Page 41 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

He makes a face of distaste at the mention of the Westlands.“Why the hell would you want to go there?”

“I have family there,” I say, deciding to use this opportunity to bait him for information about Selena.“Is it not as lovely as they make it sound?”

Prince Xavier laughs darkly.“Whoever you’ve been corresponding with is clearly playing you for a fool. No one from the Westlands describes it as lovely. Not since Queen Selena was crowned.”

My suspicions about the way Selena rules confirmed, at least marginally, gives me the confidence to ask my next question.“Have you met her?”

He shrugs, as if I’m boring him already.“Once or twice. She’s not the most pleasant of witches.” Before I can ask another question, he grabs my hand and yanks me toward the stairs that lead down to the gardens below. Not wanting to raise suspicion—because whatnormalfemale would say no to spending time with him?—I follow him down, scanning the crowd inside the ballroom one more time for Finn. Unfortunately for me and the knot taking hold in my stomach, I have no luck locating him among the hundreds of bodies there before they vanish from sight as we make our descent.

Xavier leads me into the royal gardens where roses occupy most of the space, along with a fountain carved in stone; a statue of a stag stands magnificently in the center, his antlers broad and powerful. We sit on a bench in front of the fountain and he hooks his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side roughly. Apparently, Finn wasn’t kidding when he said most princes are even more arrogant than he is, and I formulate a plan in my mind to escape this situation without offending Xavier or causing a scene.

Before I can think of a polite excuse to leave, the prince turns towards me and places his hand on my face, just as Finn had done earlier, but without much tenderness, and withnoneof the consent. Before he can kiss me, I place my hand on his chest, holding him at bay.

“What? Do you have a partner or something?” he asks impatiently, as if that’s the only reason a female wouldn’t want to kiss him.

I raise my eyebrows, shocked by his vanity.“No, but I came here with someone.”

“Well, you were alone when I found you, so I’m sure he won’t mind.” He grabs my wrist that was on his chest and moves it out of the way, inching closer.

I stand up then, attempting to rip my wrist out of his grip, but he follows me up, squeezing my arm tightly. Knowing that pulling my dagger on a member of the royal family in his own kingdom is out of the question, for obvious reasons, I give him a tight smile.“Please let go.” My teeth are clenched so tight my jaw aches.

“C’mon, don’t be such a tease. You can’t walk around with tits like that and not expect someone to notice.” He reaches up with his free hand and squeezes my breast so hard that I have to suppress a yelp.

“Considering my tits are mine and mine alone, you can notice all you like, but I would kindly ask you to remove your hand from my chest.” The rage inside me is threatening to boil over, but I know that I’m essentially powerless in this situation, since I can’t threaten or harm the prince in his own castle without serious repercussions.

Xavier smiles wickedly, knowing that he has the upper hand, and then crushes his mouth to mine, moving the hand that was on my breast to the back of my head and fisting a handful of my hair roughly. I try to pull away, but he feels me retreating and pulls my hair hard, forcing my chin up to give him easier access as he forces his tongue into my mouth. Feeling utterly trapped, I start to panic, knowing there’s nothing I can do against his status as a prince.

He pulls away and looks at me with lustful eyes, the pale blue hue of his irises much darker now.“You’re not making this very enjoyable for me, you little slut.”

My anger turns molten hot in my veins at his comment, and I consider pulling my dagger and sayingfuck the consequences, but I don’t get the chance.

Finn slams down from the sky into the gardens with enough force to shake the statue of the stag, his shadows stretching out toward Xavier as if they want to drown him in their darkness. Finn’s eyes are pure black, his whole persona screaming death’s name as he approaches Xavier, who quickly releases his grip on my wrist and hair.

The prince of the Spring Kingdom takes a step back, his eyes paling and growing wide with fear.“You’re here withhim?” Xavier asks me, clearly scared of the male who’s now stalking him like prey.

“You’ve got some nerve sticking your filthy tongue down my lady’s throat,” Finn snarls, continuing to walk toward Xavier with a murderous glint in his eye.

The Spring Prince looks like he’s about to piss himself, but he holds his ground.“And you have a lot of nerve threatening me in my own home.”

Finn cracks a devilish smile, never taking his eyes off Xavier. He spreads his wings wide, towering over the small prince, dwarfing him simply by standing near him.“If youeverlay a hand on her, oranyfemale, without their consent again, I will personally pay you a visit, and this conversation will end very differently.”

Without another word, Finn walks over to me and picks me up, launching us into the sky. The night air is freezing, and I shake like a leaf against him.“We’ll be there in a minute, okay? And then we’ll get you warmed up,” Finn tells me, talking just loud enough into my ear so I can hear him above the howling wind. I nod and squeeze my eyes shut, nuzzling my face into the crevice of his neck. Tears well in my eyes as my body shivers, both from the chill of the wind against my exposed skin and from the encounter with Xavier in the garden.

We land in front of the inn where I’ve been staying, much softer than he had landed in the royal gardens. It just now occurs to me I don’t know how he knew where I was staying, both to send me the invitation and to bring me here now, but I don’t care. Finn sets me down on the ground slowly, as if he’s afraid I’ll break, and I rush inside and up to my room, Finn following at my heels.

Once inside my room, I start to pace, replaying the whole interaction with Xavier in my mind. I catch my reflection in the mirror, and I see red all over again; my hair is pulled out of its updo, random clumps hanging all over my head, while my lips are red and swollen from the unwanted kiss. Finn takes a seat on the bed, waiting for me to calm down.“I should’ve just stabbed that entitled prick.” I laugh darkly, looking up at the ceiling as tears well in my eyes all over again, and my laughter turns to an angry sob.“But I couldn’t do anything. I knew I couldn’t fight back. I couldn’t…” I swallow a cry that’s making my voice tight.“I couldn't do anything,” I repeat, feeling hysterical. Weak. Helpless.

Finn stands up and walks over to me, wrapping me up in his strong arms and gathering me into a hug. I let his scent calm me, the steady feel of his arms squeezing me with just the right amount of pressure, bringing me out of my distraught state. I pull away from him and wipe my eyes, taking a deep breath.“Thank you for coming back for me. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”

Finn’s jaw is tight as he responds.“I never should’ve left you alone in the first place. I knew that prick had his eye on you.”

“It’s not your fault, Finn. Under normal circumstances, I’m not exactly helpless,” I remind him, but he doesn’t smile, and I can tell he’s still furious with what he witnessed in the garden. I think of Xavier’s frightened face when he saw Finn, giving me the confidence to ask what I've been wondering for a while now.“Why was he so afraid of you?”

Finn doesn’t answer for a long while as he stares into the unlit fireplace.“I do have a reputation, just not in the way you’ve been thinking.”

My brow furrows as I look up at him.“So… your notoriety doesn’t have anything to do with females?” I guess, and he shakes his head no.

“I’m a trained warrior. I’ve spent centuries doing my father’s bidding, and his orders often require me to do things that are far from pleasant.”

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