Page 6 of Chosen By the Fae King

“Oh, and I'll take her blade,” their leader ordered. He caught it by the handle when it was tossed to him.

“No!” escaped my lips before I could call it back.

That blade had been my grandfather's. He'd given it to my father. Now it was mine, one of the few things I owned with sentimental value.

The rider's eyes narrowed, then inspected the weapon in his hand. “It's just a dagger, little hellion. A cheap one at that.”

He thought I was the monster here? How hypocritical.

“Not everything of value can be measured in coin,” I retorted quietly, lowering my eyes to the ground.

I felt his stare on me for longer than was polite. Then the rider and his mount turned away, dismissing me from his notice.

The soldiers dragged me closer to the line of females meeting the trials' criteria. Sofia was visibly shaking, silent tears streaming down her face. I struggled against my captors, cursing, but their grip was like iron.

“You're doing yourself no favors, Miss Pissoff,” one of them whispered.

“Fuck you.”

“I like this one,” the other said. “Can we keep her?”

My stomach tightened.

The soldiers stopped when we were at the front of the crowd. I twisted in their grip, catching Sofiya's terrified gaze. “Be brave,” I mouthed.

She nodded jerkily. I turned my glare on the soldiers holding me, resolve hardening within me. King Nox would regret the day he decided to continue the archaic Bride Trials.

The rider dismounted and stood next to a soldier holding a wooden bucket. “Is it ready?” he asked.

“Yes, Sire.”

“Thank you, Ruark.”

The leader, who was still donning his full helmet, turned to the crowd.

“Good fae of Greenhollow,” he began smoothly, like a well-rehearsed speech.

“It has been many years since the last trials when King Orson found his bride. Now that the King and Queen have both passed ...” the male paused, then cleared his throat.

Surely the savage didn't have feelings.

“Now that there is a new King, it is custom for him to take a bride. The Kingdom of Falcondale does this through the Bride Trials, as is well known. Your king, however, wishes to change tradition.”

Murmurs skittered through the crowd. I held my breath.

The commanding male lifted a palm and silenced the villagers. “The most relevant change for this village is the selection process. Instead of inviting all those who are eligible and eliminating many through each of the seven trials, he has decided to reduce the number of trials. Therefore, each province's number of candidates will be based on population size. Since Greenhollow is so small, we are only inviting one female.”

Inviting. What a crock.

“How will you pick?” Huran asked.

The rider pointed to the bucket. “By lottery. We will draw a name and one of your own will have the opportunity to compete to be your next queen.”

The feel of the crowd altered slightly. My own shoulders relaxed a bit. I didn't want anyone to be forced into such a thing, but several of the females gathered tittered and bounced excitedly.

I shook my head. Who was I to thumb my nose at someone who wanted to participate? As long as it wasn't Sofiya or some poor soul who adamantly wanted to stay home, I would keep quiet.

The odds were in our favor that her name wouldn't be drawn. This was good.

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