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“She’s prettier than I thought she’d be,” he says bluntly. “And her tits are huge.” My eyes widen. “Is she pregnant yet?”
“What?” I scoff. Women can’t get pregnant outside of marriage. Those are the rules. And I’m definitely not marrying Lux, no matter how much this silly faerie bond affects me.
“Eden has been recovering from an injury,” Lux growls. “And may I remind you that this is my mate you’re referring to. You will not make vulgar comments about her body unless you wish to experience an untimely death. Do you understand?”
The man arches a brow, and for a moment I worry that maybe their father’s magic is even more dangerous than both princes combined, until the man throws his head back, cackling.
“That’s my boy!” He smacks his hand against the table. “I raised you well, both of you!”
There goes all my hope of getting out of here…
“The girl is all yours, Lux, no need to be jealous.” His laughter slows as he returns to his lunch. “But I’m glad you find her so appealing. When you told me about your plan I was pleased, of course, but I worried that if you didn’t like the brat that I’d have to buy you some exotic beauty for Winterfeast. Can’t have one of my sons unhappy!”
“What’s he talking about?” I whisper to Lux, but he’s just glaring at his stepfather. “What plan?” I turn to Castor, but he’s just helping himself to some salad.
“I am very much looking forward to our little gathering tonight, Father.” Castor changes the subject. “I trust you brought enough whores with you to make this an eventful Spirits’ Night?”
“Of course. All with delightful costumes! And I expect to see you all dressed up tonight too, your mate especially,” he purrs at Lux. “Unless you’d rather keep her locked away for the party.” His gaze falls to me. “I’d understand… She’d look practically edible dressed as a little kitten.”
Disgust pulls at my lips. I’ve heard of Spirits’ Night. We were never allowed to join in with the celebrations at the palace, but we used to watch the nobles from our windows having late-night parties in the gardens. They’d dress in elaborate costumes and eat sugary treats from carved pumpkin bowls.
One year, Dahlia asked Father why we couldn’t have our own party, and he reluctantly sent a pumpkin bowl full of treats to her room for us to share. She made us all wear costumes, and she decided how many treats to give us based on how much she liked our outfits.
It was fun. And with my sewing skills, I was definitely the most popular sister that week.
Camellia wanted to be a mermaid. Dahlia a horse. Heather and Gilia fought over who would get to be the sugar plum fairy and eventually decided they would both wear matching pink, sweets-covered tutus and let Dahlia decide whose was the best.
Of course, Dahlia took great pleasure in telling them that Camellia in her ‘ugly sea witch costume’ was a far better sugar plum fairy than them both, and our party ended with the pumpkin bowl overturned on Dahlia’s head.
Still, it beat watching the parties from our window, and every Spirits’ Night after that Father would deliver a bowl of treats to Liliana’s bedchamber – because even from eight years old, she was a fairer judge than her fourth-eldest sister.
Guilt twinges in my chest that I’ll miss this year’s party. But the pain turns back to disgust when I notice Castor’s father still staring right at my chest, probably imagining how ‘edible’ I’d look as a ‘little kitten’. Gross.
“Eden will be attending tonight,” Lux replies. “I have arranged costumes for us both, Castor too.”
“I look forward to seeing them,” their father says, practically undressing me with his eyes. I feel Lux’s arm curl tighter around my waist, like he knows exactly what his stepfather is thinking and is daring him to do more than look.
The man chuckles before finally lifting his gaze. “Oh also, I’m afraid your cousin won’t be able to attend tonight,” he says to both princes. “Too busy dealing with the wolf population in his woods or some other demand from the extensive list that Lord Tauren presented to him.”
My ears prick. Tauren is Dahlia’s husband. But who’s their cousin?
“That’s no surprise,” Castor laughs. “Nem never liked our parties. He always looked like he wanted to take the whores back to his court and finish the party in his bedchamber. Selfish bastard.”
“Who’s Nem?” I speak up.
Castor snorts while his father bites down on a laugh.
“Lord Nemesis is our cousin,” Lux whispers to me, but I can hear a smile in his tone. “He’s Lord of the Faerie Court.”
My brow shoots up. Obviously I knew Lux was descended from royalty, but he’d told me he was the cousin of some distant kingdom’s ruler and that his title was a gift.
To be the cousin of the Lord of the Faerie Court – this Lord Nemesis…
How could they not tell me?
“Eden’s father sheltered her from the world outside of his palace,” Lux explains when his stepfather won’t stop laughing. “She doesn’t know much about our court.”
I don’t know much about any court, I want to say, but their cruel laughter is enough to keep my mouth shut.
