response, her mind clearly in another place, when the carriage finally halted. Frangelica didn't move to leave, but she cheerily said, "Good luck! And don't pluck any of the leaves."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Evangeline said, and Liliana nodded as she stepped into the frost-touched night.
In front of them was a forest of spindly trees dripping ice and an arch made of the same marbled blue granite that formed the Gateway Arch to the North.
This arch was not nearly as large as that one had been, but the torches on either side of it illuminated carvings that were equally intricate and far more inviting. There were symbols from countless Northern tales and ballads: starshaped keys and broken books, knights in armor, a crowned wolf's head, winged horses, bits of castles, arrows, and foxes, and twining vines of harlequin lilies.
"Are you going to stand here until you freeze, or step through?" said a smoky voice.
At first, Liliana thought the voice came from the arch. She could be a little idiotic at times. Then she saw him.
The young man stood beside the arch the way a tree stood in a forest, as if he'd always been there. He wore no cloak or cape, just sinuous leather armor, and an unusual bronze helm. The top portion almost looked like a crown, thick and decorated with unfamiliar symbols that wrapped around the young man's forehead. The helm left most of his wavy brown hair uncovered but concealed much of his face with a wide curve of harsh, spiked metal that bracketed the sides of his head and covered his jaw all the way to the bridge of his nose, leaving only a pair of eyes and slashing cheekbones exposed.
"Castor." Liliana nodded at the Fate in greeting as Evangeline took a step back, almost instinctively.
"Liliana. You look stunning." Chaos laughed, unexpectedly soft as he turned to the girl. "You're not in any danger from me, princess."
"I'm not a princess," she corrected.
"But maybe you will be." He winked, and then he disappeared from view as they stepped through the arch and heard a voice rasp, We're so pleased you found us.
Another step, and the world transformed around her.
Warmth coated her skin like afternoon sun. Liliana remained outside, but the fog and the mist and the cold were gone. Everything here was burnished bronze and red and orange - the colors of leaves on the verge of change.
She was in another forest clearing, but this one was set for a party with lively musicians playing lutes and harps, and trees dangling celebratory ribbons. In the center of it all, a royal phoenix tree reigned, and Frangelica's cryptic warning suddenly made sense.
It wasn't the first time Liliana had ever seen such a tree. She had gotten married under one, after all.
A phoenix tree took over a thousand years to mature, branches stretching, trunks thickening, and leaves turning to real gold. They shone like dragon treasure in the candlelight, tempting people to pluck them. Although, if one gold leaf was taken before all of them turned, then the entire tree would burst into flames.
Milling around the tree were all sorts of important-looking people. If the men at the docks had looked as if they could fell a tree with one strike of an ax, these people looked as if they could end lives with a few choice words or the stroke of a pen. Most men were in fine velvet doublets that matched the warm décor, while the ladies wore a variety of gowns. The majority were dressed in the fashion of the North with overskirts of heavy brocade, belts covered in jewels, and dramatic slashed sleeves that hung past their fingertips.
"How do you know the soldier?"
She turned to Evangeline and shrugged. If Chaos didn't want his identity revealed, it had to be for a reason. And he hadn't said anything about her own status as a Fate. "I told you, I used to live here."
Evangeline took a deep breath and turned slightly as though searching for Prince Apollo among guests who casually sipped from crystal goblets as if attending events where princes chose their brides were as common as family bruncheon.
"He wouldn't be here. He's probably hiding somewhere until he can decide who to dance with." Liliana would know. The now-dead King Darren had told her all the secrets behind Nocte Neverending. "Talk to some of the girls and make friends with other contestants. There's a flute of champagne calling my name."
She headed towards a server and picked up a crystal goblet, sipping on the amber liquid inside.
"Are you vying for Prince Apollo's affections?" She turned to see a tall woman with long black hair wearing a stunning silver gown.
"Unfortunately not. I am accompanying one who is. What about you?"
"I am. My name's Serendipity."
Liliana shook the Princess' outstretched hand and introduced herself. "How do you feel about your chances of getting picked?"
"Absolutely terrible and I wouldn't have it any other way." Serendipity rolled her eyes. "We've been friends since we were kids and there has been nothing even remotely romantic between us. I'm solely here out of duty. He's not my type and he knows it."
The way she eyed her mouth made Liliana think she was her type. Her lips tilted into a smile.
"I can ask him how he feels about Evangeline Fox, if you would like."
"That would be-" She was cut off by a lick of cold at the nape of her neck. She stilled. He was here. "Excuse me, for a second. I have to find Evangeline."
It was because of him, Tella didn't want to come to the north. Stupid. Liliana should have pressed her.
The girl in question was talking to someone in an arresting dragon-scale gown the color of burning rubies. Her dress lacked Northern-style long sleeves in favor of having no sleeves at all - better to reveal swaths of smooth brown skin and shoulders with paintings of dragon flames that covered her arms in vibrant inked gloves.
She headed to them and nodded her head in greeting. "Lala."
