Page 79 of A Kingdom of Pleasure and Torment

I laugh in bitter derision. “It must be nice to have such control over yourself. Such mastery of your feelings that you can so easily let your guard down for a vulnerable woman in a precarious moment!”

“Are you accusing me of taking advantage of you?” I note the way Kathras’s demeanor changes from dismissal to rising anger. “If you hate it here so much, why not leave? You said yourself that your only purpose was your revenge, and now it’s been taken from you. There’s nothing left for you here. So, go.”

“I…”

He wants me to leave. But I remember the look on his face when he found me in the cave. Though he may claim to have purged his feelings, what I had with him in the faery baths is not something so easily put out of mind. Not even for a faery. Not even for a son of Arcus.

“I made a bargain,” I admit.

“Any bargain you’ve made with my father will only be to his benefit. Break it now and flee.” He flicks his gaze toward the library doors nervously, then back to me. “I can have you far from here by nightfall.”

“It isn’t a bargain with your father,” I say softly. “It was a bargain with Luthian.”

In the cavern, I described Luthian as a kindly guardian who agreed to train me, with no mention of the deal I struck. I can’t reveal it now, either; how can I tell Kathras that I’m a willing participant in a plan that will lead to his death?

A death which I cannot allow. Not anymore. But if I leave court, as Kathras suggests, I won’t be here to stop Luthian.

“A bargain. With Luthian.” Kathras repeats, his tone cold enough to frost the windows if he willed it.

“My mother raised me well and taught me the faery ways. Nothing without a price. I agreed to Luthian’s price.” The moment the words leave me, I realize I may have made a mistake. Kathras killed the cephalopire to keep his promise to me. Would he take Luthian’s life to free me from my bargain?

He considers my words, his expression unreadable. “You made a bargain to become my father’s queen.”

“I didn’t!” I made a bargain to become your younger brother’s queen.

Kathras’s mouth becomes a hard, humorless line. “You weren’t just here to find a powerful benefactor to help in your revenge. Luthian brought you here for a crown.”

“When I entered into the bargain, I did not flatter myself to think that I, a lowly human, could ever become the favorite of a faery king.” I thought I would become the favorite of a faery prince. In truth, I wish it would have happened that way. Cassan is less likely to feed me to something for his own amusement.

Kathras’s eyes narrow. “I see through you. I see through Luthian. If I were you, if I were him, I would find a nice cottage in The Baneful Wood and never set foot in this palace again. Let the court forget about you and your pathetic scheming.”

“I will not break my promise to Luthian.” I hope Kathras feels my deliberate use of his words. “I was here for revenge. Now, I cannot have it. But Luthian still wishes to be among his own kind—”

“His own kind.” Kathras makes a noise of disgust. “Then he is in the wrong place. I’m sure there’s a Court of Treachery and Murder somewhere. If not in Fablemere, then Faeryland.”

“And me? You’d have me live in that cottage in The Baneful Wood all alone?” I scoff, though I’m not sure it’s impossible. Humans have hewn a rough existence there, and I am human. Perhaps he’s right.

“No. I want you to be safe, somewhere far away from my father, from Luthian, from anyone who would use you for their own gain,” Kathras growls. A few strands of his blonde hair fall over his forehead. His anger has made him a wild, disheveled thing. “I want you to keep your head! They have a tendency to come off when Luthian is involved.”

Something swims vaguely up through my memory. Luthian said something, the night we made our bargain. Something about the queen losing her head for an indiscretion similar to his.

I assumed at the time that the incidents were unrelated. Did Luthian mean that his banishment had something to do with the queen’s death?

When Kathras’s expression softens, I know my confusion is clear on my face. He takes a step back. “You don’t know.”

“I’ve only been here a few days. I’ve hardly had time to take in a history class.” I sniff derisively, but I don’t think it’s enough to fool Kathras. One slip of my face, and I’ve exposed how little I truly know Luthian.

Kathras nods to the statue and it releases me. I step away from it, just in case, but try not to appear too unnerved.

“It will work, you know,” he says, his tone far calmer now.

“What will?” My heart pounds. Can he read my thoughts? See Luthian’s plan written across my mind as easily as the words across the pages of his book?

“Luthian’s desperate grab for power. He brought you here to whore you to my father and brother to secure his place.” Kathras grimaces in disgust. “Before your engagement to my father, Luthian made a wager with my brother. If Luthian lost, he would hand you over to Cassan as a prize.”

“I know.” I lift my chin, defiant. “I didn’t object.”

Kathras utters a laugh of pure disdain. “You’re a more fitting mate for Luthian than for my father.”

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