Page 94 of The Fallen Fae King

Lanlin’s piercing gaze flays me down to my soul.

“I will never accept that,” Maximinus growls. “The Council won’t. He is our prisoner, and after his crimes, he should⁠—"

“Suffer?” I arch my brow. “What do you think happens to a bonded Blood who is kept apart from their Omega? How skilled do you think the Guild of Assassins are in their games?”

Behind me, Lucius shivers in horror.

“Still can’t bear to be cruel yourself, Relius?” Lanlin’s gaze is too knowing. “You surround yourself with monsters who stain their hands in blood, so that you can pretend your own are clean.”

I swagger forward, grabbing Lanlin harshly by the chin.

I lean down to murmur, “It is better than being the monster.”

Then I backhand him, and his lip splits. I wipe my thumb through his blood, holding it up between us.

“Are you happier now to see me with my hands stained in your blood?” I grimace, wiping the blood off on Lanlin’s cheek. “How kind will you think me, when you’re trapped in the Guild of Assassins? When you are locked in the darkness, knowing that I will never let you see the light of your Omega or Blood Lover again?”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Freya’s Bedroom, Shadow Court

Freya

Naked, I scrub the sponge over my skin, until it is raw.

The cold water in the basin is veiled with bloody ribbons that unfurl from my fingers, but I still can’t quite get the blood out from underneath my nails.

I growl, as my eyes sting with frustrated tears.

I toss the sponge down into the rust-tinged basin. The water splashes, slopping over the edge.

“The troll sucking coward.” I slam the ruby, pearl, and jade dragon embroidered screen aside. “How dare he send me away?”

The only thing that I am still wearing is my bat circlet. I couldn’t bring myself to take it off when it represents my wedding merely hours earlier to Lanlin.

I meant my vows. They weren’t fake.

Does Lanlin believe that?

I threw myself into the Void with him. He forgave me for my first betrayal.

But now, will he ever trust Daire and me again?

How terrifying must it be for Lanlin to be torn from the horror of the Void into his enemy’s kingdom? I know how frightened I was to travel to his kingdom, and I didn’t travel there in cursed shackles.

My mouth twists.

Of course, Daire did travel into Lanlin’s kingdom as an enemy wearing that cursed silver on his face.

I raise my wrist to my mouth and kiss over the Ankh mark.

I wait with bated breath.

Nothing.

A cold ball forms in my stomach.

I can sense Lanlin’s despair washing through the bond. It’s sickening.