Page 58 of A Beastly Court

The schedule I could’ve ignored, but the bargain… There would be dire consequences if I didn’t open the portal to Elfame three days before the winter solstice. And I seemed so far away from becoming one with my magic.

“Decide your heart and the rest will follow.” Yeah, thanks for being all cryptic, Violet.

I turned back around in my chair to give Sawyer enough time to stuff himself back into the foraging bag, then scooched my chair back with deliberate slowness before rising. “I’m not done visiting with my friends, so they’re coming to dinner.”

The fae king’s jewel-bright eyes glittered, but I just stared back at him, chin held high. A queen was a king’s partner, not some fancy wife, and my needs mattered. I thrust that at the golden haze that coiled at the edges of my mind.

Ossian must’ve felt it, for he nodded once. Then he looked beyond me at my friends. “Please, ladies, enjoy the rest of the food, but don’t spoil your appetites for later. You are free to amuse yourselves in the gardens until supper, or return to your work. Except you, gardener. You’ve not the time to return to your nursery and back again before sundown and I won’t spread the Brotherhood thin on your protection detail.”

The honey badger looked like she had a thing or two to say about needing any sort of protection, but then the porcupine lifted a paw from where she cowered under the table, grabbed a fistful of fur, and yanked her into silence.

Then Ossian gave me a look that demanded I obey. As I left my friends, he held out his arm like I was some falcon expected to perch there. Ignoring him, I marched right past him and led the way to the rose courtyard myself.

Having not said a word to me the entire way to the courtyard, I was convinced Ossian was as content to ignore me just as I was him until he stopped in front of the worn wooden door and crossed his arms over his chest. Now the tension in his shoulders that had been so distinctly lacking in the atrium appeared, and his countenance hardened.

Exposed to the December air whipping in from the arrowslits, a pink flush came to his bronze cheeks. It swayed in his copper curls and swept against his white linen shirt like it was a sail, revealing and concealing swaths of toned muscle. His jewel-bright eyes sparkled in the sun, and I cursed whoever was responsible for making him so devastating beautiful.

“Yes?” I prompted, determined not to be swayed by his physical appearance.

“I am the king and you will not embarrass me in front of my subjects,” he growled.

“I am to be your queen, and you will not shame me in front of my friends!” The same breeze that teased his curls seemed intent on lashing my dress about my ankles and sending an icy updraft against my thighs, but my anger was keeping me plenty warm. “Or anyone else, for that matter.”

Ossian crossed his arms over his chest, setting his jaw. “This is about the bear.”

How could he say that so stoically? To insinuate I was wrong to feel so violated— “Of course this is about the bear! How could you—”

“How could I?” His arms dropped as his took a step forward, looming over me. “Because I am fae, Meadow, that’s why. It is our custom to degrade our enemy, to flaunt in their faces every comfort they will never know again. They must know their defeat is complete.

“That bear is chained in the great hall not just because of his size, but so he may see and smell but never taste the delicacies on that table. He is chained so he might never know freedom again. And I… aroused you there, primarily for your own enjoyment, but to show him that he will never experience such ecstasy, or love, ever again.”

“Ossian, that’s barbaric!”

“By human standards, maybe, but not fae.” He seized my hand, brought it to his cheek, then slid it to the side to mold against his ear. The golden aura of his skin shimmered, and I felt a distinctly non-human pointedness to the ear’s tip beneath my fingers. “I project this, this perception of me to make it easier on you, on all of them. But I am fae, Meadow, through and through. Were you like me, you would’ve eagerly allowed me to pleasure you in front of that bear. Would’ve delighted in it. And not with your clothes on, either. The sight of your bare breasts under my hands would’ve driven him absolutely—”

“Stop it,” I snapped, pulling away and hugging my arms around myself. “Stop it, Ossian.”

“Meadow,” he said, his voice once again calm and soothing. “Do not hate me for being what I am.” He reached for me, but I took another step away, keeping my gaze downcast. Refused the connection between us that manifested when our eyes met.

“That bear is not just my prisoner, Meadow. He’s ours. Do you remember why?”

Confused, for I had only known the grizzly to be Ossian’s enemy, I searched my memory and found whatever I was searching for locked behind Grandmother’s maelstrom.

“Do you remember why you’re terrified of that beast?”

I shook my head, angry at the curse-induced amnesia and feeling vulnerable because of it.

“Because he almost stole you away from me. You were always meant to be mine, Meadow Ní Violet. Our union was determined long ago, but outside forces succeeded in keeping us apart.” His finger slipped under my chin, forcing me to lift my eyes from the floor to his perfect face. “That bear is the last of them, and he will know his defeat is absolute. You are mine.”

I hadn’t known that about the bear, that he had tried to steal me away from Ossian. Was my terror of him some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder from the kidnapping? I couldn’t remember, so I had to rely on what I knew. Particularly about myself and my character.

“I am not fae,” I told him firmly, lifting my chin from his finger and reestablishing my independence. “I’ll never agree to be used in such a way. Ever. But… I understand that you are not human, that your customs are different. Chain him, deprive him of everything but the most tasteless of food, fine, but never use me like that to torture the bear again. Do you understand me?”

The fae king nodded. “Never again. And… I’ll try to be more sensitive about such things. Though, I cannot promise to be so thoughtful in the heat of the moment. It will take time.” He paused, taking a step closer. This time, I didn’t move away, but I didn’t invite his touch, either. He continued in a softer tone, “But when we are settled in my home court, I will make it a priority to be more accommodating.”

“And what of your court here?” I asked, Flora’s concerns coming to mind. “What happens to everyone when you leave?”

“When I leave, Meadow?” His gaze dropped to my hands.