Page 5 of Chosen By the Fae King

As pained as he sounded, his words and tone filled my heart.

Huran, a respectable male with a deep sense of honor, had two female offspring. Luckily, they were both married. Still, he spoke up in the face of threat.

The rider's head tilted, a flinty gaze settling on Huran. “You dare question your king's orders?”

“He's no king of mine,” the Councilman spat. “Begone from here, and take your soldiers with you!”

Several villagers shouted in agreement and even more spilled into the street. The tension in the air grew thick enough to cut with a knife. My fingers tightened around my dagger, ready to act if this went badly.

The rider sat motionless upon his horse for a long moment, as if considering. Then he waved a hand dismissively. “Your insolence has been noted. However, your king is a merciful male and does not want any lives taken. Not today, at least.”

His gaze swept across the crowd, voice hardening. “You have until the end of the hour to present the females. If you do not ...” He trailed off meaningfully, hand tapping the scabbard at his hip.

I glanced at the clock tower. Shit. We had fifteen minutes.

My heart pounded as the soldiers began making their way through the crowd, roughly grabbing young women who matched the age range and dragging them forward. Sofiya stood frozen, eyes wide with terror.

I started toward her, but a soldier grabbed my arm before I could take more than a step.

“Let go of me, asshole!” I snarled, whirling on him with my dagger drawn.

The tall male stumbled back a pace, eyes widening at my fury. An unexpected smile stretched across his face revealing perfect teeth behind his full lips.

“Well, what do we have here?” he clucked. Lightning fast, he snatched my blade and had a firm hold of my dominant arm.

Shit!

The rider took notice and nudged his horse forward, glaring at me from his saddle. “Stand down. There is no need for violence here today.”

I glared right back. “I'll not stand by while you terrorize innocent fae.”

A bark of laughter escaped him. “All are subject to the king's will.”

“The king can rot for all I care,” I said tightly.

“Bold words from someone so young. Now behave so we can get this mess over with and be gone from here.”

Rage and fear warred within me. I couldn't best all of these soldiers. Truthfully, I probably couldn’t best any of them, but I'd be damned if I didn't try.

The trials were known to be brutal. Females died or were gravely injured or maimed. Sofiya wasn't a fighter and had no real training.

Technically, neither did I.

But I was harder around the edges. Sofiya was softer, quieter. Especially since that bastard Hudson had taken off with pieces of her heart in his godsforsaken hands.

I'd done what I could for her as she had done so much for me. Sofiya was my rock, and I would protect her with my life.

I made a pathetic attempt to get free. A second soldier grabbed onto me, not as tall as the first but thicker and more powerfully built. Now both of my arms were locked in vices.

The rider sighed, as if bored with this entire exchange. “Enough. You have tested my patience which was already wearing thin.”

He waved a hand at the soldiers holding me. “Keep a hold on Miss … what is your name?”

“Piss off.”

The rider's steel grey eyes flared. “So Miss Pissoff doesn't have the chance to do anything stupid.”

One of the soldiers laughed.

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