Page 36 of Queen of Ever

‘Why the hell does he want to marry me, anyway?’I asked.We hadn’t spent that much time together, and I’d been part of this realm for a mere moment in a fae lifetime.I certainly had nothing to offer the Seelie King, and Solas didn’t seem like the type to do anything without a reason.There was only one reason that made any sense.‘It’s because of Tarian, isn’t it?To get under his skin.’

My anger flared.I’d just told Tarian I didn’t want to be caught in the middle of their bullshit feud and here I was, right smack in the middle thanks to Solas.

‘Solas,’ Marietta said as we approached a man dressed in even more gold than I was, if that was possible.His features were obscured behind the magic of his mask, a mask that covered only half of his face, leaving one cheek exposed.Before I’d even known I was going to do it, my hand raised, sailed through the air, aimed directly at that exposed skin.

But he caught my wrist, his expression turning dark.‘Lucky I caught your hand.I just saved you from being flung across the room,’ he said evenly.‘What have I done to elicit such ire in you?’His tone told me he knew exactly what he’d done.

I yanked my wrist free.‘You think that you can trick me into making everything think we’re engaged and I’ll just go along with it?’

‘You should feel honoured,’ he said, and it baffled me that he could say that with a straight face.

‘Honoured?To be fooled and used and made a spectacle of?What iswrongwith you?’I asked incredulously.So this was who Solas really was, so cold and unfeeling.He was a goddamn sociopath.‘I know the only reason you did it is to get at Tarian.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong, rabbit.I did itbecauseof Tarian, because of the way you looked at him in that hall, the way you were so willing to run to him the minute you saw him.’

‘So you decided to force my hand?Butwhy?You can’t expect me to believe you have feelings for me.’

‘Would that really be so hard to believe?’

‘Given that you clearly don’thavefeelings, yes.’I stepped in close to him, holding myself up to my full height.‘I don’t know what game you’re playing, and I don’t care.I’m not going to be a part of it.’

‘I can see why Tarian is so taken with you,’ Solas said, his lips curling into a smirk.‘You’re really quite beautiful when you’re angry.’His finger traced my jaw and I smacked it away in disgust.‘Careful, I’m not someone you want as an enemy.’

‘I wouldn’t marry you if Hell froze over,’ I spat.

‘I suppose that’s some human expression you expect me to understand,’ he said, tone completely emotionless.‘You’re piece in a game far bigger than you realise, rabbit.Make sure you choose the winning side.’With those words, he turned away from me, a clear dismissal as he walked off to enjoy the party, no doubt brushing off the whole encounter like it was just a trifle.

One thing was for sure, whatever he wanted from me, he absolutely didn’t care about me in any capacity.And he wasn’t going to let my refusal to be involved dissuade him from whatever scheme he’d cooked up.If he was going to use me as a chess piece, then I was going to have to take myself off the board.

How the fuck was I going to do that?

Marietta took my arm and led me away before I could go after him and tear him a new one.I wanted to, and if it wasn’t for the anxiety I could feel coming off her in waves, I would have, no matter how pointless it may have been.

Maybe I should have been feeling some portion of that anxiety, some kind of self-preservation instinct at accosting a king, but I was too furious to feel anything else.When we made it to a quiet corner, Marietta finally stopped.She obviously thought we were far enough away now that I wouldn’t do anything stupid.

I wasn’t so sure of that.

‘Do you know what he wants from me?’I asked her pointedly.She was his sister after all, even if she wasn’t seen as equal to the other fae, I found it difficult to believe she didn’t know anything about what was going on.

‘He doesn’t include me in most of his plans,’ she admitted, and I might have been tempted to call her out on that, but she was fae and she couldn’t lie.Still, it was a vague answer that could have been interpreted in more ways than one.‘Let me talk to him, maybe I can calm him down.’

‘Why?’I asked.Why should I care if he was calm or not?He certainly didn’t care if I was.He just expected me to go along with whatever he wanted.If that’s what he expected, I was only too happy to disappoint him.

‘Because he can be...irrational when he’s in a temper.’Marietta sighed.‘I’m sorry about all of this, Imogen.I really am.’

She walked away, leaving me alone once more, with my anger simmering away and my mind wandering back to Tarian.I let out a groan, pressed a palm to my forehead.What was wrong with me?Tarian spouted a few pretty words, and I was just going to line back up and ask for more?Whatever happened between us now, the Unseelie Queen was still gunning for me, and she had the power to render me completely under her control.I didn’t want to find myself kneeling before her again, unable to even open my mouth to protest.Tarian hadgivenher that power.

It was because I was stupid, not because I was cruel.

A few minutes in his presence had completely twisted me up in knots.

‘You make yourself pretty easy to spot when you’re moping,’ a familiar voice said.I turned to see a man at my side.How long he’d been there, I couldn’t say.I’d been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed him.His features were hidden behind the magic of the mask he wore, one with vicious, arched brows and a long, hooked beak.I bloody hated the masks.Hated the way they added to my sense of being lost and out of my depth, hated the headache they laid on me when I spent too long staring at them.

‘You’re going to give yourself an aneurism if you keep that up,’ he said, voice curling with amusement.The magic was still scrambling my ability to recognise him, but I was sure I’d heard his voice before.‘The harder you fight the magic, the worse it will make you feel.’

Of course, because that made total sense.I let out a groan.Maybe I could just slip away, tap out of the entire event and hide out in my room.Or find the nearest exit and just leave.Go...God knew where, but anywhere seemed better than here.

‘Now, this won’t do at all,’ the man said.‘Tarian is a miserable prick at the best of times.We don’t need two of him.’

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