Page 56 of Destined for the Fae King

My heart pounds against my ribs. That’s definitely Vasilius. We’d been told he was busy welcoming guests, but I suppose that was hours ago.

“And to think you choose to be here with us instead.” More laughter follows.

A wise woman would leave. I’ve heard enough to know this conversation isn’t meant for me, but it’s certainly about me, or partially me, and that thought reels me in like a fish. How can Inotlisten in? Quietly as I can, I creep nearer through the courtyard.

“You’re not at all worried someone might take an interest in one or two?” someone asks.

“Who would dare when they could be mine?” Vasilius asks, though the question is entirely rhetorical.

Something hard settles in the base of my stomach as I draw near, careful to keep to the shadows. Multiple someones would dare apparently. Adeline’s lover Erymis, and then Lysandir… Hell, if Vasilius knew I kissed his brother, he may lose it. My cheeks flame. The lingering taste of the wine on my tongue turns sour. Lysandir may not have initiated the kiss, but he wasn’t the first to end it either.

“Though, I suppose,” the king drawls, “I’ll have to settle on one eventually.”

“Do you though?” comes a female voice, a little giggle following the wake of her words.

The sound stabs through my center. It releases something foul that slithers around in chest and demands appeasement.

Light spills from around the hedge ahead. I ease up to it and peer through a thinner area of the branches. The sight beyondknocks the breath from my lungs. Vasilius sits on a wide stone bench, a lithe fae woman with bronzed skin and dark hair draped across his lap. One arm is curled around her back, holding her close as she traces a longer finger down the curve of his jaw. A handful of others look on, unfazed by their king’s actions.

What in the fucking hell?

“You can’t tell me you find any of them more beautiful than me,” the female croons. Her dress—if you can call it that, given the limited material—is all open on one side, held together with bits of ribbon that do nothing to hide the curve of her breasts, her ass.

The king smirks, his gaze dropping from her face to her breasts and the peaked nipples I can see from here. “Ah, but can you give me power? You know that bonding a human is necessary to reach my full potential.”

“Let’s not forget powerful heirs,” a male says, raising his glass in mock toast. Others mutter their assent. I recognize this male’s attire, the clothing that mark him as the king’s personal guard. Looks like their relationship is as much personal as professional.

“And my mother insists,” Vasilius adds with a half shrug.

The fae female pouts. “Just because she insists doesn’t mean you have to settle for less.”

A dark look crosses Vasilius’s face, and he slides out from under the woman. She gives a yip of protest, nearly tumbling to the ground.

“A human is more, not less,” he says, “even if it goes against my…inclinations. I will do my duty.”

Duty. That’s all this is to him.

I’d heard the rumors that he wasn’t drawn to humans. Fia mentioned as much too. It’s not a secret. But hearing it from hisown lips? Seeing him openly flirt with some fae woman while supposedly dating all of us to pick a bride?

I think I’m going to be sick.

I stumble away from the hedge and hurry in the opposite direction.

There’s no love between the king and me. I knew that before. But the others? Bailey? My heart clenches at the thought of her. She might love him, and I thought…

God. Is it all an act? Is every smile, every kind word from the king, every moment he spends with us a lie? Duty? Is that really all? Some task he must complete?

An open hallway leading into the palace looms before me. It’s not where I entered from, but I hardly care. It’s away from the courtyard, from all that just upended my evening.

“Mira.” The harsh, masculine whisper causes me to skip a step.

Without slowing, I twist my head back toward the voice. Tharin stalks after me, silent as a ninja.

“Wait.” The word barely teases my ears.

But I don’t stop. I can’t. If I do, it will all become too real. Just seeing him—someone, anyone—has my emotions tumbling after one another and getting tangled together until I’m not sure if I’ll laugh or cry or something else.

The clack of my heels on the marble accompanies me once I reach the hallway. It’s empty at this hour, a strange comfort, though I have no doubt Tharin follows behind.

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