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“But before we spend the rest of our lives together, we’re going out with a bang,” Bain said. Ciara blanched under the light of the chandeliers, growing nearly as pale as her future husband. “Or ten. Who’s counting?”
Everyone around us laughed and clapped, but my stomach began to churn.
Bain lifted Ciara’s hand and kissed it. “Have a good time tonight, but try not to get in too much trouble.”
He clapped his hands together, and the whispers around us turned into shouts and cheers.
This was getting weird.
Bain released her, and Ciara edged away from him, back to the safety of the crowd. I watched as a few fae stopped her to gush and gossip. I was about to pull away from Lachlan and go to her when Aurora moved to her side and whispered something. Ciara sagged with relief and nodded before the two of them vanished into the crowd.
Bain didn’t seem to notice as he finished his speech. “To begin our delicious feast, offerings from all four courts.”
I craned my head, watching for food to appear and completely unprepared for what happened instead.
Two rows of people filed into the room, taking up the empty space around him. I forgot how to breathe. They were all beautiful, bodies of every shape and size, some slender, others luscious with curves, others muscled and brawny, but all wearing nothing more than a shimmering coat of golden paint from head to toe. I blinked as I took in swaying hips and pert breasts and ready cocks.
Bain offered the onlookers a devilish smile, and instantly the lighting in the room shifted, lowering along with the space’s energy into something sensual and inviting. The fae around me swirled and mingled. There was no shyness as many approached the gold-painted people at the center of the room. But I could only stare as I took in more details now that my initial shock was wearing off. Some of them had the tipped ears of the fae, but others did not. Humans? Or the other creatures that the fae claimed existed? My mouth went dry as two females approached the painted male closest to us. They offered him a coy smile, one of them leaning to whisper in his ear, the other reaching for his—
I jerked my gaze away. Nope. Definitely didn’t need to see that.
Lachlan urged me closer to his side. “Maybe we should leave.”
“I’m fine.” Mostly. My brain felt fuzzier than ever. “Maybe we could walk around a bit?”
He offered me his arm, and I took it, no longer caring what message it sent, as long as that message included that I was not up for grabs.
We wandered toward the perimeter of the room, carefully bypassing interested eyes, their intentions so bald I felt a little queasy. But as we walked, I began to realize what he’d been trying to tell me earlier. “When you said let loose, you meant…”
“If you choose.” He glowered at a fae who’d started in our direction, and the other man thought better of it.
“And you?”
“I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Oh. My gaze snagged on one of the gold-painted women nearby. She laughed as the crowd gathered around her, flirting with them without reservation. What would it be like to be that free? “Did they volunteer?”
“Most of them.”
There was no sign that any of this was making him uncomfortable. Then again, he had probably done this before. For all I knew, he might have been up there painted with the rest of them a few times. The thought made the sweetness of the ambrosia still lingering in my mouth turn sour.
“Others are repaying a debt,” he continued. “But they are all here willingly.”
I snorted. “I doubt that.”
His gaze slid to mine. “The fae do not need to take anyone against their will.”
“But you’ll trick them,” I pointed out.
He bristled and moved closer, catching my wrist. “I didn’t offer you tonight.”
I felt the blood drain from my face as I remembered what Oberon had said earlier. That was what he had meant. He had hoped that I would be among the painted people paraded out as a gift from another court to the happy couple.
“Am I supposed to thank you for that?”
“I might die of shock if you did.”
“In that case, thank you.”