Page 19 of The Forbidden Fae King

I read the same line again and again.

It is a passage about a powerful fae overlord who once controlled the lands of an entire province in our kingdom, then began harboring soldiers from the Summer Court of the fae realm. He accrued an army, began attacking human merchants to weaken our trade, before he brought his threats upon the king himself. It is one of the many instances that brought about the Great War.

I rub at my temples.

Finan’s expression as he leers at Caitlin flashes in my mind. I’m sure he has done it before, on previous visits. Glance too long here, a touch too intimate there. I grind my teeth and push the tome away.

I am driving myself insane.

Footfalls chime through the library, and I glance up at myapproaching mother. Her blond hair has been pulled out of its updo, and the glossy waves reach her waist. She carries a tray with three cups on it and I make some space on the desk for her to put it down.

She hands me a small ceramic cup. “Am I right to presume this tea is required?”

I scrunch my nose at the foulness of the steaming liquid as I take it. “Yes. I was going to take it tomorrow.” The contraceptive tea is so bitter I almost gag, but I finish it.

“Tell me what is wrong,” she asks, sitting opposite me and moving a pile of books. Research on the politics and history of our realm. The things a queen should know.

“I, um—” I shake my head. “I don’t really know. Sometimes, I fear Finan only sees me as a pretty thing to hang off his arm and the king a potential breeding mare. That neither will ever take me seriously.”

Mother exhales in a long, tired breath. “Every time the prince visits, you fret and worry and pick out all the things that are wrong with him. When he is gone for long enough for you to miss him, you forget your insecurities and pine over the idea of the prince. You remember him differently from the way he is, and when he doesn’t measure up to those standards, you get upset.”

My breath catches in my chest.

She continues mercilessly, “Most men are fools, and they find it hard to take the intelligence of a young, beautiful woman seriously. It takes subtlety and years of work to become such a man’s ruling partner. First, simple suggestions that slowly nudge him in the right direction, convincing him that your idea was his. Then advice in private, until he becomes so dependent on it, he asks for your opinion in front of others. After months or years of gentle manipulation, a woman might rule at his side. It is a very gradual process, but extremely effective.”

I nod vigorously.

“Should I worry he might pick another as his bride?” I ask.

“Yes.”

That single word drives home like the force of a battering ram.

“Yes?” I repeat dumbly.

“The marriage has never been guaranteed. We must do everything we can to sway the prince and the king.” Mother gives me a long look, and it softens as she grabs my hand and holds it in hers. “But it also means you are not trapped in this relationship.”

“But we need the political alliance!”

“We do,” my mother answers, patting my hand before releasing it. “But we will manage without it. There are other alliances that can be made. I will not sacrifice my daughter’s happiness for riches.”

“This is what I want.”

Mother leans across the table, stroking back the loose strands of my hair, and pinning them down. Her eyes glow as she takes me in.

“I am incredibly proud of the woman you have become. Know that I love you, and everything I do is with your best interests in my heart.” She takes in a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. “Your father is in his study, and he requires you to join him.”

It comes as a surprise. The night is deep, past midnight. Mother ushers me out of the library, then makes her excuses to retire.

As I walk through the empty corridors, an ominous feeling settles upon me. It is almost palpable.

Disembodied voices float toward me as I near my father’s personal library. They come from his study beyond. King Willard’s words boom as I step into the library, hardly absorbed by the columns of books.

“If Caitlin returns from her pilgrimage pregnant to the magic,shewill marry Finan. If not, then he can marry, Keira. One daughter can be risked to the Otherworld, but the other must remain here as a surety. Keira will not be allowed on the pilgrimage. This is non-negotiable!”

I freeze at his cruelty, halfway to the study. The room spins around me, a blur of bronze and mahogany and leather spines. My chest constricts painfully, making it a struggle to breathe. Something claws within me, tightening around my windpipe.

“Caitlin will not marry Prince Finan. I cannot make that clear enough. No child of mine will be forced into a marriage. And youcannot forbid Keira from making the crossing!” My father roars, and it spurs me on, toward that room.

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