Page 48 of Crowned By the Fae King

I met his eyes for a long moment. They were unusual eyes, even for one of the fae, the deep violet-blue of his irises painted over with pale sea-green towards the center. They suited him.

I couldn't stand there and stare, though, so I sighed out a breath and gave him a nod. "I'm not that gentle, but I'll try."

"I appreciate that a great deal," Vad said, still in that soft voice. "I know this surely can't be easy. Even for me, the way he's wielding Court magic is… troubling… but I'm certain you're safe with him. He's a good man, and he's very dear to me."

My throat went tight. "I'm not afraid of him," I said, keeping my voice quiet so Cass wouldn't overhear. "He heals by reflex. He's not going to hurt me."

Vaduin's mouth slanted up into a smile. "Soulmates," he said with a touch of relief. "Dani wasn't afraid of me, either, and she had every right to be. I'll try to remember that, and not worry about you so much."

"Quyen?" Cass asked from the bedroom, his voice carrying through the intervening entry and sitting rooms.

"Coming!" I called back. I turned back to Vaduin. "You don't need to worry about me, at least not when it comes to him," I said. "You, though…"

He cocked an eyebrow. "What about me?" he asked, clearly amused.

I flashed him a grin. "You might be his best friend, but it's my bedroom, too. Don't come in without knocking anymore, okay? I don't want you to see me naked on accident."

A wicked gleam lit his eyes. "Only on accident, hm?" he asked, with a lilt to the words. "What about on purpose?"

"Tch. You wish. Flirt." I flicked my fingers at him. "Go smooch Dani, and when you come back, knock."

"Bossy," he said, sounding amused, his expression easy. "As you desire, your majesty. I'll make sure to let Dani know the kiss is from you."

My eyebrows shot up. Vaduin smirked at me, the tips of his sharp fangs showing.

"Is everything alright?" Cass asked, coming back into the entry room. His eyes flicked between me and Vaduin, taking in his friend's flirtatious stance and the way I was fully facing him, chin tipped up in challenge and hand on my hip. His ears leaned back. His tension sang up my spine.

Vaduin took a deliberate step backwards, away from me. "Everything's fine, chevalier," he said, dropping his eyes like a submissive animal. "Quyen was asking me to knock next time I come help with your hair. Did you still want it up tonight?"

"I could do it," I volunteered before Cass could answer.

He frowned at me, a puzzled-seeming expression, but he did at least stop looking like he was afraid Vad and I were going to start making out in the doorway. "Are you any good with formal hairdressing?" he asked, cocking one ear towards me. "Vad's excellent with fashion, and it's not uncomfortable for us to touch for that length of time. I wouldn't mind you trying, but…" Cass tucked a loose strand of his hair behind his ear in a self-conscious gesture.

"Right. Maybe not for the formal coronation revel," I said, my cheeks starting to warm. What the fuck was I even doing? My hairdressing skills were limited to ponytails and braids. I didn't even know how to do a french braid. Vaduin was doing things that looked like they came out of bridal magazines and Viking movies.

"I'll plan on coming back, then," Vad said after a moment. He flashed me a smile before pivoting and strolling off. "And I'll plan on knocking," he added over his shoulder, giving me a little wave.

I rolled my eyes, privately amused, and stepped into the monarchal suite, closing the door behind me. "He's sassy."

Cass shifted uncomfortably. "Vaddy's blessed with a silver tongue and a lovely face." He shuffled his wings, not looking at me. "It's won him much favor among women."

"And men, too, I'm sure," I said, watching him. "The two of you were lovers, right? Or… are lovers?" He flinched, and I flinched with him, the movement automatic.

He closed his eyes, looking pained. "Were," he said, his voice rough. "A long time ago. Decades." Cass swallowed, hard enough that I felt the tension squeezing my throat. "And once more, a few weeks ago, along with Dani."

"Yeahhh, I figured that one out pretty fast. Dani got way awkward when she realized I'd felt that, and I put two and two together." I leaned against the door and crossed my arms loosely over my chest, regarding him.

He'd been tortured as a child until he'd learned ironclad control. Children don't know how to separate their actions and emotions. Cass had been forced to control everything, without any guidance, and it was pretty obvious that he'd learned to control every outward appearance of emotion. Those lessons had clearly held sway. They'd been amplified, even, by the centuries he'd spent learning to control his magic.

Cass knew how to control bodies, but he'd never been trained how to control a palace, let alone a Court. The second he leaned into his control so that he didn't have to physically feel his emotions – or so that I didn't have to feel them – the Court felt them, instead.

He'd said that every inch of Mercy was part of him. What had once been a box Cass could shove his emotions into wasn't inside him anymore. It was half a million square miles of land and sky, and it didn't know how to have emotions any more than he did.

I set that thought to the side so I could consider what I wanted to do about it in the back of my mind. Now was definitely not the time.

He didn't say anything, standing there with his eyes closed, clearly on the edge of locking all that emotion down again.

I let out a gusty sigh, which at least got him to look at me. "I'm not angry about you sleeping with them. Um, jealous, yeah," I added, feeling awkward about admitting it, "but not mad. You didn't… know, and you were stressed and unhappy and they love you and they're beautiful," I said, blurting it out as my heart started hammering from my anxiety.

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