The water was calm and soft as it flowed against itself. I wasn't sure if it was Tarquin who had willed it to tranquility, but the pleasure barge had hardly rocked at all in all the hours we'd been drinking on it.
It was crafted of the richest wood and gold. The boat was filled with a hundred or so High Fae, trying their best not to observe every action Rhys, Amren, and I made.
The main deck was decorated with low tables and lounge chairs to relax as everyone sipped their wines. On the upper level, underneath a large canopy of colorful tiles, our table had been set. Tarquin was very much summer incarnate as he sat in turquoise and gold, bits of emerald scattered across his outfit, casting small shimmers as the last dregs of light hit them. A crown of sapphire and white gold sat on his white hair, fashioned like cresting waves.
It was quite the jewel. So exquisite even my eyes were drawn to it.
Tarquin turned to me on his right, catching me staring at it. His lips turned to a small smile. "You'd think with our skilled jewelers, they could make a crown a bit more comfortable. This one digs in horribly."
I was here to find the book. And here, sitting in front of me, was a jewel Amarantha would have loved. How, indeed, did he keep it out of her hands? And had he done the same with the book? "How did you keep it out of her hands?" I questioned, voicing my thoughts aloud.
It felt rude to speak such a vile name such as Amarantha's in front of such careless and happy people.
Seated on Tarquin's left sat the bane of my existence, deep in conversation with Cresseida, of all people. I wondered if her conversation was as bland as her threats. Why on earth converse with her of all people?
He frustrated me incredibly.
We hadn't spoken since earlier. I didn't care. I wasn't here to talk to him.
Tarquin answered my question, "We managed to smuggle out most of the treasure when the territory fell. Nostrus—my predecessor—was my cousin. I served as prince of another city. So I got the order to hide the trove in the dead of night, as fast as we could."
Amarantha had killed Nostrus after he'd rebelled.
I lied, "I didn't know the Summer Court valued their treasure so dearly."
Tarquin huffed a laugh, "The earliest High Lords did. We do now out of tradition, mostly."
I grinned at him, my best show of curiosity as he gave me small bits of information. I crafted my words carefully, "So it is gold and jewels your court values, then?"
"Among other things." he replied. Vague. Purposefully, vague.
An idea struck my mind. "My father was a merchant in the mortal lands. I admit, I've always been fascinated with treasures like the ones you speak of." I spared him a nostalgic smile, "Are outsiders allowed to see the trove? I'd love anything that would remind me of my family."
What do men want?
They want to be heroes. A male's greatest weakness. There is nothing more compelling to a man than a vulnerable woman. The instinct to swoop in and save me from whatever caused me distress was a basic interest for any human or Fae male.
I looked down, winding my hands together as I forced my features into a slight sadness before I looked back up at the High Lord of Summer, giving him a fake sweet smile.
Tarquin's eyes were fixed on me. He grabbed one of my hands, drawing my eyes back to his as he gave me a reassuring smile. "Of course." he agreed kindly, "Tomorrow, after lunch, perhaps?"
"That would be lovely." I replied, squeezing his hand slightly. "Though, I do feel like a bit of a menace" I laughed a bit.
Tarquin let go of my hand, sipping his wine. "Not at all. It would be my pleasure."
Perfect. At least I'd get insight as to where and how the Summer Court kept their prize possessions.
I looked back to the deck below us. The view of the people and ocean below looked like a sight plucked straight from an artists imagination. The lantern-lit water, the crowd, the decor.
"What was it like? The Mortal World?" Tarquin again asked from beside me.
I took a breath, taking a moment to put my thoughts into words. "My life in the mortal lands was dreary. There were very few times that I had traveled." Rarely...in that world. "My father had used to be called the Prince of Merchants. When I was twelve, we lost our fortune and spent eight years in poverty, living in a terrible and poor village near the wall." I paused for a moment, speaking my next words honestly. "What I saw there was...brutal. Hard and unmerciful. Class lines are far more blurred in Prythian than they are there. It's much more defined by money there. You either have it and don't share it, or you are left to starve and hope for survival."
I forced myself not to clench my jaw as I said, "My father regained his wealth when my sister and I had been taken to Prythian as a way to repent. The people who had turned their shoulders when we lost our fortune suddenly remembered we existed in the first place. Money is the only thing that matters there."
Tarquin pursed his lips, his eyes curious. "Would you spare them if war came?"
Such a dangerous question.
"The rest of my family lives on the other side of the wall. For them...I would fight. But with the cruelty, I have seen there...I would not mind the order to be disrupted regarding the sycophants and peacocks that lay there."
Tarquins voice was barely more than a whisper as he said, "There are some who would think the same of the courts."
I tilted my head, "Get rid of the High Lords?" I questioned.
"Perhaps. But mostly inherent privileges of High Fae over lesser faeries. Even the terms imply a level of unfairness. Maybe it is more like the human realm than you realize, not as blurred as it might seem. In some courts, the lowest of High Fae servants has more rights than the wealthiest of lesser faeries."
