Fallen Kings

12

“Araceli and I are not royalty though, not even in Faerie,” Eveanna says with a frown. “Are we welcome in this Princess Lounge?”

I wave her concerns away. “Forget the princess thing. We all need a place where we can hang out and plan our next moves against the Order. Or just relax and have fun. This is it.”

“Ah, I understand.” Eveanna nods. “A place for social enrichment among females.”

Araceli giggles. “I think what she means is a girls’ club.”

“Close enough.” I glance around the room. “First up, we should try to make the place ours. Feel free to bring your favorite blankets, pillows, or whatever else you want. For now, let’s see what the Princes have left behind.”

Araceli and Eveanna take the kitchen area, while Tanwen and I check the living room cabinets. Many of them are empty, but then I find one stuffed full of the pink princess decor Araceli and I used last year to redecorate the guys’ space. It was part of my revenge against Callan, and I grin remembering how angry it made him. Even more reason to reuse this stuff now.

“Look what I found!” I pull out pink stuffed animals, ranging from llamas to unicorns, plus pink sparkly streamers, tablecloths, and pillows. Tanwen gives me a skeptical look, but then she finds some pink feather boas and wraps them around the lamps. We perch the stuffed animals on the bookshelves and put the pink tablecloth back on the dining table.

When we’re done, we look around at our handiwork and Tanwen snorts. “I feel like I’m in a five year old’s room.”

My grin is huge. “I admit, it’s a bit much. We can bring things from our dorms to add some other colors to the room.”

Eveanna shakes her head, obviously perplexed by us. “The cold box was empty of any food. However, Araceli found something in the pantry we can eat.”

Araceli walks over with a bowl of popcorn and plops down on the couch. “Microwave popcorn, the perfect food for a girls’ night. If only we had some drinks to go with it.”

“If only we had some alcohol to go with it,” Tanwen corrects, as she grabs a piece of popcorn and throws it in her mouth.

I sit in Bastien’s armchair, which I’ve decided is mine now. “We’ll have to bring some food and drinks over when we can.”

“Oh, don’t forget these.” Araceli grabs the tiaras off the table and hands them out. We bought a six-pack of them at the party store the year before, and I’m surprised the guys kept them—or any of this stuff.

“Perfect.” I don one of the tiaras on my head, while everyone else hesitates. I raise an eyebrow expectantly at Tanwen and she scowls and grumbles, but puts the tiara over her blond hair. Araceli grins and follows suit, and eventually Eveanna does too, although she obviously finds us all very strange.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Tanwen says, adjusting her tiara. Out of all of us, she’s the only one who looks like it belongs on her. “I know we haven’t always gotten along before.”

“That’s in the past, and we both did things we regret.” I grab a handful of popcorn. “After helping us fight the Order last year, you’re one of us now.”

She glances down at her hands and nods. “I appreciate that. After everything that happened, it’s weird hanging out with the other Valkyries now. I can’t really tell them what went down because I’m not sure who we can trust anymore. Plus, they don’t know about…” She trails off and looks at Araceli and Eveanna.

“About what?” Araceli asks, munching on popcorn and obviously excited to hear some juicy gossip.

“Its okay,” I tell Tanwen. “You’re among friends here, and none of us will reveal your secret.”

Eveanna turns to Tanwen. “We have only met once before, so you have no reason to trust me. However, fae cannot lie, and I promise that I shall keep any secret revealed in confidence behind these walls.”

Araceli nods too. I know for a fact she can lie—maybe because she’s only a quarter fae. But I trust her more than just about anyone else.

Tanwen sucks in a deep breath. “My sister Rhiannon is secretly in love with a demon. A shifter. She’s supposed to be the next leader of the Valkyries, but keeps turning down the job, because she knows if this gets out it will be bad. Really bad.”

“That’s got to be so hard for her,” Araceli says. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us. After all, we know some demons are cool.”

“You have my sympathies,” Eveanna. “Your sister will face many difficulties.”

“Thank you,” Tanwen says. “As long as both angels and demons forbid relationships between the two groups, I must keep this a secret even from my friends. It’s nice to be able to talk about it with all of you.”

I’m about to respond when I spot Jonah landing on the balcony outside. He opens the sliding door and sticks his head in, as his silvery white wings vanish. “Can I join the party?”

I glance at the others, who shrug and nod. “Sure. As long as you like pink.”

“Love it. My favorite color.” He grins as he checks out our decorations. “I saw the lights on up here but didn’t expect this. I love what you’ve done with the place.”

“We’ve claimed it as our Princess Lounge, but I guess you can hang out in it too,” I tell him.

Eveanna nods as if this, finally, makes sense to her. “Yes, he is a Prince, is he not?”

“He is,” Tanwen says, although she crosses her arms. Maybe she preferred it being a girls’ club.