Page 25 of Chaos and Destiny
“I’ll kill him,” I whispered.
“Maybe someday, but not this one.”
She let go of me, but I was still unable to move anything below my shoulders.
“Old One,” the prince said, dipping his chin in respect.
“Holy fucking fuck,” I sputtered. “Are you kidding me, Aibell?”
One of the lackeys in the back snorted, and I shot a death glare at him. He stood up straight and looked away.
“It was you,” I breathed.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” he answered, his voice like honey, though his choice of words stung like bees. His sharp jawline was still covered in perfectly trimmed stubble, and I hated him just for that. And his stupid tanned skin. I hated that too.
“You were the one who came to Aibell’s? It was the gods-damned prince?” I jerked my head to Aibell.
She only nodded but said nothing else.
“I heard your voice after I was poisoned. Why?”
He shook his head dismissively.
“Hey, asshole. I asked you a question. Let me explain. A question is when someone like me,” I pointed at myself, “asks someone like you,” I pointed at him, “a sentence expressed to elicit specific information.”
A lackey in the back with messy blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes doubled over laughing and patted the prince on the shoulder. “You’re screwed, Fen.”
He swatted his hand away and looked back at me with nothing more than cold hard anger, and I was glad for it. At least we were on the same page. “I know what a question is, Ara.” I refused to acknowledge the way my body responded to his sultry use of my name. “I would rather explain from the beginning.”
“You know what? No. You don’t get to call the shots here. I’ve been locked in this gods-damned room for two fucking days while you and your minions probably got drunk at that tavern you love so much.”
The ire within me swelled until it didn’t matter what spell Aibell had put on me. I leaped from my chair, and before anyone in the room could move a muscle, I had my knife to his throat.
“We’re going to play by my rules now, got it?”
The three guards started toward me from the door, but the prince held up his hand. I looked to Aibell, and she only smiled delightfully as I realized I had just broken her spell over me.
Chapter 9
TEMIR
The king called another council meeting, and the wielders were now required to join.
The line between the council and those of us with magic was becoming very gray. He sat in his oversized chair at the head of the table with an evil smile plastered across his demonic face. His comfort made my skin crawl as I sat prepared for anything. He kept his favorites close to his side, Evin with his ability to detect magic and Eadas, his advisor, with his nose in the air.
The king had been stomping through the castle for so long, there was hardly anyone in the halls anymore. Even the servants skittered as quickly as they could between the rooms. The suffocating tension had caused a lot of turmoil, and some of the visiting fae had left early. When he was like that, you’d lose your head for forgetting to blink. He was dangerous at good times and a ruthless killer at the worst. That was the king I had grown to fear.
He leaned forward with his elbow on the table, thrumming his fingertips together as he stared at Oravan’s empty chair. “Where is he?”
Silence.
“Have I lost another?” He stood, screaming. “I asked a question! Have I lost another?”
I remained quiet with my head down as I always had. Of course, I wouldn’t tell him that the rebellion had smuggled Oravan and his family out.
King Autus stomped across the room, his footsteps booming like thunder as he moved.
I hated this room. It was dark, cold and rarely did anything good ever come of it. I chanced a glance at Gaea, but her head was also down. She rubbed her fingers together, likely trying to cope with the trauma the king had caused her over so many years as his anger held us on edge.
