Page 72 of Chosen By the Fae King

I gave him a two-fingered salute in thanks and turned to face whatever was at the end of the hall. My footsteps were the only sound other than the occasional crackle of the torches.

As I got closer, my ears picked up quiet moans. I reminded myself it was a test of composure. Of restraint. There was no animated corpse to fight.

The moans increased in volume, though they were muffled. Was someone being harmed? Oh gods, were they going to make me watch it and do nothing?

I crossed the threshold.

Half of the chamber, where the sounds were coming from, was shrouded in darkness. The half I was on had a handful of candles, just enough to make out the circle drawn on the stone floor.

My muscles tightened. Something about the rhythm of the sounds had me on high alert.

I stepped into the circle. Immediately, the veil of shadowy magic covering the far side of the room dissolved. No longer muffled, the sounds sliced through the air and punctured my spirit.

My heart stopped. My stomach rolled. The wild thing howled in agony.

The female on the bed panted and gasped erotically, her face hidden behind a blanket of shadows. Behind her, with his hands gripping her hips, Nox pistoned forcefully in and out. Through gritted teeth he made his own lewd sounds.

He withdrew and rolled her to her back. I caught a quick glimpse of his cock, shiny and slick, before he entered her again. Slowly this time.

I wanted to look away but couldn't tear my gaze away from the scene in front of me. It was raw and passionate. I was an intruder, an envious voyeur, confined inside my own skin and powerless.

I still couldn't see her face but Nox's was clear as day. This wasn't just a random romp to get off. He was a male enthralled. Obsessed.

A crack formed right down the center of my being. I imagined tearing out my own heart and burning it to ash.

I forced myself to take deep breaths as I watched them move together like one entity; their hands entwined, their mouths close and sharing air.

His movements were demanding yet gentle. When she finally found that ultimate release, he followed shortly after with a primal roar that rang through my body and soul at the same time.

My torment combusted, its shrapnel shredding me into a million jagged pieces.

They both laid still on the bed for what seemed like an eternity, entwined and exchanging loving caresses. It was so much worse than watching him fuck her.

They basked in the quietness of the room, until Nox eventually broke it by whispering something softly into her ear. She laughed sensuously and he brushed his lips against hers.

The king unfolded his large frame as he rose from the bed and faced me, his expression unreadable. I remained frozen as he slowly approached.

To hell with composure. To hell with this cruel, twisted, task. If he touched me I would stab him with the dagger in my boot.

He was nearly to the edge of the circle when I caught movement at his back. The female, silent as a ghost, leapt from the bed with a knife in her hand.

Instinct took over. I grabbed his arm and used his forward momentum to spin us, putting my back between Nox and his attacker, and braced for the blade.

Nothing happened.

A voice just like Nox's cursed from the corner and my head whipped around. Standing in front of a chair that was lying on its side, was the King of Falcondale.

“Release it, Marcellus,” he ordered. “And go let Lorne know we're finished.”

A male fae in a dark green robe appeared. “Shall I tell him she passed, Sire?”

“With flying fucking colors.”

Passed?

The spell dropped, the one I'd believed had been erected to hide the bed from view. But everything disappeared. The bed. The female. Even the naked Nox who'd felt very real when I'd grabbed him.

The door closed and I was in a candlelit room with Nox. Alone. My body shook. Overwhelmed and irate, cracked but not broken, my eyes burned.

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