Page 89 of Our Sins in Silver (Coven of Sin 3)

The fae’s eyelids snapped open. “I’m not allowed to attend my own trial?”

“Not as you are. Trust me to clean this mess up. In the meantime, try to calm yourself with some blood. Feed from Ruby, if you must, but be careful with her. Once you’ve sated your thirst, join Corry and Eros behind the painting.”

Chapter thirty-nine

Can't Say No

WhenSterlingdisappeared,returningto the council room, I glanced at Vincent and wrinkled my brow in confusion. “What was he talking about? What painting?”

The space between us sizzled, and the tension was maddening. After a second, Vin ended the silence with a begrudging, “Tch. In the west wing, there is a hallway with a secret passage hidden behind the paneling. It leads to a small room right next to the council chamber, where you can see and hear everything through one of the paintings mounted beside the Elders’ thrones.”

I blinked. “So Corry and Eros heard everything?” That meant they’d seen me struggle to make up my mind with the prisoners. They’d seen me turn down Sterling and his reluctant offer. They’d seen me at a pivotal moment where I’d felt incredibly weak. Exposed. Helpless. I wasn’t sure if that knowledge made me feel more insecure or more comfortable.

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” His unchecked outrage lanced my chest, and my lungs flapped and withered like popped balloons.

I flung him a hard stare. “What the fuck is your problem?” I understood why he was in a crap mood. What I couldn’t figure out was why I was suddenly on the blast end of his rage. “It’s not me you should be mad at. We’re on the same side, remember?”

The fae stood to his full height, looming over me with that dark and potent energy rolling off him. My mouth went slack at the way he regarded me. It was like he wanted to eat me.

“Arewe on the same side, Princess? Because afterthat, I’m not so sure.”

“Twelve innocent people were just mowed down like they were nothing. I lost our chance of getting an army because I didn’t have the heart to kill them or force Sterling to be king. The uncrowned queen of the backstabbing bitches showed her boobs to the council and somehow came out less humiliated than you. A lot just happened. So be specific.”

“I’m talking about Sterling and his suddenly functioning fertile balls. How long have you known about this?”

Vincent fell corpse-quiet for a moment. Jeez. If looks could kill.

My throat closed up, and the place between my thighs tingled with warmth as he stepped closer to me.

I stared up at him, too stunned to speak for a moment. Goddamn. Why was I always the most attracted to him when he was all broody and possessive like this? It put a major hitch in staying pissed at him. “Um. Let me get this straight. You’re on trial for murder thanks to your psycho-ex fabricating evidence, but what’s got your dick in a knot is Sterling being able to have kids?”

“So it’s true then?”

“Yeah, it’s true. And if you care about him, you’ll be happy for him.”

“I do care for him,” Vincent finally said after another uncomfortable stretch of silence. “That’s not the point. How long have you known?”

“Only a few hours. No one was keeping secrets from you. Even he didn’t remember. It was something he’d buried deep inside himself to prevent my dad from finding out.”

“Then how exactly did you find out?”

How was I going to tell Vincent that I’d inherited my father’s ability to mind link with bonded mates? I wasn’t sure how to tackle the subject or if we even had time for it now.

“You need to feed,” I said, promptly deciding that it was a topic for later. “You seemed pretty worked up. Maybe we should get you a ton of blood bags. Or we could get the entire human staff to tag team feeding you.”

Vincent grumbled his distaste for that idea.

The door to the council room opened, and Lexi stepped out into the hallway with a smug-as-fuck grin curling her lips. “Oh, look. It’s the whore queen and her beastly male.” Her focus centered on Sterling’s fresh marks on my throat. “My, my. Another mate. You’ve so many now. I’m shocked you haven’t started numbering them so your little mortal brain can keep them straight.”

My monster shrieked her rage within me, clawing like hell to free herself so she could have this evil cow for a snack.

“Dark fae cocks can easily destroy a pathetic human cunt like yours. By embellishing a few details of my testimony, Feral will be dead by sundown tomorrow. Good thing, too. Eventually, he’ll have stretched you to where you can’t tell the difference between them when your other mates take you from behind like the bitch you are.”

By now, I wasn’t sure how I was keeping my darker nature restrained. Same for Vincent. We were doing so well keeping our shit together that I decided our monsters deserved a reward.

I waited for Lexi to saunter off with a flippant flick of her hair before turning to Vin with a diabolical grin. “Are you hungry for pain?”

My mate almost moaned at the mention of his greatest vice. “Always.”

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