Page 84 of A Bride for the Winter King
“It’s a pretty common thing to only have one.”
I punch his arm. “Why would I ever want to meet your mother? She’s going to find out I’m a spider inseconds.”
Seth looks me up and down with a knowing smile.
“What?” I bark.
“You called yourself a spider.”
“And?” I breathe, suddenly engrossed in the small lint pieces floating about the room.
“You’ve never used the term before. Not since I met you. Are you finally making peace with that scar in your side?” His brows pull together. “Or is it healed?” he extends a hand toward my rib, but I slap his grubby hand away.
“Are you my shrink, now?” I slide out of reach. “Your mother, Seth. Let’s talk about that, first.”
He holds out his palms in surrender. “She freaked out when she saw you and grilled me with questions. I didn’t want her to send her cupids after you, so I had to promise hersomething.” He waves dismissively at that, like a promise to the Spring Queen is not at all cause for concern. “Don’t worry, we’ll tell her your resemblance to Iris is just a freak coincidence?—”
“What if it’s not?” I deadpan.
He frowns at that, his entire demeanor switching from apologetic to inquisitive in the span of one breath. “What else could it be?”
“I don’t know.”
I shouldn’t spill my secrets just as we’re about to face his mother. Seth can’t lie, so it’s better for him not to know.
“Right. Let’s stick with the freak coincidence hypothesis, and whatever you do, do not mention Damian. Or Morrigan. Or my brother. Letmespeak, really.”
“She doesn’t know about your brother?”
“She doesn’t like to be reminded of my father’srealfamily, as she puts it.”
My top lip curls in disgust, all the gossip I’ve heard growing up about the woman in charge of mortals’ love lives solidified. “That’s horrible.”
“Yes, well… That’s my mother for you.”
“A horrible mother. Is that what I am, Sethanias?” A sultry, amused voice booms from the surface of the mirror, the glass plying to let the Spring Queen through.
Eek.My eyes bulge, and I give Seth a pointed look, quietly mouthing,“Sethanias?”
His spine straightens as he offers his mother a sheepish bow. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t mean?—”
“Shush. Didn’t I always tell you to own up to your wickedness, my precious weed?” The woman I saw the other dayat brunch—and a couple of times in Iris’s past—glides over to me, her hand wrapped tightly around a peacock decorative fan.
A striking dress made out of a thousand rose petals gilded in thin sheets of gold hugs her curves. The tall white wig on top of her head and dramatic makeup give her a striking fairytale flair, and I lose my tongue for a moment.
She peels her golden mask away from her eyes, her lips pursed as she examines me.
A lustrous aura of power hovers around her bosomed frame, the Spring Queen made to compel all mortals to kneel at her feet and pledge their lives to her glory. If not for my mask, I would probably do the same.
“Marvelous. Absolutely flawless.” She pinches my chin between her index finger and thumb. “What are you, child?”
“I’m Lori.”
She flashes me a full row of perfect, straight teeth. “Lori of…”
“Of Chicago.”
Seth clears his throat. “She’s a spider. I found her and hired her to spy on the Winter King. I couldn’t find any familial relation to Iris, so I think her appearance is a freak coincidence.”
