Page 29 of Wolf Caged
“The little lamb bleeds darkness,” Kaeleron murmured, curiosity ringing in his deep voice, the sound of it pulling me further into that wicked fantasy. His gaze was heavy on me, that shadowy power curling around me, invading my every pore, building that fantasy in my mind, as if he had power over it and me. His breath fanned my face as he whispered, “Do you crave vengeance on the wolf, little one?”
My breath hitched.
By the gods, did I.
I craved it with all my being, was near mad with a need of it, lost in the awakening of this side of myself I never knew existed, one that responded so sweetly to the dark fae king before me and his gentle coaxing.
“What if you could have it?” His power brushed my limbs, making me tremble. “What if it was yours to take? Would you take it, no matter the cost?”
I was ready to nod, so eager for it, but no matter the cost?
“No,” I whispered, the fires of my blood cooling in an instant as my mind filled with all the things I could lose. I shook my head and focused on the fae king, catching the flicker of disappointment in his eyes before his cold mask descended once again. “Some things are not worth risking.”
“Wise words,” Neve said, earning a vicious scowl from him too. “Some thingsarenot worth risking, my king.”
He looked ready to devour us both, shadows caressing his shoulders and black hair, darkness radiating from him to press against me as I stood my ground.
I needed to learn to hold my tongue around him, but it had been impossible. The thought that he might want vengeance too, that he burned with the same fire as I did, had me wanting to press him more on the subject, to make him help me.
“Eat.” He shoved the food towards me again, spilling some of the water in the pitcher. “I will not order you to do so again. Disobey me and you will be punished.”
I bit my tongue as he pivoted away from me, but it didn’t stop the words from escaping. “You’re sounding more like a monster with each passing second.”
He turned on me, shadows dancing around him, his silver eyes as bright as the moon but as cold as the stars.
My body locked up tight as he stepped right up to the bars, as he reached through them and seized my throat in a grip that was both hard and soft, rough and sensuous, and a little alarming.
“Amonster. I am no more a monster than you, little lamb.” His thumb pressed to the underside of my chin, forcing my head up, and our gazes collided. “The unseelie feast, fight and fuck very much the same as your breed. In fact, we do one of those things better than those in your world. I will let you decide which.”
I got stuck on the word ‘fuck’ and how his regal accent only made it sound dirtier, more wicked, and I couldn’t help wondering which one he believed the fae did better.
My cheeks burned up as my mind supplied that word again.
Fuck.
His smirk was pure dark amusement as he turned from me and disappeared into the shadows, his parting words lingering in the air between us to torment me.
“If you wish to find out, you only need to ask.”
Chapter 7
KAELERON
Four days had passed since I had brought the wolf to the Shadow Court and I was still no closer to deciphering her role in my vengeance. The day after the wolf’s arrival, I had summoned my sister to speak with her about it, and rather than answer my call, Jenavyr had immediately left to take her legion to the west to prepare for the Beltane celebrations in that region.
Each day, servants had delivered meals to the wolf, and each day she ate barely a mouthful before calling the servant back and telling them to take it away. I was not sure whether she was starving herself, or striving to make a point about refusing to eat any significant quantity of it in case it was drugged.
My boots were loud on the pale flagstones as I crossed the garden, heading for the edge of the patio where it met the cliff rather than my usual route towards the lake. Stretching my legs had turned to mulling over what use the wolf might be to me, and that had slowly devolved into facing a truth I had been avoiding.
I could not keep the wolf caged.
Jenavyr was right about that, even when the shifter female was safest down in the dungeon, close to Neve and the wards that protected her. Neve had inspected every inch of my castle when I had brought her here from the Forgotten Wastes, and had made her nest in the dungeon, declaring the ancient stone of the mountain that formed the foundations of the castle and walls of my dungeon was the safest place for her, a conduit for magic powerful enough to keep her hidden.
Releasing the wolf would be dangerous, but if it were to happen, I would put restrictions in place and guards at her back to watch her and report back to me. It might be worth the irritation of her presence if spending time with her outside the confines of the dungeon would help me discover her purpose.
While also silencing Jenavyr.
I needed my sister as my ally, not my enemy. Vyr’s stubborn streak and disobedience had opened her to comments from my council once again. There were already murmurings, whispers circulating about removing her from her post. I could not afford to let her carry on like this. If she did, I would have to punish her.
