Fool Me Once

FOOL ME ONCE COURT OF PAIN BOOK ONE ARIANA NASH Fool Me Once, Court of Pain #1 Ariana Nash ~ Dark Fantasy Author Subscribe to Ariana’s mailing list & get the exclusive story ‘Sealed with a Kiss’ free. Join the Ariana Nash Facebook group for all the news, as it happens. Copyright © March 2023 Ariana Nash Edited by No Stone Unturned / Proofreader Jennifer Griffin Please note: Crazy Ace Publishing monitors international pirate sites for infringing material. If infringement is found (illegal downloading or uploading of works) legal action will be taken. US Edition. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictions, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Edited in US English. Version 1 - Feb 2023 www.ariananashbooks.com Fool Me Once is a dual point of view, dark MM fantasy brimming with courtly spice, morally ambiguous characters, and the fool who plays them all. This is a dark world with adult content. For content warnings, please see the author’s website. CONTENTS Blurb Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Also by Ariana Nash About the Author BLURB Fool Me Once Court of Pain #1 The king of the Court of Love wants me dead, the queen wants me in her bed, and the prince… He wants the only piece of me I will never surrender. They call me jester, dancer, trickster, lover. I exist to entertain. But behind my sideways smiles, my quick hands, and magician’s tricks, I trade in their lies, their secrets. I know their deepest desires, their wicked schemes. Their sins are my currency. Their reign is a card castle, and I hold the card that’s about to bring it all down. And they say I’m the fool… * * * Fool Me Once is a dual point of view, dark MM fantasy brimming with courtly spice, morally ambiguous characters, and the fool who plays them all. This is a dark world with adult content. For content warnings, please see the author’s website. CHAPTER 1 For a thousand years, the people of the shatterlands raged war. Until Dallin, God of Order, grew tired of their endless bickering. He forged four crowns for four courts: Love. Justice. Pain. War. Each court was responsible for protecting and safeguarding the balance of the shatterlands, and only by working together would they prosper. Under Dallin’s watchful gaze, the courts of Love, Justice, Pain, and War nurtured peace and harmony, and the people of the shatterlands thrived. But when Dallin vanished, the shatterlands and its courts once more fell into chaos. * * * “Dance for us, Lark.” The Queen of Love laughed and fluttered a hand in my direction. Her flushed cheeks glowed, not from rouge, but from the potent wine I’d filled her cup with all evening. I flashed her an agreeable smile, hopped off the table where I’d been on display long enough to numb a few muscles, and bowed deeply. “Anything for you, my queen.” Taking her hand may have been a little much, but I wasn’t here to be subtle, and when I brushed my lips across the back of her fingers, her blush reddened. Queen Katina was easier to please than her husband, Albus, seated beside her. It was always best not to meet his eye. The King of Love suffered from a dire absence of humor. I let the queen’s hand fall and sashayed toward the pirouetting dancers in their brightly colored gowns, peacock feathers, and sparkling jewels. Like the villain of the ball, my black tailed jacket and trousers stood out for their lack of embellishment. I didn’t need lace and feathers to pretty myself up when everyone knew I was the most desired among them. Princes, lords, ladies, and even the queen herself—they all wanted me in their beds. Before the night was over, I’d have multiple offers. I’d deny most, especially the women. There was no easier way to snare a man than fall into bed one night, only to have your lover return a year later with a mistake clinging to their petticoats, a familiar pair of eyes pleading. Men were the far easier prospect, and there were plenty to choose from among the dancers this night. My true pleasure, however, came from another game I played at their expense. The game of lies. I inserted myself among the guests, took hands, and danced as though the music lived within me. Most people I knew, but some were fresh faces visiting from deep within the shatterlands, curious about the whispers surrounding the Court of Love’s infamous jester. Most rumors were mine, sent into the world to take on a life of their own. Some less desirable teases had sprung up like weeds in my carefully managed garden—he’s a whore, he’ll pick your pocket as soon as kiss your lips. Those nasty little rumors I nipped in the bud before they grew unwieldy. Gossip was another weapon in my arsenal, just so long as it danced to my tune. There goes Lark, the court jester, a fool. They say he fucks the queen, and the kitchen maids, and the squires. If all the rumors were true, I’d have little time for anything outside of bedding the entire Court of Love. Of course, much of it