Page 20 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
“Ignore my warnings all you want,” a faceless queen hisses at us, at me, at the crushed sunshiney feathers in my fists, “but you’ll never escape your true nature. The result will be the same. You will always be drawn to bright, sparkling, warm things because you wish to possess, study, and be like them.” Blood spatters on my skin. Drips onto the floor. “Darkness cannot understand sunshine. It can only consume it the way night swallows day.”
The memory fades, leaving me shaken.
I am the Second, the Knight Protector, and I have allowed this hive to fall apart. It feels like I have held dusk’s breath within my lungs for eternity, hoping and hungering for the sun’s return.
It never came.
Not until Fox planted his pussy-wet lips on my own and breathed scalding, sweet life into me.
She is a calamity, ripping apart five years of stability and control in five days. She is a natural disaster, a force of destruction, and a danger in my world.
I will always ache to possess the wild, untamable thing with the brightly burning soul. I will always hunger to learn what makes it so appealing. I will pick it apart and flay it with my passion and need. And I will always, always consume it until nothing is left but my grief and regret.
Crushed golden feathers in my bloody fist.
The wildling curls around Willow’s ankles, snarling at me as if it knows what I’m thinking:Snuff out her brilliance or bathe in it?
Either way, she won’t survive me. I killed something bright once, something I was meant to protect.
The thought leaves me unsettled.
As does the realization that I’ve let my guard down in my fixation on her. Puck could be moving his pieces while I stand here, distracted. I am the Knight Protector. I must protect. But from what? From whom? The curse clouds my mind, leaving only the certainty that she is the key to everything.
And she has distracted me once more.
Chapter 10
Willow
It feels like a strange dream inside Legion’s study. Only a week ago, my problems revolved around avoiding babysitting duties and deciding which house to rob next. Now, I’m back in the middle of a war, caught between politics. The only difference is no one is using me as a tool. And I am mated to six demigods. Bodin’s possessive reaction proves our connection is trying to push through Titania’s enchantment.
He glares at me with expressive eyes, yet the rest of him is hard and unyielding. I should be angry—he shoved Briar. But as I look into his eyes and find vulnerability beneath the violence, I want to know why he tries to hide it. What happened in his very long life that shaped his personality? It’s hard to believe this reaction is born of Titania’s recent false narrative. It’s something else, something deeply experienced.
Emrys hasn’t moved an inch since the door closed. His rusty-colored eyes are always filled with so much bitterness. Styx lurks in the shadows between the bookcases, still pretending to read. Why do they distrust me so much? This version of them doesn’t even know me. So what did the other queens do to them?
And then there is Legion. He watches me, patiently, steadily. He is the First, the Knight Commander. He is too beautiful,enigmatic, and sophisticated to go unnoticed on a battlefield. The buttons on his double-breasted silk waistcoat accentuate his broad shoulders and athletic frame. His black silk shirt sleeves are rolled casually to his elbows, revealing muscular forearms as they rest on his desk. Long, silken hair falls from a widow’s peak. His skin is so pale and luminous that it reminds me of carved crystal. It was he who reached for me on that battlefield and locked elegant fingers around my ankle.
He who called me nothing.
And I called them monsters.
But I don’t think that makes Legion appear so sad and haunted. He probably doesn’t even remember now that Fox is gone. No, he seems to be the type who cannot be shaken from his foundations. Once he wants something, he takes it. He does not care if he must wait eons for the right time or opportunity. His hidden torment comes from somewhere else, and I want to know where. I want to banish it from his eyes so he is free to smile.
Just once.
“Willow.” A warning tone deepens his voice. He never once lowers his eyes from mine.
“Yes, Legion?” I return, blinking innocently. Maybe I also want to ruffle his control. Ignoring the rules always felt so liberating to me before. They should all try it sometime.
“Sir,” he reminds me curtly. “I am your Lord Knight Commander. You will address me—all of us—as sir.”
Baby Hunt bares his fangs at Legion, whose brows raise incredulously. Laughter peals out of me. Does Legion’s arrogance come from this false identity, or was he born with it? He clearly believes even a baby dragon with “wild” in its name should act tame around him.
“Aww, you little terror cutie.” I scratch the soft scales around Baby Hunt’s skull. “You can’t help being protective when everyone here is a big fat grump.” He thumps his hind leg,tongue lolling in pleasure as I deepen the scratch. “But I love you. I promise you yum-yums as soon as we get out of here.” When my stomach growls, I add, “I’m starving too.”
“Bodin,” Legion clips.
A grunt behind me warns of Bodin’s approach. He scoops up the baby dragon and tosses him outside the study before closing the door. He turns to me and arches an eyebrow as if to sayCheckmate.
