Page 28 of A Story of Sinners

As we reached the exit, Brandon stopped George with a palm on his shoulder. “I’ll take it from here, brother.”

George inhaled at the concerned in his brother’s voice, then righted himself, releasing his grip. “Yeah. You should take her.” He shook his head, as if shaking some sense into himself. His eyes slowly glazed over as he saw the panicked look in my eyes, and he fiddled with his hair. “I shouldn’t be near her, not when I’m this upset.”

Brandon watched him return to the table and lowered his head. “Are you all right?” Brandon fussed.

“I’m fine,” I answered, my eyes glued to George, “but he’s not.”

Brandon held out his arm in offering, and I took it.

“No. He’s not.”

Chapter12

Ryken

After a brief midday, we returned to the auditorium, but this time, my little crow was seated beside the king’s advisor, the two of them tense. Aiden had moved her position from high up in the rafters to front and center, at his side, since it would soon be my turn to speak. King Aiden wanted to distract me, had made irritating me his sole mission. Instead, he should have been trying his hardest to gain an ally.

I didn’t miss the argument between Dahlia and the king’s advisor. George was beyond furious, and I would be digging into the matter as soon as I was free from Eulalia’s prying eyes. I’d wanted to intervene during their squabble, but Eulalia halted me with the same old song.

“It has to be this way,” she said. “There is an order to what must happen.”

My eyes studied Dahlia as Aiden spoke to the crowd. She looked beautiful as usual, her pouty lips forming a frown. Her freckles stood out against skin paler than before. She appeared wholly uncomfortable in the outfit that had been chosen for her, though they were eerily similar to the ones worn in Faerie. In any other circumstance, I would have loved to see her wear that outfit, but not here, not now. The dress left very little to the imagination. The only part of her body remaining fully covered were her arms, clothed in thick sleeves meant to conceal what lay twined about her wrists.

Rune cuffs. Manacles. Aiden treated her as if she were a prisoner, one accused of the greatest crimes known to mankind.

I chuckled beneath my breath as Aiden droned on. My little troublemaker really was guilty of her crimes, but she wasn’t his to punish. She wasn’t his for anything. If it wasn’t for her wish to handle him herself, he’d already be dead. It was a testament of love, pure and unbridled, that I hadn’t struck him down for leaving her to rot in that dungeon, for chaining her.

My thoughts were interrupted as all eyes turned to me, and that sneaky little shit spoke. “High King of Faerie, it’s your turn.”

Fin groaned next to me, already knowing what to expect, as his mate’s eyes burned in my direction sayingdon’t mess this up.

I rose, not bothering to approach the center of the room. There was no point in arguing on mine or Dahlia’s behalf. Aiden needed reinforcements, yet acted as if he held all the power.

“You already know what I want. You have nothing to gain by holding my mate, yet you have everything to lose,” I said simply.

“The darkness will enter faerie, too. We all need to prepare for the potential of a war,” he argued, completely ignoring my request.

“Faerie is protected by the barrier, completely safe from anything outside of it.” It wasn’t true, but he didn’t know that. “You seem to be the one with the problem, and I have offered assistance on behalf of Faerie if anything comes to pass. You should count yourself grateful and give me what I came for.”

A thoughtful look of consideration passed over the king’s face, but it soon flitted away. “No. Dahlia is under my protection, and I don’t trust you.”

George cleared his throat, and Aiden shot him a scathing look. It was clear that the king’s advisor was more than willing to remove the burden named Dahlia from their care.

“Excuse me?” I responded, irritated. “I don’thaveto give you aid. I don’t have to give you anything. If you don’t hand my mate over, I’ll take her anyways and leave you and the rest of the continent to rot. Hell, I can offer each nation here protection in Faerie and leave Cambriel alone and defenseless.” Murmurs went through the crowd as they mulled over this new and unexpected offer. They needed to know it wasn’t necessary to bow down to this tyrant’s needs to protect themselves, even if my claims weren’t completely true.

Unfortunately, it was necessary to partake in the fight, regardless of whether I wanted it or not. The barrier would never hold beneath an onslaught from the Otherworld, but regardless, I continued, “I’ll give you a week to decide, but at the end of this week, if you don’t yield, I’ll take what’s mine and leave you to fend for yourself.”

An uproar sounded through the Auditorium as the lords of the Mortal Lands shouted at the King of Cambriel. The King and Queen of New Hazel looked at their daughter, completely aghast. If they’d known he would be so adamant about starting a war to keep his so-called mistress, they probably wouldn’t have married Gabriella off to him in the first place.

I sat back down and watched all hell break loose. My eyes turned to Dahlia, who looked exceedingly miserable as the shouting carried on.

Aiden called out, “Everyone quiet! Now!” The uproar died to a slow trickle, and when everyone calmed, he continued, “We have an entire week of planning and negotiations ahead of us, and I won’t see the High King of Faerie leaving before we reach a full compromise. We can discuss arrangements at a different time, but right now, the answer is no. As I said, Dahlia is under my protection, and unless you prove yourself a safer option, she will stay here. With me.”

George winced at his friend’s claim.

I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees as I contemplated what Aiden’s angle was. “And the rune cuffs on her wrists—are those for her protection?”

Aiden eyes widened, his expression morphing into a state of bewilderment as he scrutinized my knowledge of the cuffs he’d worked so hard to conceal. Whispers carried about the room, and he squeezed his eyes shut, mumbling a prayer beneath his breath. When he reopened his eyes, it was with a glare—first at Dahlia, then at me.

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