Page 4 of Royal Captive
The guards pushed Ellis in front of them, causing him to stumble toward the throne. The king made a grand show of coming down off his throne and walking around him, his finger on his chin as he inspected Ellis like he was a horse for sale at auction.
“One of the heirs, yes?”
Cassus nodded once, sharply.
The king continued his perusal, waving a casual hand in my direction without taking his eyes from Ellis. I squeaked in protest as two guards seized my arms and dragged me forward.
“I can walk!” I yelled at them, and their grim, pinched faces made it clear it was taking everything they had to not beat the snot of me for my insolence.
The king in question narrowed his eyes at me, giving me the same inspection he had of Ellis.
“What is your name?” The sugary sweetness in his voice was all contrived; his teeth grit like he was in physical pain from speaking to me.
“Eve,” I deadpanned back.
“Eve,” he purred back like a deadly predator who’d caught a large treat. “Tell me about the half br—fae back on your homeland.”
I lifted my head. “And then you’ll let us go back?”
The resulting snorts and laughter didn’t come from him, but from the fae and guards gathered to witness my humiliation. The king didn’t join them, but neither did he stop them. He smiled as if humoring everyone.
Ellis continued to sneer at the floor like it had done him some personal wrong. Why wouldn’t helookat me?
“This is a delicate situation, as I’m sure you understand. You made quite a ruckus down there, destroying our barrier and ruining the games.”
Anger pulsed through my veins. I wasn’t a child who’d gotten caught with their hand in a cookie jar, and I didn’t appreciate being treated like one.
“You’ll have to excuse me, then. I was mostly concerned with not dying.”
Peri’s face filled my mind. Had she and everyone else back home died for nothing but cheap entertainment?
The surrounding fae muttered at my disrespect, but I kept my chin high as I met his gaze. The king’s smirk was all fangs and malice. “It will be fun to monitor you.”
With a simple turn, he dismissed me, and the guards hauled me backward but kept a firm hold on me. I twisted and writhed and even tried to stomp on one’s foot. Their hard boots were tipped in metal, which earned me a hiss of pain and an injury when I tried to kick him with my left foot.
A door from behind the king opened and two fae females glided out, eyebrows raised in mild amusement. With matching dark hair and delicate, pointed features, they were clearly his daughters. One in a moss green dress settled comfortably onto the armrest of the king’s chair, perching her bottom on it, and crossing her arms as if settling in for a show. The other one wore purple, and moodily glared at everyone present as she stood behind her sister. Her eyes darted between Cassus and Ferar with fear and apprehension, but they lingered on Ferar.
I hung back as the king turned his attention to Ferar and Cassus.
“When the barrier fell, your magick was severed, was it not?” the king asked bluntly, diving right into the matter at hand.
Ferar tensed, and Cassus’s face twisted in agony as if the very reminder was pure torture.
The king rapped his knuckles on the edge of his throne. “Yet here you are, back in the fae realm.Stillwithout your magick.”
Oomph. That would explain the bruises and blood. Without their powers, they were no match for the other fae.
“Explain.”
Ferar and Cassus shot a glance at the other before continuing to stare at the floor. Neither said a word.
The king’s eyes narrowed. “Delilah has given birth. I’m told it’s a daughter. Pity you won’t see her.”
Cassus flinched as if the king had put a dagger right through his heart. Without looking up, he pointed one finger at Ellis’s limp figure.
The king huffed. “You expect me to believe the half-breed caused all of this? Magick is diminished in their bloodlines. They don’t have enough to stop a nosebleed, let alone drag the four of you back to this realm. Unless you’re claiming he stole your magick? Maybe it was simply your stupidity, a side effect of the barrier collapsing. It’s never happened before.”
Ferar glanced at Cassus, a sharp look in his eye. The daughter standing behind the king in the purple robe jerked, then went still.
