Nineteen

ELLIS

Ifell into a routine of sorts over the next few days, if I could call it that. Fallon shared my bed at night, and during the day I dutifully followed her around formally dressed, for no reason I could identify other than to please her.

And it seemed to please her to drag over every inch of the palace, lecturing me on history and lineage. This was complete with paintings and marble busts.

"Shouldn't we not be sharing a bed if we're related?" I grumbled, my feet beginning to ache from the new boots on my feet that weren't yet properly broken in.

Fallon put a delicate hand on my arm, giggling lightly.

"Silly boy. We are so far removed! Besides," she continued, her voice hushed as she glanced side to side to ensure we were alone, "who better to trust with your body than a brother? For practice, of course."

I couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

"You don't seem nearly as paranoid as your father," I commented wryly, eager to steer the conversation away from incest at any cost, no matter how far removed.

Fallon rolled her eyes, sitting down at the foot of a large, life-sized statue of a fae dressed for battle, which included heavy armor and a sword larger than I (or any human) could ever hope to wield.

"Father's fear is understandable," she commented airily, running her fingers through her hair to comb it.

"I'd be paranoid, too, if I overthrew my own father and tossed him into prison, knowing the entire time he had enough power to someday come back for me, all the while fearing my own horde of children were planning to do the same."

My head tilted to the side as I took all of that in.

"Ah" was all I managed.

Her grin was feral.

"Grandpapa here used to have all kinds of sports dedicated to killing humans. The more creative the death, the higher you grew in his favor. Too many died, of course, so that's when we copied our island here and set it in a different pocket of time and space, then linked our worlds together. We held the first ever Royal Hunt, and the winning humans were allowed to take their families along with our worst prisoners and live on the island, repopulating. Genius if it wasn't so horrific."

He … what?

"That was nearly a millennia ago. His son (my grandfather) was a bit smarter, realizing we couldn't just massacre all the humans. He adjusted the games and things calmed down a bit. Well, until his son overthrew him. Charming, right?"

Fallon crossed her legs enticingly, glancing up at me under her eyelashes as if she'd said something mildly clever, and had not just dumped a thousand years of lore and history into my lap.

"I … the more creative the death?" was all I managed. Why had that been the one tidbit of information I'd clung to?

Fallon shrugged. "Creativity does not equal finesse. I don't believe in using fear to get results. Why bother when persuasion makes it fun for both parties?"

She stood and approached me, swinging her hips and putting a hand on my chest.

"Indeed," I huffed.

"Come along, Feyanna is holding a brunch. She does love her little get togethers, and I'd hate to disappoint the simple girl. She asks for so little."

She grabbed my hand and pulled, but I resisted, my feet firmly in place on the cold marble floor.

"I don't want to go to brunch. I don't want to be your little pet. Where is Eve?"

Fallon rolled her eyes, not letting go of my hand. "Father plans to call on her this evening, you will see her then. Does that satisfy?"

Well …. yes?

"No," I insisted. "I still don't want to go to brunch."

Fallon's laugh was airy and bright as she patted my hand. "Oh, silly prince. No one wants to go to brunch with Feyanna."

She tugged at me again, and this time I followed. As my feet automatically moved down the hall, my mind whirled.

"Why is the king calling on Eve?" I asked.

Fallon huffed, irritated by my questions. She didn't slow her pace.

"Shyllon and Ali are trying to break the rules again, like always. Father usually lets them get away with murder, but he's been in a bad mood since the ruined Royal Hunt and the growing tensions."

That didn't sound promising, but it was more information than I'd had.

"Are you going to be such a bore all day?"

Fallon finally stopped and turned, growling at me.

I reminded myself of my primary objectives: get back to Eve, and get home.

Currently, several obstacles stood in my way, most of them with black hair and pointy ears. My deal with Fennis could also certainly be a problem, but I felt there was enough room to work with. Neither Fennis nor his family could touch Eve, but I should have negotiated any harm.

Not knowing how she was doing was tearing me apart.

Stupid. You'll never be smart enough to think of everything. You'll never be strong enough like those other fae to protect her. What are you doing? You don't have any control over the situation.

Tempting as it was to give into the unhelpful thoughts, I pushed them away. The only person who judged my worthiness was Eve. Until she chased me away like I'd just chased away that thought, I would remain, doing whatever it took to get to her side again.

Even if it meant going to brunch.

And staying on Fallon's good side. And … being with her.

I summoned up a smile, hoping it didn't look too much like a grimace.

"What's for brunch?"

Fallon beamed at me, and pushed me through the doorway.

Once again, I wasn't in control of anything, and I hated it.