Page 45 of Immortal Sins
Celeste Draco wears a sleeveless dress that hugs her upper body before it swirls around her hips and waves to the floor in a glittering, silver-and-blue train.
“You’re early.” She sounds pleased until her eyes fall upon me. I’m not sure exactly what she sees, but immediately, her eyes darken. Her entire body—from the tip of her bare toes to the sparkling diamonds on her tiara—goes rigid.
She knows, and while I’m not sure how, the clench of her jaw makes me practically giddy.
A distorted chuckle passes her lips. “Your father will beat you bloody.” The empty sound brings a chill to my neck.
Cole spares a long look to our joined hands, and a secretive, joyful smile ghosts over his lips. “As true as that may be, she is mine now. It cannot be undone.”
The guards behind the lounge chairs remain stoic, but whispers buzz across the handful of courtiers present, and quite a few stolen glances glide along my shoulders.
Under the watchful eyes of her subjects, Celeste swallows back her ice magic. She shakes her head and smiles like Cole is nothing but a toddler. “I will not waste any more time on this. You can show our guests out when they arrive.”
The power dynamics are shifted here, and I realize that, while she might be a Fae queen, Cole actually outranks her in the eyes of the court.
Cole releases me and sits on the chaise-longue, his back hunched forward. His sight latches on to the main entrance. “It’ll be my pleasure to send that dragon back where he belongs.”
Celeste whistles out the back, and the guards on either side ease up slightly after she’s gone.
I take the chair where Cole’s sister, Helena, sat the day before and force myself not to fidget. The velvet cushions invite you to lean back and relax. It’s a strange throne room. It doesn’t look quite as intimidating as the ones in movies. Instead of:look how powerful and deadly I am, it says:how dare you interrupt my nap?I guess the Seelie court doesn’t need skulls or knives to assert their reign.
They rule with temptation.
A nasty voice in my head chants.You don’t belong here. You don’t belong here.
In a flash, I’m back to feeling like the outsider that I am, stuck in a place where I don’t know the rules. A realm I was told scary stories about ever since I was a child. A world where mortals live and die for their rulers.
I grip the armrests.
What the fuck have I done?
The sprite guard by the entrance flaps his wings before Oz comes into view. The smug look on his face slaps me back to reality.
Two Magisterium agents trail behind him, escorting Jessa. The Fae has her blue hair braided in a crown on top of her head. Her cruel stare travels from Oz to Cole, avoiding me thoroughly.
“Where is the Queen?” Oz asks.
“She had other dragons to fry.”
Oz’s gray stare collides with mine. “You stole from me, Julia.”
The amicable demeanor infuriates me. I open my mouth to tell him to go to hell, but Cole beats me to it. “She only took back what you stole from me. Isn’t that the story you’re going with?”
“Wow, the cruel prince is in love. Who would have thought that, after all the girls youplowedthrough, this one would hold your attention for more than a minute.” Oz rubs his brow, his lips pursed like this is all a bad joke. “You still have to give her to me.”
Cole stands abruptly, but he rectifies his speed and strolls to the top of the steps with the same devil-may-care apathy he demonstrated when I arrived at court. “Get out, Osbourne. You’re not welcome on my lands.” The nonchalant command echoes throughout the halls.
Goosebumps run up my arms.
In the human realm, Oz is the best sorcerer, but here… Here, Cole reigns.
The dragon shows his teeth. “The Council gave me an order. You can’t keep a citizen of the realm in Faerie against our wishes.”
Magic pulses from his open palm and reverberates across my skin. Magisterium agents used that type of magic on me when I got arrested, but the immense pull I felt then is barely an itch now.
Cole angles his chin in my direction, and his eyes pulse with a tinge of affection—and a shitload of cupidity. “She’s no longer a citizen of the realm. She’s mine.”
Oz’s arm falls at his side. “You fool, this goes way higher than me.”
