Teagan pulled her gloves on, the final touch to her outfit, and pursed her lips in the mirror when she saw the gown laid out on the bed for Cress. It was still sitting there, even though Cress had told her mother she would get ready an hour ago. They were visiting Cress’s family at their estate in the southern part of Wystira. The harvest season was almost over, and that meant it was a time to celebrate, and to give thanks to the Goddess for another year of food and health. Cress’s parents didn’t really believe in the Goddess anymore, which was a spot of contention with Cress, but they knew it wouldn’t be wise to abandon centuries-old traditions, so they hosted a ball for the harvest festival every year.
Teagan had been glad of the celebration because it’d given her a chance to get her mind off of her bleak future.
Earlier in the day, they’d had dinner with just the family, and Teagan had sent up a prayer to the Goddess for good health. The irony of it was not lost on her, but she hoped for a miracle all the same. She hoped the Goddess would spare her, but she knew deep down that wouldn’t happen. Her wound wasn’t the Goddess’s doing—it was the Shadow Princess’s.
Now the doors of the house had been flung open to receive revelers. Cress’s mother had been bustling these last few weeks, putting the finishing touches to her ball, and Cress and Teagan had arrived in the middle of it. Cress had wanted to visit the library in the second biggest city in Wystira and continue her research. Teagan had practically begged her to say yes to the invitation so they could have a breather, so they could do something that wasn’t tied to the Shadow Realm.
But the ball was about to start, and Cress wasn’t showing any signs of attending it.
Teagan descended a flight of stairs and walked through a series of interconnected hallways until she reached the house’s library. There was Cress, piles of books scattered across the massive oak desk, writing feverishly in her notebook. Teagan strode into the room, right up to the desk, and closed the book on Cress’s hand.
“Ow, hey!” Teagan pulled it away from Cress. Cress tried to grab for it, but Teagan took a step back. “Really, this is childish.”
“The party’s about to begin.”
Cress sat back and blew out a frustrated breath. “I have so much work to do yet.”
“Cress, you promised.”
“I’m so close to finding her, Teagan! Here, look at this.” Her voice, excited and hopeful and bordering on all-consuming, struck a chord within Teagan. The only thing that mattered to Cress was the Shadow Princess. She’d known Cress had a particular fascination with her stories, had done a series of paintings about her and her past, but now it’d turned into a full-blown obsession. Cress thought of nothing else but that witch. “I found a diary from one of the priestesses in the old kingdom. It’s the best firsthand account I’ve ever come across. Listen to this—”
“Cress, I don’t want to hear about this anymore. I want to go to the ball and dance with you.”
Cress’s lips pressed together and she looked away. “We don’t have much time left.”
Teagan didn’t need reminding. She felt the poison in her veins, that ever-present toxin seeping into every corner of her body. “Don’t you think I know that? But we can spend a night away from it.” Cress opened her mouth to argue further, but Teagan shut her down. “I want to spend a night away from it.”
“I have to get through this book, but maybe I can join you before it ends.”
“Cress.”
“Teagan, I can’t promise you, but I will try my hardest.”
You already promised. But it wouldn’t do any good to push; Cress had that stubborn expression on her face, and Teagan knew she wouldn’t be able to crack it. Teagan threw the book on the desk, ignored Cress’s muttered protest, and left the library.
Teagan danced with Cress’s sister and brother, drank glass after glass of wine, and laughed heartily when Cress’s uncles told her one of their stories. She’d almost forgotten her wife, sitting in the shadows of the library, until Cress appeared at the top of the stairs to the ballroom. People turned to gawk at her as she made her way down to them, looking ever so elegant in her silky forest-green gown, blond hair pinned back so it rested over one shoulder. She was radiant, and Teagan couldn’t look away.
But she was still hurt that Cress hadn’t come with her earlier. Teagan had wanted to walk into this room with Cress on her arm, to celebrate with her in front of all her family’s friends and their peers. Now it just angered Teagan to see Cress blowing into this room undesirably late, like nothing was wrong. She’d wanted one night, just one, without having to think about death and the Shadow Princess. She’d wanted one night to have fun and get drunk and stay up too late, and then stumble into bed with her gorgeous wife.
Cress wove her way through the crowd until she reached Teagan’s side. “May I have this dance?”
Though she considered ignoring the outstretched hand, Teagan did really want to dance with her. She let Cress lead her onto the center of the floor, and she sighed contentedly when Cress pulled her closer than was deemed appropriate and murmured in her ear. “You look splendid, my love.”
“So do you,” Teagan whispered back. Cress shivered as Teagan’s breath ghosted across her face.
She lifted her eyes, soft and apologetic, to Teagan’s. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m still upset.”
“I know, and you have every right to be. I promised you, but more than that, I didn’t listen to your wishes. My time in the library tonight made me think about what we’ve been doing, our lives we’ve put on hold for this.” Cress stopped dancing and cupped Teagan’s face with her palms. “We shouldn’t stop living because of this. We shouldn’t stop being happy and joyful; we should be dancing as often as we can, when we can.”
Teagan gave a long-suffering sigh. She never could stay mad at Cress. “That’s all I’ve wanted.”
Cress laughed, and then kissed her fully on the mouth. Teagan’s lips parted as Cress’s tongue swept inside, and her right hand came up to caress Cress’s cheek. Her gloved arms were a nuisance, but she didn’t want to stop kissing Cress to take them off. Everything else faded away until the only thing Teagan knew was the fiery warmth traveling through her body as their limbs entwined. Cress broke away at the loud clearing of a throat, grinned sheepishly at her older brother and his eye-roll, and then pulled Teagan out of the ballroom. Teagan’s heart beat rapidly as they ran up the stairs. They stumbled into the door of their room, and then through it, tangling together as they tripped over a rug and went sprawling on the floor, lips never breaking apart.
They didn’t even make it to the bed.
And after, when Teagan woke sleepily with Cress’s fingers trailing over her shoulders, she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but in Cress’s arms. Cress smiled and nudged Teagan.
“Goodnight.”
Teagan laughed. She didn’t need to look at the time to know it was very, very late.
“I’m too exhausted to get up,” Teagan groaned. “I feel dead.”
Teagan opened her eyes in time to see a pillow being smacked into her face. Cress glared at her, but it was without heat. “Don’t say that or I’ll set a taesrin on you.”
“What’s that?”
Cress grinned wickedly. “It’s a furry creature with a horrifying howl from the Shadow Realm that only feeds on the dead. And sometimes, it gets out of the realm and can be found stealing people on death’s door, particularly the children.”
Teagan looked at her with wide eyes. “Don’t tell me things like that so late!”
Cress beamed. “And sometimes they go after the healthy, just to keep things interesting.”
Now it was Teagan’s turn to smack Cress with the pillow.