Page 28 of King of Storms and Feathers

“Are you any different?” I asked. “What would you do to retain your power, protect your kingdom and your family?”

Releasing a harsh breath, he recoiled from my words. “Don’t speak about my family.”

“Why not?” I remembered what Raiden had told me about Arrow’s father. “Have they never been ruthless in pursuing their desires? As no two fae are alike, all humans shouldn’t be tarnished by the actions of a few. I’m not the same as the ones who have hurt you.”

A groan of anguish rumbled deep in his chest, then he shoved me backward and paced around the edges of the pavilion. I turned on my heel to keep him in sight.

Without warning, he lurched forward and gripped my chin, raising my face to his. “How do you imagine I’ll punish you for tonight’s transgression?” he asked in a husky whisper.

“First, you’ll rape me.” I forced frost into my glare, trapping my fear behind a sheet of ice.

“You’re wrong, little Leaf.” I tried to turn my head away, but he held it firmly in place. “Some fae require another’s fear and pain to maintain their cock stands. But I do not. My pleasures run in the opposite direction.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’d rather hear you beg for my touch.”

I let out a shocked laugh. “Keep me here forever, and you’ll never hear that.”

“We shall see, my trembling Leaf.”

I swallowed as his hand released my throat and trailed over my stomach. His fingertips came to rest over my pelvis, and heat exploded beneath his touch.

To stop his hand from roaming lower, I gripped his wrist. “What happened to the guards who assaulted me?”

His breath grew ragged against my skin, a disturbing sensation. “I burned the conscious pair alive and removed the other’s cock with my blade. When he woke, which was immediately, I stuffed it down his throat. That one took a while to die.”

A shudder arched my spine. “Why commit such horror against another being? Inflict such suffering?”

“No one touches what is mine without permission.”

I blinked in silence for a moment, astounded by his arrogance and capacity for casual cruelty.

“But I’m not yours. I would have to give my life to you in an act of love or deep friendship for that to be true. Know this, Storm King, I will never give myself willingly to you.”

“Never is a long time. And I predict that in time, you will do just that.”

I shook my head, and his palm shifted, his fingers dipping into the standard-issue tightly woven undergarment that court servants wore. A long finger glided through the mortifying moisture at my core, just the once, before he slid it out and swept it over his tongue, tasting me.

“Very nice. For a human. Sleep well in your cage, my defiant bird,” he said, moving away. “I look forward to turning your bitter fury into something more palatable.”

“What?” I spluttered. “You’re leaving?”

“I’ve got better things to do than argue with a human—like sleep.”

“I hope nightmares plague you all night long,” I replied, immediately wishing I could bite my tongue off.

If I couldn’t curb my temper, my lack of self-restraint would soon get me killed. Fear would make most sane people cower and behave cautiously. But not me, it seemed. What did that mean? Was I insane? Did I have a death wish?

With my reckless boldness, knowledge of weapons, and keenness to use them, I was beginning to think that, back home, I’d been some kind of soldier.

The king lurched forward and ripped the shawl from my shoulders. “You don’t deserve this. I don’t care if you freeze your bony ass off.”

“No idea how I escaped a beating,” I murmured softly to myself as he swaggered along the footbridge toward his sitting room.

“Me either. But since my guards have already damaged you, and I’m too tired to exert myself, that might have something to do with it,” he mocked. “But tomorrow is another day. Anything is possible. Anything except you getting out of those chains.”

As the king padded up the stairs to his bedroom, I sank to the floor while he stripped off items of clothing, dropping them as he went—two gold arm cuffs, a metal-studded belt, and then his black leather pants.

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