Page 12 of A Bond in Blood

I may not have been completely familiar with the fae customs. I may have done everything I could have in my life to avoid them or know them. I did, however, know one thing from visiting the Seelie lands: the small cushions on the sides of the royal thrones were reserved for sexual playthings.

Their bedmates—their whores.

All of my composure unleashed.

“I am not your whore,” I seethed, crossing my arms.

The king’s eyes brightened with amusement. “I never said you were. Sit Brenna—now.”

Olen pushed my back again and my cheeks heated with embarrassment. I was making a spectacle of myself. I wasn’t holding the image of a composed princess who deserved respect. No, I was throwing tantrums.

My knees bent reluctantly while I lowered myself, keeping my head high.

“That’s better.” The king smiled.

With a clap of his hands, the music resumed. Along with the dancing and moving bodies returning to their activities.

My eyes darted to the ground, avoiding the sight before me.

“Uncomfortable?”

My body jolted at his voice. It was smooth, like an aged wine, begging to be indulged.

“No,” I snapped. “How long must I sit here?”

“For having been raised a princess, you have almost no manners,” he replied.

My eyes met his. “You killed the man I love. You kidnapped me. You know nothing about me. I am here to fulfill a duty I have no choice to fulfill. Excuse me if you are not meeting me at my best,King.”

His eyes narrowed with amusement while he leaned against his throne. With a cross of his legs, one finger flicked, and my eyes traveled to the direction he was pointing.

Just below the dais were two naked fae women, smiling hungrily up at the king I was being forced to sit beside. They moved eagerly at the flick of his finger, and I shook my head as they both took a seat on each of his knees.

The king’s hands landed on their lower stomachs, and I shifted my eyes to the floor.

He was trying to shock me. He was trying to embarrass me.

To my dismay, it was working.

“Brenna,” he taunted. “Brenna, look at me.”

I pulled my gaze up, finding the women’s hands on each other, lost in the lust of their lips moving together.

“These are whores, Brenna,” the king said with a smile, running both hands over their naked bodies. “They do as they’re told.”

“You’re disgusting,” I replied.

The women on his lap both went still, their lips pulling apart. Their heads turned my way, and I almost laughed at the shock on their faces.

“You’re excused,Ursa,” the king replied.

I jumped from my seat, scowling. “You humiliate me in public and now you insult me by calling me abear?”

His hands tightened around the naked bodies still on his lap, but I didn’t care to be respectful any longer. If they wished to sit on him, allowing the world to see everything they had, that was their decision.

I would address the monster who was determined to play me a fool as the princess I was.

He smiled at me, waving his hand before slapping one of the bare bottoms of the women.

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