Page 20 of Destined for the Fae King

The accompanying wink stirs up a mess of butterflies in my stomach, but now that I have his attention, I’m loathe to give it up.

“Tomorrow, then. If you could choose any activity for us to do with you tomorrow, what would it be?”

He sets down the fork completely and crosses his arms as he reclines back in the chair. “Who says I haven’t planned tomorrow’s outing?”

“Have you?” I tease before hiding my grin behind a small sip of wine.

“I did not,” he confesses. “Tomorrow, we’ll be visiting with some of the younglings who live here in the capital.”

A few of the women let out excited gasps and turn to one another. The revelation makes my smile falter for the briefest moment. Kids are cute, sure, but my experiences with them amount to all of about nothing. Well, other than playing with my younger brothers. But I was still a kid when they were little, and those memories are dim. I have a feeling that kicking their butts at video games isn’t going to help me. Damn. I really should have volunteered or babysat or something before coming here. Hopefully, they’ll be older fae kids because, if we’re talking babies, I am so screwed.

“But if I could choose anything…” He trails off, thoughtful, waiting until all the attention is back on him. He soaks it in like a sponge but never fully looks away from me. “I do love a good duel or melee.”

Adeline squeaks in fright where she sits wide-eyed at his wide.

Across the table from me, Alex slaps her hand down, causing the dishes to rattle. “Now that, I could get behind.”

Vasilius shifts his attention to her. “Perhaps we should make this happen after all, then.”

“Absolutely. I could best all of you, hands down.” She sweeps her pointed finger to encompass the whole table.

Honestly, I don’t doubt it. She’s all lean muscle with the build of a marathon runner and could probably knock half these women to their assess in two seconds flat. Well, except maybe Zoe, who leans from her seat next to Cora.

“Do we get our choice of weapons?” Mirth gleams in Zoe’s green eyes. “I’ve had years of fencing lessons. You don’t have a chance if I get a saber in my hands,” she taunts Alex.

“I’m in,” I add. I probably wouldn’t win, but I doubt I’d be the first one out either. Plus, if it would make Vasilius happy, then why not?

The king chuckles. “I’m not sure my advisors would like it if there was a risk of you all getting injured.”

“Or me,” Elaine adds with a loud sniff. “There’s no need for women to beat at each other with swords.”

Zoe cocks her head, thoughtful. “You don’t think women should defend themselves?”

The dowager notches her chin higher. “Not with swords.”

Grace barely muffles her huff, and though I try to keep my features neutral, I can’t help but agree with the sentiment. What an antiquated way of thinking.

It’s Bailey who breaks the awkward silence that follows, her soft, even voice snaring attention in a rare display of outspokenness. “I wonder if Wren thought the same thing before she was taken.”

Wren, the current consort and likely future queen of the King of Air. Selena has been her number one fan lately and told me everything she’s learned about her. Apparently she’s been a major topic of conversation among the coven too. A gifted human froma family that wasn’t on our radar, stealing the heart of a king? And not only that—she was captured by the Unseelie, taken right out of the Court of Air amid hundreds of fae including the king. A traitor was involved they say, but still, if there could be some in the Court of Air, there could be in Fire too. As long as the Unseelie have a null, as long as there is tension between the Seelie and Unseelie, is anyone truly safe?

“You’re all bound to me,” Vasilius says, holding up his wrist, which bears multiple overlapping bands of magical ink like a twisted bracelet. “They can’t take you away. I will not make the same mistake as the King of Air.”

“For the duration of The Choosing,” Bailey says. “But what about after?”

Because Wren had been bound too, and the very day that bond released, the Unseelie snatched her. Whoever becomes queen could be a target, as would any other humans who stay. That’s why he suggested our families return to Earth after all.

All traces of mirth vanished from the king’s face. “That’s one more reason why the Unseelie threat will need to be dealt with soon.”

His attention settles on Elaine, unspoken words passing between them that thin the dowager’s lips before they wrinkled with distaste. Maybe that is the business that has kept Vasilius busy recently.

“Enough talk about that.” The king turns to the attendants waiting near the side of the room. “Bring out dessert. Let us have something sweet to wipe away such dark thoughts.”

Chapter 8

The next morning, Fiawakes me early so I can join the others for yoga. The halls are still quiet, most of the residents in their beds, as I wander through the pristine halls of gilded marble toward the garden. When I reach it, the sky has started to lighten, the first rays of sunlight still blocked by the palace walls and the soaring trees with their dark crimson trunks that spear out of the large courtyard to the sky. Dew glimmers on the grass, and each breath I inhale of the cool morning air clears out some of the lingering wine fog that I awoke in. Thank goodness I don’t have a hangover.

Two guards stand near the threshold and gesture silently to where Adeline and Zoe stretch on mats set up in a flat, grassy area.

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