Page 72 of The Forbidden Fae King

The cool splash of water as I wash my face helps to wake me up, then I grab the pastry and cold coffee a servant left on a tray while I slept. There are still flecks of powdered sugar on my face as I open the door and quickly brush them off.

Aldrin leans against a thick pillar, lost in brooding thought. The loose curls of his dark hair are tied back into a knot at the nap of his neck, and strands escape to frame his face. Those thick eyebrows are pinched over amber eyes lost in shadows.

Hints of the black war paint that shimmers into existence on his skin whenever anger or fight takes him are visible across his cheekbones, his forehead and neck. They accentuate the sharp planes of his face and make him look very much the high fae warlord. A king.

I swear I stop breathing at the sight. At his terrifying beauty.

Aldrin turns to me, and shakes his head. “Cyprien is driving me insane.”

“He seems to be good at it.” I fall into step with Aldrin, as he leads me down the long portico. “What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not—” Aldrin turns to me, then exhales. “Cyprien is one of themost stubborn, by the book people I know. To him, hosting my party here, hearing me out, it borders treason. Maybe he justifies it by telling himself that I am technically being held by him for questioning. But traveling with me to the border of our supposed enemy, to witness evidence that I claim will convert him to my cause, it would be viewed as a betrayal by the high chancellor. I am afraid he won’t take that leap of faith, despite what I have already shown him.”

“What did you do that was so terrible?” I ask. “Why were you exiled?”

A bitter laugh rumbles through him. “I had an idea that made people uncomfortable. A solution to a problem they didn’t want to admit existed. Change is so…inconvenient. Especially when the people in power aren’t directly affected by the threat yet.”

We travel across the colonnade that wraps around the upper levels of the apartments.

I frown. “It’s hard to change people, especially when the issue becomes entrenched with emotion, like the mistruths your people seem to cling to. Sometimes, all you can do is chip away at the lies.”

Aldrin grunts and leads me down multiple levels, through alleyways and out to a private, walled courtyard of packed earth we have been using as a training field. A frozen breeze curls through the space, and I regret not wearing that ancient fur coat.

“What am I going to learn today?” I ask.

“I have seen you wield air magic to propel weapons, knives and arrows, but I want you to use it to hinder an opponent’s moves. To create micro shields against the impact of their blows, and to reinforce your own strikes.” He removes a sword from across his back, and places it on the ground. “Tomorrow, base jumping.”

“Base jumping?” My voice pitches high.

“Think of it as running across air, while creating hard discs of it to step on as you go. It takes some skill and strong nerves, but I think you will manage.”

“I will manage?” My eyebrows shoot up. “What if I fall?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.” He grins at me. It is bait. I know the fact, as his smug smile widens.

“Oh good, as long as there is a big, strong man here to save me.” I poke him in the ribs. “Too bad every time you try to save me, you make matters worse.”

“Hhhmmm,” he replies. “Maybe I need to focus on saving fae from you.” I raise my eyebrows, but he continues anyway. “Does the Lake Maiden need saving, perhaps? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you working your innocent little human girl charms on her. “Odiane, I will help you and your daughters take over the realm. No, I don’t want much in return.” He imitates me in a ridiculous, high-pitched voice.

I throw a shaft of solid air straight at his stomach, hard enough to make him double over protectively and grunt, but not to inflict pain. “Maybe you should focus on protecting yourself.”

He shows me no mercy after that, drilling me hard with our training.

Aldrin demonstrates the weaving of an air net that is so fine it can be thrown up and dissipated in heartbeats, but strong enough to stop a blade.

Then he tests me, striking blows with the sides of his hands that fly for my arms, my chest, my back, as I clumsily throw air between us. When they connect, they are taps that pepper my body, and when I am successful in shielding, they crack audibly on the hard air.

“You see that,” Aldrin says between huffs of breath. “That shield could break a person’s hand if they came at you with full force, but—” he kicks the backs of my legs so my knees buckle forward. “It took too long to form. Occupied too much focus and energy. You couldn’t shield yourself from the next attack.”

We keep dancing, sweat dripping down both of our bodies, as he dips in toward me, so close my head clogs with the sweet scent of him and his breath tickles my neck. His face is inches from mine, and it would be so easy to lean in and press my lips against his. I wonder what he would feel like. Taste like.

His perfect face is all I can see as his hands taps my waist, then slides away, only to hit my arms, my chest, my lower back. It feels like his hands are all over me.

I forget to shield, utterly distracted by his nearness, and he gets a few good blows in.

Aldrin laughs, taunting me. There is golden light swirling in his eyes as he circles me like a predator. I take control of the thinnest layer of air between his feet and the ground and pull it out from under him. His smile falls as he slips for a single heartbeat, then braces himself on a wall of air he throws up.

“Good.” Aldrin grunts. “Use your imagination. Now let’s practice hand-to-hand combat maneuvers with fortified air.”

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