Lala's mouth curved into a wide smile as she wrapped her arms around her. "Liliana! My darling, it's been positively ages."
"I read you were one of the contenders."
"Maybe this will be the marriage that will stick. For both of us, eh?" Lana laughed, elbowing Liliana softly.
Evangeline turned away from the conversation, her eyes focused as she knew exactly where to look. Exactly in the direction of the Prince of Hearts.
"Excuse us, Lana." The girl nodded and immediately found some other place to be, a mere few feet away from them.
Liliana grabbed Evangeline's wrist and turned it over. Three thin white scars lined the underside of her wrist. Broken hearts.
"You made a deal with Jacks." It wasn't a question but Evangeline opened her mouth to respond anyway.
"LaLa! Evangeline!" a voice interrupted from behind. "I've been wanting to talk to you two."
She shot a glance over her shoulder. A man who looked almost exactly like Kutlass Knightlinger, dressed in the same black leather and lace-lined shirt, was striding toward them.
"Kristof Knightlinger," provided Lala, stepping into their conversation again.
"Is it too late to run?" Evangeline whispered.
"Probably, but I could always say I scared you away by threatening to chop off all your pretty pink hair if you talked to Apollo tonight." Liliana smiled at the Fate who was her sort-of-friend.
Evangeline's mouth opened.
"Don't look so horrified. I merely like being in the papers." Lala lifted her glass as if toasting herself. "Despite what The Daily Rumor says, I already know I have no real chance of marrying the prince, but I enjoy being a part of the fun. Now scamper off before I can't save you both."
"I owe you," Liliana promised, her hand slipping into Evangeline's as they hurried away. Once they were at a safe distance, she let go. "Find someone else to talk to, it doesn't look good if you're just standing alone. I have to go to the bathroom."
She was so focused on finding the bathroom, that she hadn't kept an eye on where Jacks was until she nearly smacked into his solid chest.
She hadn't seen Jacks in centuries. He was a thousand cuts happening all at once. Devastation made of messy hair as blue as dark ocean waves, and lips sharp as cracked glass. His pale blue eyes were bloodshot and utterly soulless, and his mouth twitched at the corner as if he didn't enjoy much, but he found pleasure in the brief bit of pain he knew he was inflicting upon her solely by reminding her of his existence.
Instead of a traditional doublet, he wore a loose shirt of gray linen, raven-black pants, and rugged leather boots, the same dark color as the fur-lined half cape casually slung over one of his straight shoulders. He didn't appear to be dressed for a party - the buttons on his shirt weren't even all done.
"What are you doing here?" He tossed a burnished gold apple with one hand, even as his gaze slid over her skin, eyes raking over every inch of cloth wrapped tightly around her hips, her waist, her chest, lingering slightly at the jewel on the base of her neck before meeting her eyes.
"I could ask you the same question." She shot back, wanting nothing more than to crush the godsdamned apple.
"Tsk. Tsk. I asked first." He stopped tossing his apple. "Apollo invited me. Now, you. I would have thought your last time here would have disillusioned you from princes of the north."
Liliana, despite herself, flinched. Her blood turned to cold, slick hate. Jacks' callous smile only grew. She couldn't even recognize him anymore. It was low, even for him. "Screw you."
She turned around to leave, but his cold fingers wrapped around her wrist. She eyed the place they were connected, debating on whether or not to chop her hand off to simply be able to get away from him faster.
"I assume you're here with Evangeline Fox. I wonder if she told you about our little deal."
"Stay away from her, Jacks."
He just smirked at her, one corner of his mouth turned up. and shook his head. "I don't think you'd want it, Lily. You know what happens when my debts go unpaid."
She scowled, "Don't call me that."
"What? Lily? I think you'd find freedom of speech to be a rather nice little thing."
"You lost the right to call me any nicknames a long time ago."
With that, she yanked her hand out of his embrace and walked off, finally heading towards the bathroom.
Dinner took place at an elaborate table encircling the phoenix tree. It was set with pewter goblets and honeycomb candles shaped like castles, and beside each plate were wooden figurines of tiny dragons all displaying names. Jacks's name had been placed in between hers and Evangeline's, something he had most definitely engineered.
Liliana turned to the girl, her voice a whisper. "You struck a deal with Jacks?"
She turned around, her eyebrow raised, "You're a Fate?"
"How do you-" Liliana's gaze fell on Evangeline's wrist where one of the broken hearts emitted a faint golden glow. Her eyes darted to her lips which were painted a brighter red than they had been earlier, as though they had been stained with blood. "What did he ask you to do?"
"I have to kiss three people of his choosing. He said I would die if I don't kiss Prince Apollo before tonight's party was over."
She let out a sigh of relief and was faintly surprised with the emotion. She didn't know when she started caring if the girl lived or died. "That's good. At least you can easily do that."
Evangeline frowned. "I don't want to force myself on him, and I didn't know why Jacks would want me to do this either. What does he have to gain by this?"
