Page 41 of Royal Captive
“Go away,” I whispered. Maybe if I was lucky, I’d catch a cold and die. Or I could refuse to come in and perish from exposure. That would show them.
“So dramatic,” Alihandro drawled, walking forward and crouching next to me. He put a hand to my cheek, scowling. “You are cold.”
I closed my eyes at the contact, his warm hand feeling so good. Slowly and carefully, he loosened the crown of sharp sticks and rocks from my head, untangling from my hair. With a sneer, he threw it off the balcony, both of us watching its progress as it tumbled down the wall and disappeared into the garden.
“What do you mean by celebrate?” I whispered.
He smirked.
“You think Barthos fell unconscious moments after he disappeared with you by chance?”
I remembered the goblet of wine Shyllon had shoved under his nose. Ihadthought it odd he’d passed out with barely a grope. Then again, I hadn’t wanted to spit in the face of such good fortune, either.
They’d both conspired to protect me. Like Cassus had protected me, twice now. But why? Why were these powerful fae going out of their way to protect me?
“Come, let’s end this.” He tugged on my wrist, but I balled into myself further, refusing to move.
“Princess,” he growled.
“Do you know I fucked a prince on a balcony once?” I burst out, laughing with no trace of humor in my voice. The pitch rosetoward hysteria. “I suppose it’s fitting then that I end up in a fuck house.”
Alihandro raised a dark brow at me. “Lots of things happen in a pleasure house. Not all of them include fucking.”
I snorted. “It’s less that and more that I had to be bought by pity.” I slammed my palms onto the hard stone floor beneath me. “I’m such an idiot.”
Alihandro shifted behind me, and I couldn’t resist the heat of his frame. I leaned back into his chest, greedily soaking it in.
“And why is the princess an idiot?” he asked patiently.
I hiccupped. “He likened me to his horse when we first met. He said I’d make big babies. And then, I see him with …” I felt more foolish than ever.
Alihandro’s arms came around me. “Shyllon is a brute who doesn’t always understand the more … emotional aspects in life. And he was right; you would make an excellent breeder. As the king’s favored son he will soon be called upon to continue the bloodline. Not for the actual heir of course as a ‘dirty human’, but you’d make strong half-breeds. Is that so shocking?”
I wiped my face with the back of my hand.
“It’s late, Princess. We must go. Let me get you something hot to eat.”
I wrenched away from his grip, flopping stomach-first onto the cold stone. I was exhausted and hungry, but mostly pissed. “No! I don’t want to eat! I don’t want to be warm! What’s the point? Stop being nice to me because you feel bad for me!”
Anger flashed in Alihandro’s silver eyes. Good. Maybe he’d leave me alone.
All the air left my body as he hauled me up with one hand and pinned my back against the wall by my hip. His other hand went to my neck, squeezing. His nose was so close to mine it almost touched, his body so close I could feel the heat radiating from it. His lips were right there, and—
“You think Shyllon, Cassus and I are risking our fucking necks out ofpity?”
My eyes went wide at the snarl in his voice, and my mind came to a screeching halt. If they didn’t pity me, then why were they helping me?
“Shyllon can do whatever the fuck he wants with his status. And Cassus? He doesn’t give a fuck anymore.”
I blinked, remembering how much worse Cassus had seemed. “Did he get to see his family?”
Alihandro’s face twisted into an ugly expression. “He saw them all right. The king is many things, but a liar is not one of them.”
At my blank expression, Shyllon sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Alihandro’s face stayed carved from stone.
“Fennis kept his word,” Shyllon began cautiously. “Cassussawhis wife and newborn daughter. He saw their hanging bodies from the rafters in his front parlor.”
For a moment his words didn’t make any sense; the reality of them was simply too horrible. I blinked, then choked.
