Page 97 of A Fate so Wicked

“He knew my little sister meant the most to me. I’d do anything for her. So, he imprisoned her for my mistake.”

My back went rigid, my hand dropping from his arm. “Are you serious?”

The hard-set expression on his forehead told me everything I didn’t want to know. Every time I thought King Harkin couldn’t get any more repulsive?—

How could his court tolerate such a corrupt ruler?

“He began the trials shortly after and came to me with a proposition. If my human won, not only would he rank me back to my former position, but he’d release my sister as well.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “But you’ve never participated?”

“My sister made me vow I wouldn’t. Told me I’d be selling my soul if I did, fully convinced the fabled princess would soon return to take back the throne.”

I arched a brow. “The fabled princess? Wait, but wouldn’t that mean?—”

“That King Gareth had a secret child?” Talon shrugged. “It was a risk I was willing to take.”

I let out a breath and sagged further back on my hands, my head dizzy with the new information. Was he ever allowed to visit his sister? How many other people did the king imprison—threaten—to keep Faerway in order?

He plucked a grape from the stem and popped it into my mouth, letting his thumb finger linger on my bottom lip. “I see those wheels turning, firefly. Don’t worry yourself about any of this. This is my fight.”

That was easy for him to say. “But what if I don’t win?”

“What if you do?”

I shrugged. It felt more like a pipe dream than reality, if I were being honest. After hearing that, was I to truly believe the king would let anyone walk out of here?

“Look at me.” Talon lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “Don’t do that. Don’t run away in those mad thoughts of yours, you’re only going to get lost. You’re more than capable. And brave. And strong. And insufferable. And stubborn.” He cupped my face, threading a strand of hair behind my ear before he kissed the tip of my nose. “I should probably get you back to your chambers before we get into any more trouble.” He released a breathy laugh.

I kissed the other side of his smile. “It seems I have a proclivity for it.”

Talon nodded, giving my thigh one more squeeze before he hopped off the table, helping me down after him. The edge of his thumbs came dangerously close to the underside of my breasts as his hands slid up my sides.

But his touch never came.

I wondered if it ever would. If either of us dared cross the line more than we already had, we’d risk losing something more than our lives.

He grabbed my hand, pulled me into his chest, and kissed the crown of my head. “You’re going to drive me mad, firefly. What am I possibly going to do with you?”

There were a few things I could think of.

Twenty-Six

There’d only been one time in my entire life that I’d ever truly been scared. When my mother first got sick. It felt like my entire world came crashing down. Like everything around me sped up, and all I could do was watch as it all passed me by. I was only a child. A child that suddenly had an enormous weight to carry all by herself. The pressure to remain strong. Although I knew most of it was self-imposed, the baggage was agonizing to carry.

Yet, as I stood at the top of the landing that led into the arena, looking out across the mountainous terrain, to the tall, narrow plateau in the center—my heart lodged in my throat—I knew in my bones that this was a close second.

Much to my relief, Talon had already disappeared to his place at the observation deck, far, far away from me. If I caught one more whiff of his inebriating musk, I was going to shove him into the bottomless ravine. I needed to focus, not drool over his lingering touch on my thigh from the other night. To say our walk to the arena had been tense would be an understatement. As our training session had been yesterday.

I was convinced the entire kingdom could hear the deafening silence between us. Our energies biting and snapping at each other like two starved wolves. Pretending there was no chemistry between us—pretending nothing forbidden happened behind closed doors—was getting harder and harder to do.

My stomach twisted into a million knots as I held onto the splintered railing, my hands trembling and slicked with moisture as I tried not to look down. It wasn’t that I simply feared heights—they petrified me.

One foot after the other, I told myself, taking long, deep breaths. Everyone’s eyes lingered on me as I made my way to the plateau, Aeron and Calandra in my sights.

“Can you walk any slower, Rosewood? I’d like to get this over with,” Kelvin sneered from behind me. He quickened his pace, causing the bridge to sway, and I clutched the railing with both hands, my torso hanging over the edge as he shouldered past me. “What’s wrong, fae fucker? Having second thoughts?” He walked backward and mocked me. “I can give you a quick push. Ya know, spare you the embarrassment, give you an honorable death.”

My knuckles turned white as he imitated moaning sounds, deliberately swaying the bridge back and forth at my expense until he hopped onto the plateau.

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