Page 38 of How Does It Feel?

Instead, I gasped as I fell backward on my recently covered ass.

In the brightly lit, opulent room, I could see him clearly for the first time.

He was ethereal. There was no other word for it. His head was free from any helmet, armor, or mask. His skin was a stark contrast against his black-as-night hair. A lock of it tousled over one of his eyes. In the light, I could see the color easily. Cold and icy blue. So light they almost appeared silver, but no, they were an unforgettable pale blue. No mistaking them. They glared at me with a force I was certain must have been laced with magic as they pinned me to the spot. His head tilted to the left ever so slightly, giving a predatory movement as he stared at me with a bored and irritated expression.

I’d never noticed a man’s jaw before, probably because they hadn’t looked like his. I couldn’t seem to shift my eyes to anything other than his face and neck. He swallowed under my scrutiny as if taunting my obvious internal war. The action caused a feathering of muscle and a small dip of his Adam’s apple down his masculine throat. Since when was I attracted to a jaw? Was this some Fae trick? Some type of magic they used to trip up humans?

His body was much larger than any human male’s. Were those his broad shoulders? How much armor did he wear? His waist seemed more trim than bulky, filled out with hard ridges of muscle. He wore no armor, yet somehow managed to appear more impending than those around him that did. Muscular thighs covered in black and burgundy leather armor stood confidently yet braced as if ready for a fight.

Fuck.

Somehow it was so much more unsettling and demented to have your mind be physically attracted, even a tiny bit, to the villain that was about to destroy you.

I gathered myself, remembering exactly why this monster had brought me here.

“Please,” I begged. “I don’t mean any harm just send me back. I’m just a scientist. This was an accident, I am no one.” Sobs racked my body. I couldn’t help it. My mind was weak from the constant fear. “I don’t even know where I am. I don’t understand . . .”

“Still going with that story, huh?” His gravelly voice rumbled across the air as he took a step forward.

His wings were nowhere to be seen now, and if I passed him in the street, I might think him human.

No, that’s not true.

There was just something godly about him, a raw air of sorts wafted from him, letting everyone in the vicinity know he was the most dangerous and powerful thing. It made the hair on my arms stand on end just being near him. No human would mistake him for anything other than a powerful predator. He was almost too beautiful to even pass as a human. A dark glint in his eyes didn’t seem to connect to anything within him. His eyes held no feelings or empathy, nothing that would give him pause before he killed. It was hauntingly ethereal in a menacing and frightening way.

I shivered.

“It-it’s not a tale, I’m not supposed to be here,” I stammered. This could very well be my last shot to convince him to set me free.

“Oh, do I agree, human. I will say it still pesters my mind just how the humans knew when we would breach the veil. They must have someone here working for them.” He paused briefly to grin a small creepy smile. “If I find out who it was, I’ll hang them by their ears and skin them. Shame I had to adjust my plans, but alas. The Unseelie will still claim the Earth as their own regardless. But don’t worry, you won’t be around to watch us destroy your family and friends. You’ll be long dead by then,” he whispered as he crouched down and rested his hands on one knee next to where I sat on the floor.

My body involuntarily leaned back to escape his closeness. At my movement, a guard entered.

“Sir!” the guard shouted, obviously alarmed by the prince’s closeness to me.

What did they think I could do? He and every other male here dwarfed me.

“Why would you want Earth? Why do you hate humans so much?” I whispered, unable to silence my curiosity.

None of this made any sense.

He ignored the guards and stared into my eyes, a wrinkle of anger and curiosity furrowing his brows.

“Ple—” I began to stand, but not before the younger guard I’d noticed from earlier, size eight, suddenly rushed me.

The guard’s palm slapped me so hard across the cheek that my entire body slammed down onto the white marble floor with a clap. Blood filled my mouth as something small and sharp stuck to my tongue.

It was my tooth.

The young guard had hit me so hard that he knocked out my loose wisdom tooth. I stared up at the two large males with fury, and I had to remind myself who I was. I was a helpless human scientist with no defenses against these Fae. They could hit me around all they wanted, and there was nothing I could do. I was weak.

The prince, still crouched on one knee, glared at the guard who had slapped me. His gaze held an irritated look, like it had offended him that the guard had thought he needed help. The young guard nervously slid himself back and away from the glaring prince.

“The Unseelie realm will take Earth because it is due to us.” He turned his eyes away from the hiding guard and focused again on me. “When our space was divided, tell me why the Seelie were granted access to earth but not us? Because we are filled with darkness and they are filled with light? Most humans’ darkness could rival ours. The only real difference is we have the power and longevity of immortal life to back it up. Not fragile, impending mortality like you. So very easy to kill,” he said softly.

A vein had begun to pop forward in his forehead, causing him to appear completely unhinged.

I didn’t dare make a single move other than to tremble. How much more of this realm’s terror could I take?