Page 86 of Flirting with Darkness

Jaynus speaks slowly, like he’s talking to a particularly dim child. “Valdred Moor is prince of the bone court, and the single most powerful seelie in all the realm. The seelie crown is his for the taking if he wishes it—and the only reason he hasn’t claimed it is because he is currently satisfied to ruleallof Ilvaris. He does not pay attention to dumb, pretty mortal things. What does he want from you?”

Surely Jaynus, of all people, doesn’t need to me explain that Valdred, prince of wherever, fancies me.

“He just wanted my name,” I reply with a shrug.

“Give it! Give your true name, your blood, and your pussy if he asks, understood? I want you to do everything Valdred demands of you without a word of complaint, without a shred of reluctance. Anything he asks. Anything he desires. Understood?”

Each of his words weighs a thousand pounds, piling order after order.

If he’d commanded me that way before the short stroll the prince and I took, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but smile and rush to do whatever Valdred demanded of me.

“Now go, you useless cunt, and report back.”

With this last insult, my captor abandons me, not bothering to turn to check if I obey. He returns to his friends, joining in their laughter like he hasn’t just made me a slave to another man.

A man I didn’t dislike a minute ago. He took my breath away, handsome as he is, and with a hint of kindness in his manner. A splash of respect.

But I am his slave all the same.

I wish I could run, but my feet take me right back where I was moments ago, at Valdred’s side.

Two goblets of intricate gold appear in his hands. “Did he tell you to accompany me?”

He’s all smiles, ever the charming prince.

I only nod, though my mouth curls up to obey my directives.

“I thought he might.” The prince hands me one of the goblets. “Jaynus is desperate for my approval, given the mess he’s in.”

“What mess?”

I need to know every single one of my captor’s foibles. Maybe I’ll find something to exploit, to get myself out of this nightmare.

“You’ll find the politics boring.”

That might have been true if we’d been talking about Republicans and Democrats at home. “Not at all. They arefairypolitics.” And a potential glimpse into my enemy’s weakness.

“The court of winter is one of the most powerful unseelie seats. It is an echo of the seelie court of summer—the same kind of folk are attracted to the seasonal courts, and depending on their affinity, they favor either summer or winter.”

“Seelie, unseelie…” I repeat. “That means good and bad?”

He laughs out loud. I bristle, still sensitive after being calledstupid.

“Pardon me, it’s just…so very human. No, pet, the courts aren’t good or bad—nor are the folk. We just are. Imagine a tree, tall and beautiful above, and its roots, stretching just as deep below. All parts are exactly the same tree, are they not? You could not have the leaves if you destroy the roots, and strong as they are, they wither after you cut down the trunk.”

The concept is all well and good, but… “Doesn’t everyone prefer the branches to the roots?”

“Spoken like a true seelie,” he replies with an easy grin. “The courts do not understand each other well. What one finds repulsive, the other revels in.”

I don’t have anything against roots per se, but I posit that in a survey, everyone would vote for leaves and flowers in the spring.

“So, Jaynus?” I prompt.

Fascinating as the conversation is, what I need is information on the dick.

“Well, the court of winter is unseelie by nature. When its last ruler passed, she had one daughter, set to take it over, but the daughter made an unsuitable match, angering her court.” Valdred gestures to the banquet. “Food?”

I haven’t eaten in a day and all of a sudden, my stomach rumbles. The smell hits me like a punch.

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