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Chapter 2
Taveon
Astrange sensationpoured through Taveon’s body. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, and it frightened him in a way that little else had during his very long life. It almost felt like…pure, unending pain. The kind of pain that would lead todeath.
But that was impossible. Taveon could not be killed. He was immortal. Yes, he could experience pain, but never like this. What he experienced had always been what he imagined a muted version of true pain to be. A dull throb as opposed to the piercing roar that othersfelt.
Through his bond with Bree, Taveon received nothing but pure fear and panic. But it felt distant, as if viewed through a dark tunnel that had no end in sight. Whatever was happening to him was affecting the bond, a thought that scared him far more than the paindid.
He could not lose his bond to Bree. He’d rather cut off his ownarm.
“Taveon,” he heard Bree say, though he could no longer tell if she was saying it out loud or in hermind.
“Address the King properly,” Conlan said with asnap.
So, out loud then. That was a good sign. At least he was still aware of the world, even if everything surrounding him was nothing but puredarkness.
Bree’s soft hand found his, and she squeezed tight as she sent comforting emotions through the bond. “Honestly, you’re worrying about how I address him when he’s practically comatose? You’re worse than heis.”
Inwardly, Taveon smiled. That was his champion, through and through. She had never let Taveon get away with anything, and he didn’t expect her to let his council members get away with anything either, no matter what his status nowwas.
“We need to get him inside the Keep and out of sight,” Rafe said quietly. “He is still breathing, but he is clearly in some kind of...strange state. The Court should not see him like this. It could cause…issues.”
Indeed, Taveon knew Rafe was right, and he couldn’t stop the worry from sprouting in his gut. The Court thrived on stability and the knowledge that the King’s strength would keep them safe. In Taveon’s current state, he could promise them no such thing. Enemies could andwouldtake advantage ofthis.
If they foundout.
He sent those thoughts to Bree, and for the first time since the Battle for the Crown, there were barely any barriers between them. She’d let them fall, for once, a fact that brought him more comfort than he wanted toadmit.
“Don’t worry. We’ll fix you,” Taveon heard. This time, he was certain the words were sent through the bond instead of being spoken aloud. He could not see anything, but he could picture her face clearly in his mind. Her bright sparkling eyes, her cute little nose, and those shoulders of hers that she liked to throw back as a way to show the world that she was stronger than she looked. Bree was fierce. She didn’t necessarily look like it with her petite form, but as soon as anyone saw the full truth of her, it was impossible to think she was anything but one of the strongest faealive.
Distantly, he could feel Bree watching his body being lifted from the ground and carried out of the courtyard. But he could not feel it himself. It was as if all of his sensations were muted, numbed, as if his body belonged somewhere that his mind currently did not. Sounds were beginning to die away. That little connection he’d had with the world began to fade until every voice was nothing more than distant whispers. If it were not for his bond with Bree, he knew he would have no idea what was happening tohim.
“Please don’t be scared,” Bree said through their bond. “We don’t know what happened to you, but we’ll fixit.”
Taveon wanted to believe her, but as he searched his mind for memories of the past, he could not remember a single time when anything like this had ever happened. It must be some kind of curse. Some witchcraft that had been cast upon his body, a way to stop Prince Taveon from ascending to the throne. But whoever had done this had waited a moment too long. Because the Prince had become the king, even in his weakened state. They just had to keep the realm from finding out before they were able to fixthis.
Ifthey were able to fixthis.
Taveon sent all of these thoughts into Bree’s mind and she stiffened against them. “No,” Bree said, her voice insistent. “Don’t lose hope. For every spell, there is a counter spell. This realm and Otherworld has always existed on the basis of balance. One thing cannot exist without the other,right?”
“In theory,” Taveon said, impressed by how much Bree had learned about his world during the short time that she’d been there. “But just because a counter spell exists, that does not mean that we would ever be able to find it. Whoever did this will be hiding or long gone bynow.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Bree said, continuing to speak to Taveon through their bond. “One might wonder why someone would put a curse on the Prince during his coronation. One might wonder if that fae wants to become King himself. Or Queen herself. They’ll come out of the woodwork to try and claim thethrone.”
“If this was done by a female, she would not have any reason to believe that she could ever become Queen. Females do not rule Underworld. They never have, and I doubt they everwill.”
Taveon could feel Bree bristle against his words. He knew she came from a world where females had becomes leaders, much more so than they had in Underworld, and he knew that Bree’s ferocity made her believe that she could be as strong as any male. And maybe she could be. But Underworld would never accept a female ruler, no matter what kind of curse one had put on theKing.
Through their bond, Taveon could see through Bree’s eyes. Their group—Conlan, Branok, Dagen, Rafe, and Bree—had entered his chambers now. They carried Taveon’s limp body to his bed. Inwardly, Taveon groaned. It pained him that his first day spent as King would be in his bed. This was not how a Dark Fae of Underworld successfully ruled his kingdom. He needed to demonstrate his power and his strength so that the entire realm would fall to their knees before him. Otherwise, he would lose his throne before he even sat onit.
Otherwise, another fae would rise up and try to take hisplace.
“Bree,” he whispered through their bond. “How many of my court members saw what happened tome?”
“Only a few. Most had gone to the Great Hall by that point,” she said back with a sad smile. “And the ones who did see what happened understand the severity of the situation and are loyal to you. Besides, Dagen has decided to go to the ball, act like nothing has happened, and say that you became busy with some urgent matter. We’ll only be able to keep that ruse up for so long, but it will buy us some time to find the counterspell.”
It warmed Taveon’s soul that Bree thought so many of the court members were loyal to him, but they were not. They were loyal to his father, and it had only been days since everyone had discovered that Taveon was not even Midas’s true-born son. It was naïve to believe that they would be loyal to him just because he’d won the Battle for the Crown. He had never had a chance to show the court his true strength and now he might not ever get thatchance.
Bree reached out and took his hand. He swore he could feel her touch through their bond even though he could not feel anything else. She squeezed tight, whispering words of comfort into his ear. He wished he could close his eyes and breathe her in, and he yearned to wrap his arms around her waist, to pull her against his chest. His feelings for Bree had deepened these past weeks, but he had never had a chance to tell her exactly how he felt about. And now she might neverknow.
Of course, he knew that she had an inkling of it. As hard as he tried to keep his emotions from traveling down the bond and into her mind and soul, he knew that bits of those thoughts had to reach her. He knew that she could feel the way he felt, or at least a whisper ofit.
“I care about you too, Taveon,” she said, sending comfort and hope down thebond.
Yes, Taveon thought to himself. He could feel the truth in her words. Shedidcare about him, but in what way? She had never given him any indication that she felt the same way he did. Not just fond of him, but something so much more. A part of him yearned to ask her. A part of him wanted nothing more than for all her walls between them to go crumbling to the ground. But he couldn’t ask. Especially not now. Maybe if he made it out of this thing alive, he would wrap his arms around Bree and tell her everything he kept hidden inside the depths of hisheart.
That thought alone was enough to make him want to fight his wayback.
