Page 23 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

Graham had made a sly comment regarding the newly appointed Prime of Agriculture, Davina Yarrow, who was an Earth. Normally the position went to a Healer, as Isle Healer was where most farmlands were in our realm.

As expected, Davina did not take it well. She was young for a Prime, barely three hundred and fifty years. Graham on the other hand, was well over a millennium, and thought himself superior to all but Xavier, even me. When Davina shot branches as thick as full tree trunks at Graham, who then set them aflame, Xavier looked to me. Unlike Mia, my father figure thought of me as a diplomat, a leader, a strength. Our bond was strong because of it, as he made me feel purpose, though he was still quick to dismantle that confidence with the strike of a hand if I stepped out of line. That was the way of the Fires. They were strong-willed and enjoyed control, a perfect example being Graham.

So, when the fight broke out and the power of everyone at the table began to simmer, giving a heaviness to the air, I stood. “Enough!” I shouted, raising my arms, palms facing the two Elements.

Sit. Silence. Breathe.

The two sat, mouths shut and eyes wide. Ishani Bhatt started visibly shaking on my left, and a silence filled with terror engulfed the space.

“You are not younglings, you are members of the fae council. Everything you do, every word you say, holds weight and merit. You do not have the benefit of making mistakes,” I said, allowing my audible voice to drop to the tenor of my mental one. “Heed this warning, your strength and cunning put you in this seat, but I have no qualms with removing you from it. Each of you possess power and knowledge unlike any other in your respective land, now act like it.”

Slowly, I sat back down, letting my glare rest on each of them, moving over Tish faster than the others. When my eyes met Xavier’s, he was grinning ear to ear.

Still, it was exhausting. On the best day I merely tolerated the idea of becoming queen. Though it gave my life meaning, a reason as to why Eternity put me here, it was also a burden. I would rule a realm of fae who feared, despised, or worshiped me, none of which were preferable. The rest of my life would consist of this same thing, manipulating minds to get what I wanted, and being either loved or hated for it.

Which was why these meetings wore through my joy, and I was on a very low supply of it already.

Ignazio Salvatore, the Royal Tomorrow who was also Nicola’s father, spoke of the prophecy Nicola had dreamt of the night prior. I was not fully listening anymore, a wave of pain sweeping across my eyes and temples. He mentioned something about a great power and said that Nicola was rather disturbed by it.

Many Tomorrows had been upset upon discovering that Nicola was planning to marry Kafele, as she would then cross Reader River and live within the Yesterday Lands, forfeiting her ability to hold any other position of power. Xavier once told me that Nicola was the most powerful Tomorrow he had ever met or heard of, far surpassing her father and my mother. Ignazio was enraged when Kafele proposed, going as far as to beg Xavier to forbid the union.

The king had refused to do so.

Eventually Ignazio accepted Nicola’s choice, and instead had her aiding the fae council by sharing her readings and prophesies. It was a compromise she had been more than happy to make, and Ignazio never failed to bring more information from her to each of these discussions, always giving credit to his daughter.

When we finally left the meeting room, the council quickly dispersing, I saw Sterling leaning against a wall. He stood casually with one leg bent at an angle, his foot pressed flat against the golden wall. I cringed at the sight of him, which made his smile grow. To him, he had the advantage between us. What he did to me made him stronger in his eyes, a dominant figure.

He was wrong.

I would not let him see how broken he made me. The pleasure of knowing I lie awake at night, plagued by memories of his touch, would not be his. Let him think he had the upper hand, let him believe he was above me. I would show him just how wrong he was.

“Hello, beautiful,” Sterling said with a joy that told me he was remorseless.

Holding in any further displays of emotion, I nodded to him and walked on. I knew he would follow, but still I was taken aback as I felt his hand grip my shoulder and turn me around. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

“So sad that such a gorgeous canvas was forever ripped,” he whispered, his pointer finger running across the flat top of my ear.

My eyes darted around the hallways, making sure everyone had scurried off to get to work and avoid angering me again. Then, with a wicked smile, I reached out and traced my thumb across Sterling’s bottom lip. His eyes went wide as I touched his full pink mouth. Then, I slowly slid the tips of my fingers down his jaw, his neck, his torso, until finally I reached his growing erection.

With no hesitation I grabbed it, squeezing not for pleasure, but for pain. Then, I latched onto his mind, scratching and clawing to make him all the more aware I was there. He shrieked in pain, and I felt a wave of nausea wash through him. There was a strange taste to his mind, earthy and distinctly animal.

“Listen here you little wretch,” I seethed, my hot breath puffing into his rounded ear. “I know you think yourself invincible after that little stunt you pulled, but I would like to remind you who I am. I am the heir to the fae throne. I am The Manipulator. I am the holder of minds and the breaker of souls. Feared by even the strongest of fae. I can end you with a mere thought. I am your superior in every way, and one day I will be the queen which you cower before.”

Just to prove my point, or perhaps to simply be cruel, I released my grip on his penis but tightened my hold on his mind.

Bow.

Sterling leaned forward, making a truly pathetic attempt.

I said BOW.

Lower he leaned, practically folding in half. Tears streamed down his face. Five days ago, I would have felt guilty, but as he wept there—that smug smile finally gone—I felt nothing but pure triumph.

Bend the knee, mortal.

Sterling crashed to his knees, so similar to the way I fell that night, the resounding crack giving me déjà vu that was both painful and exhilarating.

“Touch me again, dear fiancé, and I will show you why they tell horror stories of me to children and younglings who misbehave,” I said, my voice still full of that deeper tenor that forced others to do my bidding.

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