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.

"The princess has 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.

"You help me infiltrate the den of snakes and identify who the main players are in this rebellion, and I will keep your little princess safe for as long as she lives."

Tension bled out of my shoulders.

"And—"

Fuck.

"You help me restore the barrier to your world, no matter the cost to you."

Adrenaline flooded my body at the implications. Helping him restore the barrier meant endangering my people. It meant putting Viana at risk.

Not helping him meant Eve might die.

Or did it? Didn't he just say his own people wouldn't stand for her being hurt?

"How do I know you won't just kill her the moment I die? If I die," I hurriedly tacked onto the end.

His polished boots clicked on the marble floor in front of me. He paused, and I kept my gaze on the wall ahead of me. I refused to look up at him like a child.

"You don't," he whispered viciously.

"No, I don't think that's right. If you could kill her, you just would. Instead, you dangle the option in front of me despite knowing it's not something that would happen, anyway. Renegotiate." I chanced a glance up at him, only to see rage behind his eyes.

SMACK.

Whiplash left me reeling with the force of his blow, a loud crunch indicating he'd broken my nose.

Feyanna made a sound of irritated disbelief behind me.

I was breathing heavily, but I was also winning, in a way.

"Renegotiate," I panted out.

The king growled at me, then took a deep breath in, closing his eyes. When he opened them, his gaze collected and in control again. "You are intelligent. Of course you are; we are cousins in a way, aren't we?"

I didn't like the crazed smile on his lips, nor the maniac gleam in his eyes.

"I have a large family with many sons and daughters. It proves the gods favor me, and that my way is the right way," he raved, pacing back and forth. Was he speaking to me now, or himself?

"My way is the right way!" He pounded his fist into his hand, turning back to me and getting in my face so quickly I flinched.

"You will become part of my family. You will find who these rebels are, and I will squash them. You do this, and you can have the girl as your mate. She will have my protection, and my people will think I am siding with them about humans and their rights. We all will win, won't we?"

Feyanna shifted uneasily behind me.

"I uncover the head rebel. You and your family members do nothing that puts Eve in danger," I clarified, knowing contracts were tricky in general, magickal ones even more so.

"Agreed," Fennis said, much too quickly in my opinion.

I spit blood on the white marble floor. "Seal it in magick," I insisted, not trusting him an inch.

For just a moment, I thought the fae king would strike me again. Then he smiled. "Agreed."

The hot tang of magick filled the air, pushing down on my chest until I couldn't breathe. Smoke rose from my skin, desperate to escape my body.

It was over before anything more could happen. The pressure released, and the king was back in his throne, smirking like a cat that had caught a particularly juicy mouse.

"Get out."

I bit my tongue until I tasted blood, nodding curtly.

Feyanna grabbed my arm and started tugging me away, making sure we kept facing the king as we backed out. We'd nearly made it to the threshold as she turned me on my heel when the king spoke once more time.

"Oh, and Ellis? Call me Fennis. Since we're family now, and all."

Feyanna tugged me away before I could shoot fire at his ass, but that didn't stop a few charred embers from falling to the ground, scorching holes in the red velvet carpet.