Page 45 of Queen of Ever

‘I’m aware of that, Arvell,’ I snapped.Why did she keep running back to Tarian?He’d done something bad enough to make her flee from him once.I’d thought he’d handed her to me on a silver platter, and it occurred to me when I’d spirited her away that he had no idea what he had.I’d thought it was an easy victory, but she just wouldn’t let him go.‘Thatmate bond,’ I muttered, still pacing.‘Soprimitive.Just instincts and physicality.If she had an ounce of self-restraint, she wouldn’t let it rule her.’

‘Mate bonds are strong magic.An established bond is almost impossible to break,’ another said, her voice as even as it always was.Jorielle was never one for coddling or managing.She was straightforward, and if she had an agenda of her own, no one would ever know it.

‘Almost?’

‘I know of only one who has ever broken theirs.Queen Moriana.’

Moriana?I knew she was cold but I had to admit to being impressed at this new level to her ruthlessness.‘How?’I asked.

‘That, I don’t know.But I doubt such a thing can be achieved by anyone outside of the bonded pair,’ Jorielle said, and for a moment I thought I detected a smug gleam in her eyes, but it was gone far too quickly to catch.

I ground my teeth in frustration, leaning on my hands, staring at the crumbling stone table.Shedoubtedsuch a thing could be achieved?I was the fucking Seelie King!I was not going to be thwarted by something so archaic and coarse as carnal attraction.And if Imogen was going to be so easily driven by it, then she could be forced to see reason and break it herself.‘I suggest you stop relying on your hunches and find out for sure.’

‘Even if it could be broken, I’m not sure what difference it will make.As far as I’m aware, she hasn’t forgiven you for that show at the opening of the conclave.It was a reckless decision that should have been discussed with us first,’ the last of my advisors, Malekin, said, finally contributing to the discussion.

‘There wasn’t time to discuss it,’ I snapped.I hadn’t known I was going to go ahead with it until I saw the way she looked at Tarian at the opening ceremony.As though she wasn’t standing next tome, as though all the regard I’d paid her and the safety I’d offered her had meantnothing.

‘Malekin is right.You pushed her too far by implying you were engaged already.You put her in a position where she had to either confirm it or deny it, and she’s chosen to deny it and distance herself from you as a result.Ambiguity would have served you better,’ Jorielle said matter-of-factly.‘But it’s done now.We can only attempt to salvage the situation.’

‘We can’t allow her to fall into Unseelie hands,’ Arvell said.‘The consequences would be dire.’

‘We all know that,’ I said through gritted teeth.The idea that she might should have been unfathomable.I’d been planning this since her parents had sought me out all those years ago, when her fate had been read and they’d realised what it meant.It should have been as simple as hiding her in the Human Realm until she was old enough to come into her power, then collecting her.Thismate bondwas a development I hadn’t predicted, and to have her fated to Tarian just added insult to injury.

‘If we can’t win her to our side, then we have to kill her,’ Malekin said.

‘And give up the advantage?We don’t know when or even if another like her will be born,’ Arvell argued, his voice raising an octave as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

‘Better that than the Unseelie taking it,’ Jorielle said.

‘I’m not giving up this chance.Not yet.Better to kill Tarian than the girl,’ I said.I wasn’t ready to admit defeat.But if Tarian was dead, then she’d have no one to run to.The minor issue of my being bound against striking against the Unseelie in any capacity without ceding the right to my sovereignty could be skirted around through underhand dealings.Especially once the amendment was signed.

‘You tried that already, if I’m not mistaken,’ Malekin said, a hint of displeasure in his tone.

‘Yes, and it gave us this opportunity to deal with the lesser fae scourge,’ I said.The sooner that rebellion was stamped out, the better.Their spies had been skulking around my court for too long, and if they’d been bold enough to take the bait and attack Imogen in my own ballroom, they were getting too confident.Dirty little half-breeds.

‘A lucky coincidence,’ Jorielle said, her words cutting far too close to criticising.

‘You forget yourself, Jorielle,’ I growled.

She lowered her eyes.‘Apologies, Your Majesty,’ she said, though her voice remained as even as usual, making it impossible to know if she was sincere or not.

I decide to let it go.There were more pressing matters at hand, like Tarian sneaking into Imogen’s bedroom.Not that sneaking was the right word.He’d brazenly walked into the Seelie wing without a care who saw him.

And Marietta had led him right to her.It seemed my dear sister had forgotten who she owed her loyalty to.I was going to have to fix that.

‘The amendment will be signed soon,’ I said confidently.There was no way it wouldn’t, given that everyone believed the rebellion had attacked both kingdoms.‘The usual treaty safeguards will be suspended.And then we’ll be at war.’If you could call what we would do to the lesser fae rebels a war.Given the vast difference in strength and power, it was more likely to be a slaughter.

‘If you want the girl on side, you’d better do it by then,’ Malekin said.‘Otherwise, there’s nothing to stop her going back to the Unseelie Kingdom.’

‘Perhaps you could convince her you’re in love with her,’ Jorielle said, a hint of scepticism in her voice.

After the argument at the feast, that was going to be a hard sell.I’d need Marietta’s help.And some kind of grand gesture.I shuddered.The idea of having to stoop to that made me sick.I was the Seelie King, I shouldn’t have to resort to such demeaning methods.‘Perhaps I just need to convince her that Tarian isn’t an option.’

‘You’d better move quickly if you want to do that before the signing,’ Malekin said.‘If she’ll speak to you.’

‘How hard can it really be to see a woman who’s two doors down from him?’Arvell asked.‘She has no right to refuse to see her king.’

No, she didn’t.But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t do it anyway.Assuming she would evenbein her room and not in Tarian’s bed.I should have left her back at the Summer Palace.

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