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The Seelie King was honestly one of the most devastatingly beautiful men I’d ever seen in my life, and this was coming from someone who couldn’t quite appreciate the attractiveness of other people after meeting Aria.
He sat sprawled on his throne, a glass-and-gold monstrosity with flowers growing on the inside. His suit-clad legs were spread, his crown an ostentatious mix of gold and diamonds and rubies and emeralds. He was big and broad, filling out the huge throne as if it had been molded to fit him. A long white braid hung over his shoulder, the end coiled up in his lap, its length adorned with beautiful flowers and golden clips. He had high cheekbones, a slender face, and eyes that were the color of madder, shining brightly as he stared at us.
From where I stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to his raised side of the dais, he looked huge. But he was not the actual biggest.
The Unseelie Queen was his exact opposite, except that she was even bigger than him. Years of self-control and hours spent mastering my impassiveness were the only things that kept me from physically recoiling at the sight of her.
She was repugnant, her skin peeling in large patches, her face sullen and dark. She had no true complexion that I could describe in a word aside from “gray.” Her hair was stringy and greasy, falling limply to her shoulder, and where her eyes should have been was just empty sockets. She was dressed in what appeared to be literal vines; they shifted with each of her movements to keep her most intimate parts private, and suddenly, it became clear who controlled the tumor of murderous plants advertised as a chandelier.
Where the Seelie King was big by humanoid standards, she wasgigantic. Her throne dwarfed his, but the dais was adjusted in such a way that no raised platform was required for hers, so they were at least at the same level. She was surrounded by fae with flowers and leaves braided into their hair; they pawed and fawned over her, but she paid them no mind. No, she was staring greedily at the Seelie King. She had no eyes and very little flesh in her face, but from the way she leaned toward him, the vines circling her creaking all the while, I could tell she was having impure thoughts about him.
“Is it just me, or are they…” Reese started, but the Commander interrupted her, his voice booming above the noise.
“May I present Sariel Ambrose and his party,” he made a sweeping motion in our general direction, “And their sacrifice, Michaelson Ambrose.”
A hush fell over the room. Sacrifice?
Mikey stiffened, taking a tentative step back.
The Unseelie Queen’s empty gaze landed in our direction, and my skincrawled. Her mouth lifted in something resembling a smile mixed with a grimace, those thin lips pursing when we did nothing but stare at each other.
“Prostrate yourselves,” the Commander hissed.
Marilyn and Reese dropped to their knees almost instantly, followed slower by Neo and Johnny. Mikey followed after, and Aria squeezed my hand.
My wolf doesn’t want to, she said into my mind, frantically.I can’t—
Calm down, I reassured her, eyes trained on the Unseelie Queen, who’d leaned forward in her seat.
Down the bond, I imagined myself stroking the pretty fur of Aria’s wolf’s head, imagined myself pressing a kiss between her eyes as I coaxed her to let Aria kneel. She wasn’t happy, but I couldn’t understand what she was trying to communicate. My angel was too busy trying to fight me to focus on helping me communicate with her.
I lowered slowly to my knees, my eyes downcast, and sighed in relief as Aria followed suit.
We were pressed to the floor, foreheads to the shiny marble, for what felt like hours before the gentle voice of the Seelie King addressed us.
“Stand,” he instructed.
When we could see him again, his face had melted into a soft smile that made his eyes twinkle. “Welcome to a celebration in honor of your escape from the clutches of your tyrant father, as well as his equally tyrannical peers,” he said. His voice had a soothing quality that, rather than relax me as it did the others, put me on edge.
“Eat, drink and make merry tonight.” He spread his hands toward where the party had paused to pay attention. “We will discuss the matter of your integration in detail tomorrow. My wife and I are pleased to have you with us.”
Shock locked my limbs. Mikey and I exchanged a subtle glance, and then we glanced between the almost inhuman Unseelie Queen, who hadn’t said a word to us, and the angelic Seelie King.
Things were starting to fall into place.
Why would they allow inter-species relationships and breeding? Because they were not so dissimilar to us.
“Lucia will be your guide while she is here.” The King motioned to a young woman with curly, platinum blonde hair forward. “She is the Queen’s sister.”
Mikey’s shoulders went rigid as the woman approached us. Well, up close, I realized “woman” might not be accurate. She was fae, having pointed ears and delicate features, but she was not as fragile as the others I’d seen. She was not dainty or cute—she was a warrior dressed in leather pants, boots, and a top that barely held her breasts together. She had knives strapped to her waist and thighs, and her sharp eyes scanned everything in the same way I would have when constantly looking for threats.
“Well? Let’s get this party started, shall we?” she asked.
Her expression was deadpan, and I got the distinct feeling she was not going to enjoy the party in question.
And neither was I, apparently. After being seated at a table near the King and Queen, food and drink had been served to us unendingly. Marilyn had suggested we not eat or drink too much, and Neo had warned us that fae food was supposed to contain aphrodisiacs and hallucinogens. That meant I was sitting at the table and quietly monitoring everyone’s consumption, touching nothing myself.
If Lucia was insulted by me not eating, she didn’t express it.