Liliana shrugged, "Does it really matter? Kiss him and you'll live."
She opened her mouth to reply but a tall man slid into Jacks empty seat, turning to her. "Your hair's so pretty. It looks just like that princess..." He trailed off, as though trying to remember which princess he was referring to.
"Excuse me, Miss Fox, Miss Wilsiam." A palace servant tapped her on the shoulder. "It's Miss Fox's time to meet the prince."
"Do it quick," Liliana advised as they both got up, Evangeline's breathing quickening as they headed to the steps circling the pheonix tree.
"What if he wants me to kill him with the kiss?"
"Again, does it really matter? Besides, if he was going to kill the prince, he wouldn't do it whilst in the same room."
She jerked her head towards Jacks who was inclined against the stair rail at the base, head tipped back, blue hair tumbling over one eye, and giving the impression he'd been waiting for them half the night. "Ready, pets?"
He held out his arm like a gentleman.
Both of them ignored his offer, but Evangeline leaned closely enough to whisper as they started up the winding steps. "Why do you want me to kiss Prince Apollo? Is this going to kill him?"
Jacks eyed her out of the corner of his eye, while Liliana stayed silent. She didn't want to interact with him more than strictly necessary. "I appreciate a good imagination, but use it when you kiss the prince, not when you think about what the consequences might be."
"I'm not going to kiss him unless you tell me why you want this."
"If I wanted you to kill the prince, I wouldn't be climbing these stairs with you." Jacks wrapped the arm Liliana had just refused around her. His gray shirtsleeves were rolled up, so Liliana could feel his skin, cool and rock solid as he pulled her closer to his side. "There's no point in having another person commit murder if you're going to be in the room with them."
She gave the girl a pointed I-told-you-so look at that, yanking her arm free as Evangeline continued, "If that's not your plan, what will happen when I kiss him?"
"Depends on how good at it you are." His chilling gaze went to her lips. "You do know how to kiss, right?"
"Of course, I know how to kiss!"
Jacks frowned. "Why are you so angry? Do you think the prince is ugly?"
"This is not about how he looks. I don't want to hurt him."
"I'm not going to tell you to trust me, because that's a terrible idea. But you can believe that if I were going to have you harm Apollo, I wouldn't be around when it happened."
The air turned redolent with the thick scents of balsam and wood as they reached the top of the steps. Above them, tawny and gold leaves rustled, and at least half a dozen guards in matching tawny-and-gold tunics were sitting on the branches that formed the roof of Prince Apollo's balcony suite.
She darted Liliana a panicked look.
"Don't worry," she whispered. "No one is going to shoot you with an arrow for kissing the prince."
Prince Apollo was standing at his balcony rail, his back to them as he looked out on the scene below and then he turned around. He was tall with a slightly crooked aquiline nose, which might have overwhelmed another person's face, but all his features were a bit intense, from his thick dark brows to his deep-set eyes. His skin was olive. His hair was heavy and dark and cropped closer to better show off his strong features. He'd forsaken the antler crown, but he was still obviously a prince. Utterly commanding as he leaned one elbow against his balcony rail, gave them a smile, and nodded his head at both of them in greeting.
"You're drooling a little," Liliana laughed at Evangeline, but the sound echoed and her voice was louder than she had intended.
Apollo laughed, darkly musical and absolutely mortifying. "Don't feel bad, Miss Fox." Apollo finished closing the short distance between them. "I think our mutual friend is jealous. He's been telling me for weeks how gorgeous you are, but until now, I thought he was exaggerating."
"Jacks told you about me?" Evangeline didn't even try to hide her shock as her gaze shot to him.
An ugly and heavy weight sunk in Liliana's chest and she didn't want to think about it. What was his angle? There was a silence and she took advantage of it, "How well do you know Jacks?"
The prince's bold smile faltered. "I'm not accustomed to ladies coming up here and asking about other young men."
"Please don't mistake her question as interest in Jacks. We're not interested in Jacks-" Evangeline defended.
"And yet you keep saying his name." Apollo's words came out as teasing, but his gaze was not. He was jealous.
She cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Evangeline. It was the perfect opportunity.
A slight dip in her head showed her acknowledgement and she walked up to the prince, muttered an "I'm sorry", and kissed him.
She looked away, and her gaze found Jack who was staring at the couple, an unreadable expression on his face. And then he startled, as though realizing where he was, and wrapped his arm around Liliana, clamping his free hand around Evangeline's shoulder, wrenching her free of the prince's grasp.
"I think it's time we go." Jacks pulled both of them toward the balcony stairs with supernatural swiftness, tucking Liliana underneath his hard arm, pressed close to his cool side as he ushered her toward the steps.
"Keep moving," he commanded. His eyes had changed from soulless ice to the sharpest blue. "Don't look back."
But of course, she had to look back. Apollo remained rooted in place, tracing his lips with his finger.
"Jacks, what did you do?" Evangeline whispered.
"It's not what I did, Little Fox. It's what you've done. And tomorrow night, you get to do even more."