causing her jet-black eyes to crinkle at the edges. “Forgive my rash words, Jaehyuk-ah. There was little you could have done to keep Celine safe. It was wrong of me to blame you.”
“I did fail in my task to protect her, my lady. Your anger is warranted.”
A furrow formed across her regal forehead. “My anger should not be with you. The Fallen have crossed me one too many times. For Nicodemus to take liberties with a daughter of the Vale’s memory is something I cannot allow to stand.” Her voice rose as she spoke, its dulcet tones weaving through the branches above, shaking free a cascade of leaves. Then all at once her features returned to serene. “But that is a matter for another time. I wish to accelerate our plans. You must bring Celine to me at once.”
Alarm flickered across Jae’s face. “My lady, respectfully, I do not think that would be wise. The mist will be lifted from her sight soon. Her eighteenth birthday is less than three months away. Would it not be better to wait and—”
The beautiful woman’s anger caused all the petals by her feet to scatter. They threaded through her fingers and around her wrists before vanishing into nothingness. “Celine is no mere mortal. I will not allow her memories to be stolen from her again by a cursed blood drinker. Bring her to me at once, Shin Jaehyuk.”
Jae steeled himself. There were few creatures in either world that truly scared him. The powerful Lady of the Vale was one of them. “My concern for Celine’s well-being is not unfounded, my lady. Tonight I received proof that the sway over her memories is starting to fracture. Nicodemus’ control over her is waning. I fear what might happen if we press her too far. She has endured much in the last few months. If her mind is pushed beyond the brink, she may turn her back on our world entirely.” He paused. “And she will never willingly return to the Summer Court of the Sylvan Vale.”
Worry etched a path across the fey woman’s countenance. “It was folly for me to make that promise to her father. I regretted it the moment I made it.” She lifted her chin. “But a promise is a promise, no matter how much I might wish it otherwise.”
“You did what had to be done to keep Celine safe from the monsters of our world.”
“And instead I surrendered her to the monsters of the earth. Would she not have fared better in our world, after all? For it appears she was destined to be surrounded by monsters from the day of her birth. Perhaps in my attempt to protect her, I have made her more vulnerable.”
“She only suspects there might be such a thing as monsters, my lady.” Jae’s tone was sympathetic.
“And would it not have been better to know that in truth?”
Jae bowed once more. “Apologies, my lady, but suspecting monsters might exist is not the same as meeting them in the flesh. Celine is a fearless young woman. Much of the strength she possesses is because she was allowed to flourish with her father in the mortal world.” His frown deepened. “Ethereals do not fare well in our world, as you know. Arjun Desai is proof of that fact. He suffered a great deal of torment as a child growing up in the Vale.”
After a time, the woman in the mirror nodded. “Very well, Jaehyuk-ah. We will wait until Celine’s eighteenth birthday. Then you will bring my daughter to me. It is time for her to learn who she truly is.”
“Yes, Lady Silla.” Jae bowed deeply. “As ever, I am in your debt.”
CELINE
It was the sort of night made for enchantment.
The sky was filled with winking stars. A rare blue moon silvered the wet streets of New Orleans. Along Royale, gas lamps danced in their iron cages, and the sound of laughter and the clattering of horse hooves rang out in the early April air.
Celine had read about nights made for enchantment in the books she devoured as a child. Mostly fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. Her father had preferred Andersen’s lighter, moralistic tales, but Celine had found the darker Grimm stories ever so much more appealing. Something about them spoke to her. Drew her into a deep, dark well of delicious secrets.
From there, she’d collected romantic tomes about enchanted evenings in forbidden forests. Many of them had been prohibited by her scholarly father.