Page 69 of Chosen By the Fae King

I coughed and his smile turned wicked.

“Now finish eating and we'll play some cards before I tuck you in.”

“Cards?”

“Yes.”

His idea for an evening of companionship sunk in and my reservations dissipated. “Sounds perfect,” I replied.

And it was.

Fifteen

Aeryn

The dim room on the lower level was empty outside of the bridal trial contestants standing in pockets, whispering guesses of why we were down here. I leaned against a stone column at the back, taking a moment to myself before today's training activities began.

My wounds had healed from the attack, leaving behind pale scars that served as a reminder of how close I'd come to death. I ran a hand over the marks, feeling the ridged skin forever marred because of the dark magic.

Strong. I would remember I was strong. A survivor.

I closed my eyes, remembering the warmth of Nox's hands and the gentleness in his voice as he cared for me. We'd talked through the evening, exchanging stories of our lives like old friends.

With each word, my heart had tangled itself more in the web he was weaving. I wanted him. All of him. Not just for a single night, either.

The thought left me breathless with fear. I couldn't win these trials and I shouldn’t pretend otherwise. Giving in to the fantasy would only break me in the end.

Yet the idea of Nox marrying someone else, of another woman sharing his bed, filled me with a jealousy so potent I worried I would do something insanely stupid. Like shoving a blade through Zoriyah’s eye socket.

What was worse, I didn’t even feel bad for having the thought. To be fair, the fire fae was almost certainly going to come after me in one of the official trials. A dagger sinking into her face might just save my ass.

Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at myself and chose to go back to the Nox fantasy. Yes, much better.

“You look deep in thought, my lady.”

I opened my eyes to find Liam standing before me, hands in his pockets and a smile quirking his lips.

“That's because I am.” I'd never been good at hiding my feelings, but I couldn't very well tell him I'd been daydreaming of Nox, imagining him naked and wanting me as his one and only.

“Nervous?” He cocked his head, studying me.

“Should I be?” I arched a brow, a challenge in my tone.

Liam laughed, the sound rich and warm, far more friendly than I'd ever thought he would be with me. “Not at all. I believe today will be more aligned to your talents.”

I tilted my head. “What makes you think that?”

“Because the only weapons you'll need today are your wits and intelligence. And courage. You'll be fine.”

“You think I'm intelligent?”

“When you're not fighting off monsters on your own? Yes. Now, please excuse me, Lady Aeryn. We're about to begin and I'm in charge of getting things going.”

I shook my head and went to Sofiya, who was standing with Raina, Mirrelle, and Astrid. Though they'd all given me concerned looks at the breakfast table this morning, they hadn't pried.

Sofiya knew what had happened and knew I didn't like to be fussed over. When I awoke this morning, I found her sitting up beside me on the edge of the bed. Instead of tearing up as I thought she might, she flicked me in the forehead, told me to never do such a thing again, and left.

She'd never done anything like that to me before. I wasn't the only one changing.

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