I was keenly aware that High Fae surrounding us with sharp hearing that were likely listening to every word their High Lord spoke.
"And do you think that should change?" I dug further.
"I am a young High Lord." he spoke, "Barely eighty years old. Perhaps others might call me inexperienced or foolish, but I have seen those cruelties firsthand, and known many good lesser faeries who suffered for merely being born on the wrong side of power. Even within my own residences, the confines of tradition pressure me to enforce the rules of my predecessors: the lesser faeries are neither to be seen nor heard as they work. I would like to one day see a Prythian in which they have a voice, both in my home and in the world beyond it."
I scanned everything about him: his eyes, body language, his words. I found nothing of deceit. Of manipulation. Only truth.
This was a good person in front of me. A good person I was going to rob blind.
That had never bothered me in the past, so why was it now? I'd killed people. Why was I having second thoughts about stealing from this male?
"Tell me what that look means," Tarquin said.
The words slipped from my thoughts before I could catch them, "I'm thinking it would be very easy to love you. And easier to call you my friend." It was true and not. It would be nice to call him a friend...but nothing in my life was easy.
He smiled at me broadly and without restraint, "I would not object to either."
For some reason, I glanced over Tarquins shoulder at Cresseida, who was now halfway on Rhysands lap. And Rhys was smiley like a cat, tracing soft circle's on her hand with a single finger as she bit her lip and beamed.
My heart beat in my chest faster as some kind of terribly horrible heat rose through me. Some kind of frustration as something in me made me want to rip Cresseida's head from her shoulder without reason.
I was surprised at myself. I'd always known I was an angry person, but to be angry with someone for just existing was cruel. I didn't know why I wanted to throw her across the room so badly.
Instead, I turned to Tarquin, raising my brows at the two.
He made a face, shaking his head.
I hoped they'd go to her room. If I had to listen to Rhys bed her all night, I wouldn't get a lick of sleep. And then I'd have to murder them both.
Tarquin mused, "It has been many years since I saw her look like that."
I clenched my jaw just slightly. Whatever this roiling feeling in my chest was, I hated it. I wanted it to go away because it was only helping the flames of my anger burn brighter.
Rhys leaned in to hear something Cresseida was saying, her lips brushing his ear and her hands intertwining with his.
I was going to throttle both of them. I didn't even know why.
I took a breath, looking to Tarquin, "I'm going to get some air. It's a bit too crowded in here," I said to Tarquin calmly. I needed to get my head straight.
I looked to the rest of the people at the table, "Excuse me for a moment."
Rhys's eyes shifted to me, at last remembering I existed. And then he went straight back to chuckling at whatever Cresseida was saying.
I was going to stab something with a steak knife if I didn't get out of here quickly. I pushed my chair back, the picture of calm and elegance as I slowly stalked out of the room.
Rhys didn't so much as spare a glance in my direction as I left. Good riddance.
I wandered for a moment. Searching for a small place, I could be left to my traitorous thoughts. I finally found a small back corner as I descended a set of stairs, coming to the back of the ship where there were no people.
I sat next to the water, quickly taking off my heels and bunching up my dress as I dipped my feet in, sitting on the edge and watching the water shine in the moonlight. It was a beautiful place to be left to my thoughts.
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
I didn't know how long I stayed at the back of the ship. But during that time, I figured out what I was feeling...what I was. The reason I wanted to rip Cresseida apart...
I was an attention whore.
Rhys had given me so much attention in the passing weeks. The second it turned to someone else, I had some...withdrawals. It had to be the reason.
After I came to that eye opening realization, I decided that I didn't need Rhys to find the book here at all. All he had to do was play nice with Summer Court while Amren and I saved Prythian from war. We didn't need him at this moment.
Once I understood that, I put my time alone to use. Sending out my power and calling out to the book of breathings. Searching for that small trace of power that could lead us to it. All I needed was the faintest cry back, and I could go from there.
I found nothing. Nothing called back to me. Not even a small trace of the magic we had come to Summer Court to find.
I finally left the place I'd been perched as the boat began gliding back to shore, and I was sure the water would pull me in at some point. I begrudgingly put back on the heels that would be the death of my ankles and straightened my dress.
I let myself be one with the quiet for only one more moment before I climbed the stairs back up to the main deck.
The boat had already docked when I'd made it up and managed to wind through the crowd and off the boat. Amren, Varian, and Tarquin waited for me on the dock.
Rhys and Cresseida were nowhere to be found.
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
A/N: Oml, my authors notes are just becoming new story proposals lately. BUT, what about another ACOTAR fanfic x Azriel or an OC, where its like this girl from the modern world, and she gets sucked in through a portal or something. I've seen a few stories like this, and I kinda wanna put my own take on it, yaknow. Also, I always have the random urge to put like Gen Z slang into my books, and I could actually do that there.