The Hungarian fae nobles at the time thought being independent would be in the best interest of the people.
They were wrong.
When HDF came into view, my lips parted with awe. Basking in light, the gothic towers shot up dramatically like they were trying to skewer the stars in the sky, both beautiful and threatening. Growing up here didn’t anesthetize me to the effects this building had on me.
Dozens of guards patrolled the palace, another tier of defense more for keeping out the “savages” than protecting us from fae.
Caden and I went around the side to a private entrance with fewer sentinels. A guard stood by the door, nodding at us. They might frown at us being out here this time of night, but since we were safe inside Leopold city, they couldn’t do anything. And no one would ever tattle on Caden. No one would utter a word against the “prince” of Leopold.
“Sergeant.” Caden nodded to the man as he opened the door for us.
“Out late, sir,” the man responded, his gaze assessing our wet clothes and hair.
Caden put a hand on my back, rushing me through the entrance. My squeaky boots quieted when they hit the long, deep red rugs stretched down the huge hallway. The place had the ugly name of HDF, but it was a palace. Ornamental arched ceilings were painted with beautiful designs and frescos. Staircases showcased ornate detail and golden lampposts. Sculptures, paintings, and tapestries had been done by world-renowned artists, long gone from this world. One of the most famous rooms was a hexadecagon, the sixteen-sided central hall. Most of the building was decorated in gold-leaf paint, marble, and rich fabrics. The decadence of this place was beyond belief, especially compared to the poverty I heard about on the other side of the wall.
The smallest wing held private living quarters for those high enough in ranking to live here. It included a pool, bowling alley, movie theater, and two massive kitchens. The servants resided in the basement rooms below ours. The rest of the palace served for business and to impress. It boasted grand rooms, theaters, offices, training facilities, cafes—really anything you could wish for. It was a city within itself. My maid, Maja, loved to brag about the magnificence of the building, boasting about the ten courtyards, twenty-nine staircases, and 691 rooms.
Night guards watched Caden and me move down the halls toward the living quarters. Their expressions were blank, but I swore I could hear their internal sighs. As usual, Brexley Kovacs was leading their perfect prince into temptation and trouble.
Yeah, okay, I did that. A lot. But he needed a little excitement in his orderly life. Soon he wouldn’t be able to sneak out with me. It scared me that our time to be free like this was vanishing before my eyes. In a few weeks, he would graduate from the academy and become Lieutenant Caden Markos with his life laid out for him.
He’d no longer have time for me.
As we crept toward our residency, our boots harmonized in their high-pitched squeaking. I burst out laughing.
“Brex, be quiet,” he hissed, but the odd melody merely resounded more loudly through the hall, as did my giggles. He snapped his head to me, trying to glare at me, but humor divided his mouth, a chuckle tapping at his chest.
“I’m glad you find this so amusing,” a deep voice boomed down the corridor. My stomach dropped like lead to my toes.
Fuck.
Standing before us was the leader of HDF, General Istvan Markos.
You could see where Caden inherited his looks. Tall and broad similar to his son, Istvan was still quite fit, with silvering hair cropped close to his head, a very trimmed beard covering his strong jaw, and steel blue eyes. Lines in his face showed the weight and stress of his position, but his handsome features and rank had women at his feet whenever he wanted. His wife’s own beauty did nothing to keep him faithful. When I was fourteen, I found him screwing a Ukrainian princess in his office. He was forty-eight at the time; she was twenty.
Caden halted, stiffening next to me, standing tall with his chin up like we were in training. “Father.”
“I am so deeply disappointed in you, Caden.” His tone oozed with dissatisfaction and censure, and his stern face narrowed in on his son. “I keep thinking you have grown up and left this foolishness behind. It has been a long time since you have been a child. And yet…” He tilted his head, and his blue eyes darted to me, clearly identifying the true cause of his son’s insolence. “You still act the same as one. As do you, my dear. Your father would expect more from you.”
Ouch. I flinched. Straight through the heart. My gaze dropped to the rug.
Istvan sighed, tugging at his uniform, the blazer so decorated in badges, pins, and awards it could be used as a doorstop. The five-star general was beyond intimidating. Cold, calculating, and ruthless, there was a reason he reached the rank he had and stayed there.
Yet Istvan did have moments of kindness. He took me in when I had no one else, though it probably had more to do with his respect for my father. He always looked at me like I was dirt under his shoes, but when I became an orphan at fourteen, he and his wife, Rebeka, took over as my guardians. I had been such a fixture in their lives already not much changed, except my living quarters moved up a few floors, and I had to follow Istvan’s rules. I did a crappy job of that. I was never good with rules.
“Do I dare ask?” Istvan motioned to our clothes, his lip twitching with disgust.
“We went swimming in the pool.” Caden kept his head level, not flinching as the lie slid off his tongue as if it were the truth. The indoor pool was six floors down in the palace. It had been built for training purposes, but we used it year-round for fun.
“You went swimming?” His father’s eyebrow curved up, not believing us for a moment. “At two o’clock in the morning, fully clothed?”
“I pushed him in.” I shrugged, going with the fib. “He retaliated.”
Istvan stared at us for a moment before he took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead. It was so close to something Caden and I would do I was pretty sure he believed our tale.
“I don’t have time for this. I have actual emergencies to deal with. Lives on the line. But your mother found your room empty and called me, pulling me from real work as you two play like five-year-olds.” He pinched his nose, every word stabbing into me exactly as he wanted them to. “Go to bed. I will deal with you two in the morning.”
The general inhaled and took off for the door leading out of the residency, probably heading back to his office. He was not a man who rested much.
“Father?” Caden’s voice followed him down the hall. Istvan glanced back at his son. “I am sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“I would like to believe that.” Istvan’s accusing gaze briefly drifted to me again. “It’s time you take your position seriously. Other trainees look up to you, follow you as a leader. Someday you will take over my position. Start acting like it. In sixteen hours, we will be entertaining presidents and rulers. I don’t need to remind you how important this is. The Romanian leader will be here, and I need you both to be on your best behavior.”
“I will do better.”
“From where I stand, you will need to do more than better,” he replied curtly, then walked out, shutting the door to the private wing.
Tension ping-ponged off the walls.
“I’m sorry, Caden.” I twisted to my friend, reaching for his arm.