Page 105 of A Kingdom of Pleasure and Torment

The breath Luthian takes draws him up straighter.

Cassan takes a sip of his tea, oblivious. “You’ll be my queen, Cenere. I’ve chosen you for it. But I won’t stand between you and true love. I’m not a monster.”

A laugh of disbelief bursts from me.

“You’ll stay at court,” Cassan orders, pointing playfully at Luthian. “I won’t have my queen’s heart filled with sorrow, pining for you. And you’ll make her happy, or there will be consequences.”

“What about Kathras?” I ask.

“He’s the heir to the throne I’m about to take so...” Cassan makes a ticking noise with his cheek. “I know I’m supposed to kill him, but I’m so bored with mourning black. We’re immortal. We’re not meant to think of death so much and for such extended periods.”

“Can he return?” I dread the answer, for while Cassan has said he won’t deny me Luthian, he’s correct in thinking that Kathras’s life is a threat to his rule. “To be with me? I love him, as I love Luthian.”

Cassan considers. “He would need to renounce the throne, first.”

“I don’t know if he’s willing to,” Luthian says carefully.

“I could convince him!” I blurt, though I’m not sure that I can. While I did fall in love with Kathras’s tenderness in the faery baths, and though he did go to the dungeons without implicating me in Arcus’s assassination, I don’t know how he feels about me.

But I want to try.

“Do we know where he is?” Cassan asks Luthian. “Have you heard from him?”

“No. Kathras and I aren’t friendly,” he replies.

“You did frame him for murder,” I point out. “I don’t think your friendship will blossom as a result.”

“Baron Scylas hinted that he may have returned to the Sorrowlands.” Cassan rubs his chin in thought. “I could send you as an ambassador, Luthian.”

“Kathras won’t speak to him,” I protest.

“An ambassador in the queen’s retinue,” Cassan says, and gives me a wink. “Give me a week to recover from the party we’re about to have tonight, and it will be arranged. The two of you will travel to the Sorrowlands, forge important diplomatic relations with that disgusting old vampire Scylas, and bring my brother home.”

I leap from my chair and throw my arms around Cassan’s neck. “Thank you!”

“Thank me by preparing for the coronation,” he says, gently disentangling himself. “And Luthian?”

Luthian rises and bows. “Your Majesty?”

“Limber up. Now that she has wings, I have loads of ideas for us to try out with her tonight.”

* * * *

I stand before the doors of the throne room, my hand atop Cassan's. Beyond, the entire court has assembled to see their faery king and human queen begin the day of ceremony and spectacle that will cement our standing in the Court of Pleasure and Torment.

"I expect you'll come as a shock to them," Cassan whispers, slightly inclining his head toward mine. "If anyone asks, it's a gift from me. No need to dredge up the past."

"Of course." Perhaps one day, the truth will come out, and I will be known as the daughter of Queen Parphia, but Cassan has given me more than any mortal king would have allowed. More than Arcus would have, certainly. I can keep a secret in payment.

Chimes begin to ring beyond the doors, rising in a storm of music I taste on my tongue. My heightened fae senses continue to astonish and delight me. The light through the windows dances in waves my mortal eyes would never have noticed. It writhes to the song of the bells in celebration. The palace itself seems to throb with excitement.

The doors open, and Cassan and I step inside.

The looks of anticipation and admiration turn to wonder and disbelief as I pass them, my crystal-flecked wings shimmering behind me. I see delight and envy written across the faces of the courtiers, and I relish their admiration. They have witnessed me humiliated, degraded by Arcus. Now, I walk beside Cassan not only as a queen, but as a faery. I am not an oddity or a toy. I am their ruler and their equal.

I glance ahead to the dais and the two thrones there. Beside mine is a chair, and in front of that chair is Luthian.

Gaping, I turn to Cassan, and he offers me his sly wink.

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