Page 93 of Fated or Knot

He crowded closer, leaning in and dropping his voice. I could practically feel his deep tone. “You are clearly an injured and unclaimed omega. Every outing is a ‘we’ kind of outing. If anyone dares to put their starsdamned hands on you, Iwillbe there to break some wrists. Now, tell me where we’re going.” My belly quivered as he spoke. Betrayal at its finest.

I took in a deep breath to recenter myself. A bit of a mistake, as I took in a heady sniff of his scent. He was very minty today. And leaning in so close, I could try to press my lips to the unforgiving line of his. “Marius,” I whispered.

His stare only seemed to grow more intense as he waited for me to speak.

Now wasn’t the time for a vulnerable question. He was in full predator mode, sure to go for the throat when presented a hint of weakness. I packed away everything I really wanted to say and went for levity. “Have you considered a lip ring?”

His ear flicked twice. Stars, that question must’ve really annoyed him. “What?” he growled.

“You have what, five piercings? You could have a lip ring too. Or maybe pierced ears,” I continued.

Marius shook his head, straightening. “Are you trying to distract me?”

“Is it working?”

“Aye. Go on. I’ll follow.” He stepped aside so I could pass. My crutches clacked loudly as I steered myself into the hallway and looked right and left. My new suite was up against the end of the hall, across from a marble stairwell leading to more rooms on the second story. I turned in the direction I wanted to go.

Marius kept pace, slowing his stride to remain beside me. “They’re not piercings for decoration. They’re kelpie tags, designed to identify me in my shifted form,” he said.

I hummed. “Do they get bigger when you shift?”

“They’d be worthless if they didn’t.”

“Will you tell me more kelpie facts?” I invited.

“Only if you tell me where we’re going.”

A small price to pay if he’d let me pester him with questions. Maybe it’d transition to Marius facts instead and I could figure out his hot-and-cold act. “I don’t know. I just wanted to explore.”

“Hmm. Let’s go to the library and see Eletha. You’ll like her,” he said.

I perked up. After her gift of the faelight, she’d been the princess I’d wanted to reconnect with first. “All right.”

“What kind of facts were you hoping to hear?”

“Just anything. I don’t know much about Unseelie races,” I admitted.

“Hmm. The basics, then. We’re called a nixie’s favorite companion because we’re ideal mates for them. Water fae, predominantly male alphas, and loyal due to the kelpie bond. This way.”

We’d reached a turn into a hallway more filled with fae, uniformed servants and other officials going about their day. Eyes turned our way, and the closest fae acknowledged him and his status as a prince. I resisted the urge to bring my shoulders up when I realized most of these strangers were looking at me. Marius continued to wear his hard and unfriendly expression as he stayed alert beside me.

There didn’t seem to be any danger. Most of the fae we passed simply seemed curious. But he didn’t say anything else on our trip to the library, past the occasional acknowledgment toward other males he knew.

I had the impression we crossed most of the palace, heading across a main artery that we’d accessed toward the back and side of the massive building. I tired out by the time we reached the other side of the palace and came to a set of doors labeled “Library Tower.”

Marius took a deep breath once we were inside and exhaled some of his tension. He met my eyes for a moment and murmured, “This is one of my favorite places.”

“I’m going to be right there with you,” I said, extra excited when I realized we were absolutely surrounded by books. Osme Fen was too small to have a library, so most of the books in my room had been keepsakes from my father’s travels or bartered goods I’d gotten by trading less-beloved novels for a chance to read something new.

I just hoped they had a section with books written in Theli. Otherwise, I was going to study written Serian day and night until my eyes blurred to take advantage of the Library Tower. I made my way around slowly, taking in how everything was set up.

As it was a tower, the room was circular, with stacks full of books set at an angle to form a fan around a desk set in the heart of the first floor. A handful of fae wandered about, picking out books. Curved bookshelves lined the walls as well, floor to ceiling, with rolling ladders available at regular intervals. There was a spiraling staircase up to the next level, which I noted with an internal sigh. I was to be limited to the first level, then.

Marius tilted his head, indicating I should follow him. We headed to the center of the room and the two desks set below floating signs that said “Check Out” and “Return.” The deskswere shaped like half-moons, with a small divider in between. Check Out was a pristine arc of empty wood with a librarian, a beta naga, coiled up on her tail and waiting with a friendly expression.

Return was another story. There were papers and books scattered all over the desk in haphazard piles, and the librarian in charge of it was bent over a journal, scribbling. Her white-streaked fins twitched, then extended around her in a billow of gossamer. “That’s agreatidea,” she said to herself.

“Eletha,” Marius said.

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