Page 112

“It seems we have this in common, Raven. I haven’t had many sexual partners in my life, but they’ve come in all shapes and sizes. I cared more about the person inside the body than what the body looked like. I needed the person in the skin to hold my heart more than I needed them to have a specific set of body parts.”

“How very Fae of you,” he quipped and kept brushing.

How very Fae of you. The words rang in my head and sank in deep. Had I been living as a Fae without ever realizing it?

“Had I known that, little bug, I’d have been more discerning with who I selected for our third. I assumed that you, like most of the humans in the warrens, had a preferred gender of partner. And since you seemed to respond to me, I assumed it leaned toward the masculine.”

I snorted. “You picked well. Brittle Spear was . . . an experience I enjoyed. Though I will say that if that is your method of interrogation, you suck at it.”

“Oh, is that so? I’ll have you know that in this palace, hearing that The Raven of the Dawn is requesting a conversation with you strikes fear in the hearts of every single Fae and human alike.”

“Do you get a lot of great information from them? I can’t imagine you do. If you let me have my hands, I’d have had Brittle Spear begging to confess on his own just to be able to taste me more.” He tugged at my hair, drawing my head back to look at him as he stared down at me with annoyance and jealousy flashing in his dark-green eyes. “Scowl all you’d like, Raven. I fuck like a champ. Not my fault you refuse to sample the goods. Speaking of Brittle Spear . . . we both know it wasn’t him and that it wasn’t me.”

“Careful little bug, Brittle Spear still draws breath. Keep pushing me, and that could easily change.” There was no true threat in his voice, just a simple teasing jest. “Yes, though I’m still not convinced that it wasn’t you. You’re more than capable.”

“Oh, I absolutely could have. Thought about it more than a few times but didn’t have the opportunity.” He grinned and let my hair go so that I could relax my neck. His fingers started at the crown of my head and began what I could feel was a complicated, intricate braid. Nothing like the simple French braid I called my fancy braid when I was in Human. “So, there’s still someone out to kill the King for some reason. No idea why—he’s obviously a wonderful dude. So, you’ll need to do more clever interrogations now that you’ve pinned it on Brittle Spear.”

I could feel him narrow his eyes behind me, the suspicion dripping into his words. “Yes. I will.”

“You suck at interrogation.” His fingers tightened in my hair, and I hissed on a snicker. “Let me help you.”

“No.”

“Weren’t you the one that said you were happy to share me?”

“On my terms.”

“Tsk. What about my choice?”

“You’ve already made it.”

His fingers didn’t let up their tight hold on my hair.

“What better way to make sure I don’t find a nice stiff, warm seat on someone else’s cock or face all while keeping me safe and freed of suspicion.” I tightened my grip on his thigh, digging my nails into the fabric as the pain in my scalp began to throb much lower than he intended.

“Only with me?”

“Only with you.”

“With who I say? When I say? How I say?”

“My dear sweet Raven, a girl could think you have control issues.”

“If I could control you, Sóna Mac Raith, I would be the most powerful Fae ever to have been born. You bend for me only because you want to, and I’m not stupid enough to think otherwise.”

“Then, you know I’ll agree to all your stipulations.”

“Say it.”

“I agree.”

The moment I did, the tension on my head eased. “Good girl.”

He finished up the braid, tying a black-and-gold ribbon into the ends.

I took hold of it, eyed it and then him as he found a seat. “Marking your territory?”

He grinned from his chair across from me. “If I was, I’d have clothed you in a golden gown with a black surcoat and adorned your braid with falcon feathers and placed a tiara of black agate upon your head. In due time.”