Page 64 of Royal Captive
“The deal was that in exchange for you, he’d become my personal little informant, and help me with some other projects. I didn’t anticipate Fallon taking such a …likingto him, but it’s only fair. My favored sons have their dalliances; she may have hers.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt learning that Ellis was getting his on just as much as I was. Relieved of guilt? Angry? Had he done this to better his own situation or help me? Or both?
Fennis’s fangs flashed. “It’s high time we finally raze your world completely and rebuild it.” He paused. “Of course, this will mean taking anyone of suitable breeding stock beforehand, since everyone and everything else will die, but that’s the sacrifice that must be made. Magick will reinvigorate the land, and it should be ready for you in a few hundred years. Perhaps we’ll turn it into a vacation home? Or maybe a permanent prison? Ours are getting so crowded.”
Peri’s devastated, tortured face rose in my mind and I snapped. I moved so fast Shyllon wasn’t prepared as I broke his grip and shot forward at the king. I made it within a foot of him before the guards caught me, their superior speed winning out in the end. My fist shot up and skimmed the edge of his nose before a hand shot out around my neck and yanked me back, slamming me into the ground as though I weighed no more than a teddy bear.
Pain exploded in my chest and back. The candles in the ceiling danced overhead, moving on their own accord.
“You swore you wouldn’t hurt her! Part of the deal is keeping her safe!” Ellis’s voice sliced through the air above me, enraged.
The king’s laugh cut through my temples like a knife. “Teaching the girl her proper placeiskeeping her safe. Besides, the deal wasIcan’t hurt her.” He eyed Ellis like a particularly juicy cut of meat. “And she’s not the only one who apparently needs to be reminded of status.”
A cold wind sliced through the room. Icy tendrils sliced underneath my warm clothes and gripped my spine, goosebumps erupting across my flesh.
Magick.
A slow grin stretched across Fennis’s face. Whatever he had just come up with, I was going to hate it.
“To remind you to keep your place, I’m sending both of you to one of the prison camps. You’ve been taking my hospitality for granted. At least the princess knows to make good of what opportunities I give to her.” The king leered at me, his dark hair hanging down toward me.
Shyllon stiffened against me, but Alihandro simply moved back into his spot, face expressionless.
Despair and rage flooded through me at his betrayal. Stupid fae, I’d trusted him! Shyllon meant well, but he’d probably turn on me, too, the first moment he could. I couldn’t rely on anyone but Ellis, and I’d already committed a betrayal in his mind.
Who did that leave me with?
The king made a dismissive motion with his hand, and the guards grabbed me, yanking me away from Shyllon.
“Father, are you sure—” Shyllon began.
“She’ll only be minorly damaged, not killed. It’ll build character. During the Royal Hunt, you saw how well she fought. She’ll be fine,” the king interrupted, batting away my only protector’s concerns. “Anything damage she sustains won’t be onourheads.”
“Wait.” The guards paused as Alihandro’s voice rang out. The king raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Alihandro stopped before us, a small smirk at the corner of his mouth. “I wish to say goodbye properly.”
Before I could react, he seized my mouth in a brutal kiss, full of stinging pain and fangs. Ellis roared from somewhere in front of me, but the sound was quickly cut off. Alihandro let mego, then a sharp pain distracted me on the side of my neck, but quickly Alihandro pulled away.
My fingers went to my mouth and neck, coming away bloody. I flinched as Alihandro grabbed the bleeding part on my throat and covered it with his palm; the guards were chortling as they kept a firm hold on me, so I stayed still. His fangs grazed my ear. “Be a good girl,Princess.”
Shyllon pulled a small, sticky scrap of fabric out of his pocket and gently smoothed it on my neck. “Now I’m glad my sister insisted I keep a few of these on hand. You humans do injure yourselves frequently.”
“Enough. Fuss over your toy when she returns,” the king commanded.
The guards stepped forward and dragged Ellis and I away, the three fae royals watching with three different expressions of disdain, fear, and hope.
Twenty-One
EVE
The worst part wasn’t how Alihandro had left a gash on my neck, betraying my trust and humiliating me in front of everyone. It wasn’t even how Shyllon had watched it happen with only a mild protest, giving me up easily to the king and his whims without a second thought.
No, what was worse was that the guards had thrown Ellis and me into a closed prison wagon.
Alone.
But we were still unable to talk freely. And unsaid words and promises burned between us hotter than a blazing inferno. Did he hate me doing what I did to survive? He could hardly fault me when we were both diving into royal beds for survival.
The tension surrounding us was as thick as a heavy cloak. The freezing night had descended, and so had my mood. I hoped Ellis wasn’t cold. I had my fur cloak, but Ellis’s tunic and breeches were much thinner.
