me as well.”
“If you don’t offer him your dew, you can bet your tight ass that I will.” Amo swallowed hard, twirling a strand of her glowing, white hair while licking her full bottom lip teasingly. Unlike my hair, hers only turned white with the light of the moon.
I sucked my lip between my teeth and inhaled deeply through my nose. “If you want Torrin, you can have him because I don’t,” I stated, staring at the wicked glint burning in his icy stare. “It seems his attention isn’t held for more than a moment, and I find myself unimpressed with him now.”
Amo frowned as her focus moved between us slowly before she gave Tabitha a look that said something was up. I shrugged the moment her eyes settled back on me, telling her with mine to leave it alone.
“Follow me,” Torrin announced, glaring pointedly at me. “Do try to behave like a lady, Alexandria.”
Chapter Sixteen
Once we’d entered the palace, Torrin and his men asked us to wait in the largest room I’d ever stood inside. It had a massive arched entrance that mirrored the outside of the palace. More glowing moonstones filled the glass against the walls, lighting it up brightly. On the ceilings were enormous chandeliers that sparkled with crystals.
“I sorta want to touch everything, but I’m afraid if my fingers even skim over something, it would shatter into a million pieces. Then the king would lop off my head for doing it,” Amo whispered excitedly, even though her voice echoed through the room. Amo’s owl perched on her shoulder let out a loud hoot, forcing heads to turn in our direction. “Can you believe we are actually inside the Palace of Night?”
“Don’t touch anything,” I muttered beneath my breath. “I’d prefer to be outside of it since we’re not guests here. We’re prisoners, remember that.”
All around us, women in huge gowns glared at us while speaking behind their gloved hands. Most wore jewels, and some even wore moonstones from their ears or throat, turning my stomach. I doubted those were from the stones of the people willing to sacrifice their light to protect the kingdom dwellers. These were people who’d never had to work to survive. They’d been allowed into the kingdom’s sanctuary, where men like Torrin did everything to keep them safe inside their little bubble. These assholes probably hadn’t ever lived in fear for a second of their pampered lives.
“These men look—weak,” Tabitha stated, which caused several of the men to turn at her words, staring down their noses at us just like the women in the ball gowns. “They’re so skinny I could pick my teeth with their bones. Can I?” she asked, and I snickered until it came out as a laugh.
“No, you cannot eat the men here.”
These men were dressed in flowing white shirts that did little to hide the scrawniness beneath them. They wore their hair back in bands, showing off sharp cheekbones, pulled back with pale skin that almost appeared transparent. They were nothing like Torrin or his warriors. In fact, I’d have been shocked if some weren’t actually women who preferred to dress like men. Either way, they were entirely too scrawny to be desired. Not that I would judge them for that, but being so sickly skinny was fair game. My girls would eat them for breakfast and spit out their bones. Well, minus Tabitha, who wanted to pick her teeth with them.
“Are there no real men here? I need to feed the beast,” Tabitha whined, her brows pushing together on her forehead.
“Moon-touched filth is not welcome here,” a woman stated, her high nasally voice grating on my nerves, causing my eye to twitch.
“Well, then we’ll just leave once you return our blades and our horses,” Amo hissed, her sharp canines glinting in the room’s light as she crossed her arms and popped her hip. I loved Amo and her fierce, sharp, and quick wit that had her willing to fight everything and everyone. She was my spirit animal, even though she wasn’t an animal per se. Scout squawked, and the women stepped back further yet.
“Such ill manners,” the woman whined.
“Fight me, bitch,” Amo challenged, watching them step back again as her face sharpened with her elfin features. “Go suck something off. We’re not here for you or your entertainment. Fuck off, pampered doll.”
I silently took in the woman who spoke, noting her pale hair and bright green eyes that slanted exotically. She was beautiful, and the dress