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“Whatever this is about,” I started, sensing the presence of the knife beneath the belt of my trousers. If I needed it, it was only a quick swipe from reach. “I do not want anything to do with it.”
“A waste…” she sang with fury. It was as though she had not heard me or cared to. “Life is precious, and we need the humans to flourish if Evelina ever has a chance of seeing through these dark times. But if I am forced to sacrifice the life of this one then it would be for our greater cause…”
I gasped as the view of the Queen disappeared. I blinked, wondering if the world had gone dark. But it was Faenir. His body was a shield between us.
“If you even dare to contemplate harming Arlo, I swear to destroy everything your bitter, long life has spent trying to salvage. Do not make me be the monster you so wish me to be.”
My throat dried, my lungs constricting as Faenir’s words settled over me. There was no denying he meant every word he spoke. It was the first time he had truly retorted with equal power against the Queen.And it nearly took my breath away.
“You dare threaten me?” She pushed forward, long nails pinching into the arms of her throne.
“A promise,” Faenir snapped. “I am far too determined to give threats, Claria.”
Shadows crept across the luscious landscape like a living wave. The warmth seemed to vanish from the air within moments. It was Faenir. It was all him.
“Leave,” Queen Claria shouted, her own glow of power pushing against Faenir’s with contest. “Enjoy the festivities of the evening. For the sake of your life, and that of your mate, I do hope you fail by your own accord. Otherwise, I too will provide a promise and I am certain to keep it for far more years than you would believe possible.Demon.”
FAENIR
There is no cooling the boiling of my blood. My fury is all-consuming. It thundered across my mind, swelled in my veins until they screamed with the desire to explode.
I could not think clearly, thoughts of sense fell violently between my fingers as though no more than sand.All my mind could capture was Claria’s threat against Arlo. It replayed over and over, fuelling a violent crash of energy that built and grew.
There’s a storm within me and it’s all-consuming. It stole my anger and fed it to the dark mass of power. For years that storm had been kept at bay, the cord of control pulled tighter with each encounter with Claria or my family.
There would come a time when I was powerless to control it.
When the cord would snap.
And soon the storm would break free.
14
Demon.
Queen Claria had made her lack of love for Faenir clear. Even now, as we navigated the strange maze of corridors on hastened feet, I could hear the hateful title she bestowed on my captor.
Unbeknownst to me, I had found myself in the middle of a family war. Blood against blood. As Faenir tugged me away from Claria in a cloud of screaming silence, I was able to piece together what I had learned. Faenir had killed his parents; still thehowwas a mystery but one I was determined to uncover. His grandmother, the Queen of Evelina, despised him for it as though the crime had been committed recently, her hate potent and undeniable. She kept the crown from Faenir, expecting he would fail to ever grasp the possibility to succeed from prince to something more.
Until now. Until me.
The thought that this man could ever be a King had my footing fumble and nearly trip as I chased after him.
Somehow my presence in Evelina potentially solidified his right to succession and Claria had threatened my life to ensure that did not happen. It was not Faenir’s touch that put my life at risk, but his proximity.
The whisperings of music interrupted our silence. First it was so hushed I could barely recognise it over our footfalls, then it grew, building into a crescendo that filled the barren rooms and echoed from all around us.
“What is that?” I asked, fighting to catch my breath as Faenir continued to stalk ahead.It was evident he wished to put as much distance between Claria and us as possible.
Faenir replied through a tight-lipped grimace. “The ball. You wished to partake in it did you not?”
I swallowed, skin shivering in sync with the dramatic notes of the melody. “I would have thought you wanted to leave after…”
Faenir stopped suddenly, his gilded eyes hardly blinked as he surveyed me. There seemed to be so much he wished to say for his expression spoke volumes of unsaid concerns. “You may hate me for what I have done. It is a feeling I am well accustomed to. But I wish for you to know that I will not let anything happen to you whilst you are in my care.”
“This is about Claria’s threat?”
He nodded softly. “I vow, as penance and apology for my actions, to see you home safely. I will make your stay within our realm as peaceful as I can. Every day that I have with you will be spent proving that I am not the monster they all see me as.” There it was. The harsh truth of his inner mind spilling free as though he lacked the control I had grown used to him claiming.
