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Espen gestured toward the row of fae at the back of the room. “You may or may not recognize my youngest brother, Namir. The Shadow King and his Queen come seeking a peace treaty and an agreement that will keep as many of our fae alive as possible. I’d recommend not challenging him, his mate, or their people, because they keep up with their training far better than we do,” Espen said bluntly.
I was pretty sure that last part was supposed to be a joke, but no one laughed.
“Can we get back to the part where you want to kill some of us?” Horvis drawled.
Espen stiffened.
He had let the man get to him; it wasn’t as if that was hard, given Horvis’s apparent disdain for the other king.
“Of course,” I drawled back.
Though I was more of a stab first and question later kind of girl, I seemed to be far more fluent in sarcasm than Espen was. And honestly, that made me feel sort of good. I could do something he couldn’t—I could bring things to the table that he didn’t already have.
And while I shouldn’t have been concerned with bringing anything to the table, I was.
My response didn’t relax Espen, but it did diffuse the power of Horvis’s subtle attempt at making himself look more powerful than the king.
I gave Espen a moment to retake control of the conversation, but when he didn’t do so immediately, I realized he was giving me the chance to do it myself.
And as much as I wanted to hate him, I couldn’t. The fact that he was offering me a chance to lead the conversation as his equal was too damn empowering.
I released Espen’s arm and slowly began to walk around the table, running my gaze over all of the men. I was hoping I’d see the one who was responsible and know instantly who he was, recognizing him somehow, but the faces of those who had hurt me were a blur. I’d tuned out as much as possible, trying to retain my sanity as much as I possibly could given the shitty situation.
And even before I saw all of their faces, I knew there wouldn’t be any physical evidence that led me to know which of the men or women was responsible for what had been done to me.
Some of their eyes followed me; I didn’t care.
I looked good, and even if I hadn’t, the physical signs of the cruelty I’d survived would make them uneasy.
And I wanted them uneasy.
I wanted them terrified of me.
I wanted whoever was responsible for what had been done to me to look at me and know that they hadn’t destroyed a solar princess; they had created a fucking Queen of the Night.
My power swelled at my command while I walked, slowly chilling the room.
A few of the advisors shifted in their seats, their unease filling the room the same way my magic did.
“One of you paid to have my family killed,” I said, my voice low and silky in my ears. My hips swayed as the power billowed in my chest. Like Espen’s, it was controlled. But unlike his, mine had a wild side to it, much like Diora’s always had.
She had literally transformed into a wolf when she lost control of her magic, but my mindset was the only part of me that shifted.
Though I probably could do what she had, if I had enough desire to.
“Come forward now, and I’ll give you a painless death. A quick trip back to the stars,” I said, hoping the responsible fae would choose to remain quiet.
A fast death without pain was far less than they deserved for what they had done to me, my family, and the women I’d had to raise because of what they’d done.
A few long moments passed, and I could feel every single eye in the room on me as I continued slowly stalking around the outside of the full table.
“No one?” I asked, my magic thick enough in the room that you could’ve cut it with a fucking knife.
My magic flared around the group in the center, the light growing brighter and colder as it thickened drastically in their lungs and the air around them. I heard a few quiet, terrified gasps, and my stomach clenched.
I felt… disturbed.
I didn’t want to be like the people who had hurt me.
