Page 26 of Royal Captive
The gossip was interesting; I couldn’t help but be invested.
“Think she loves him?” I wondered out loud.
“For fuck’s sake!” sneered a voice.
I gave Annie a weak smile and climbed up onto the top bunk. She slid into the bottom one and we both tried to get some sleep.
BOOM.
“Fucking storms,” I grumbled.
Annie murmured an agreement, and we tried to ignore it.
Nine
ELLIS
“Isee you met my second daughter, Feyanna.”
The fae king sat on his throne, his posture bored with his legs thrown up over the armrests and his hands resting in his lap. His eyes, though, sparkled with mischief and excitement. He spoke loudly, which was necessary for him to be heard over the torrential downpour and raging wind that bashed against the castle walls.
At least he spoke my language.
“She isn’t the brightest out of my girls, but is a hard worker. Pretty to look at.”
Fennis kept his smile fixed in place as he glanced at Feyanna, who only smiled back. This confirmed she only spoke fae, since her expression didn’t flinch in the slightest bit at being called slow compared to her sisters. I wondered how she’d feel if she knew what her father said about her.
Thunder boomed.
His throne room seemed colder today, and more empty. Only a small assortment of guards stood behind him, with no one else present except Feyanna behind me, exactly five paces.
His daughter, indeed.
It felt like an empty tomb here. Perhaps my tomb. I was powerless to do anything. I had no friends, no guards, no supporters.
I shook my head. As long as it wasn’t Eve’s, I would face whatever came my way with my head held high, like my brother Mellon would have done—the one who should have been king.
I fought the urge to kneel or bow before this fae. I was a king now in my own right; I needed to act like it. Lightning flashed just as I thought it. “Yes. Thank you for the meal and the clothes. May I inquire about Eve?”
It was hard to keep my voice even, and not sound desperate—so incredibly hard.
The fae king’s nostrils flared.
“Theprincesshas received her assignment. Don’t you want to know yours?”
I bit my tongue to keep from biting back a sarcastic response. I wouldn’t get any answers being smart with him.
Taking my silence as assent, the king continued, voice a bit more quiet since the thunder had stopped its aggressive rumbling.
“Your princess’s little stunt during the Royal Hunt has caused me no end of headaches. Rebellions, protests … fighting in the streets. It’s all so tedious. I’ll make a public spectacle out of her execution, but the riots that would likely ensue … many of my people like her.”
I blinked at him. If the fae people supported Eve, that meant she was protected, to some extent. This was good news! Even though I wasn’t sure what it had to do with me.
The king stood from his throne and descended his raised dais, hands behind his back as he circled around me.
“I know there is an organized rebellion afoot; a snake in the grass slithering closer and closer toward me. There is growing concern about human rights and equality that must be stomped out before it grows too large. This is where I offer you a deal.”
I waited, scarcely daring to breathe.
