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His vast gaze swept over me. “Pretenses serve their function, at times. But I would prefer not to with you.”
“I’m not sleeping with you, Dagda.”
His dark brows drew low, and a fierce storm brooded in his expression. “That being the first thing your thoughts are drawn to might suggest your desires are the opposite.”
My mouth fell open, and a rage gathered in my stomach.
He raised a hand, worry softening the storm. “I think neither of us wishes for your sisters to come out.”
All the anger blew out of me in an instant, leaving me cold and trembling.
A knock came. Dagda’s face turned grim. “Although I am glad to see that your circumstances have not squashed that fire inside of you.”
His cloak swooped in a graceful arch as he spun toward the door and swung it open. Keelin stood on the other side next to a young woman with rich brown hair and bright hazel eyes.
After she entered, she bowed low in a deep curtsey that almost touched her nose to her knees. “Your Majesties.”
“This is Roisin, your maid,” Dagda said. “Roisin, I want the queen here to get as good a night's sleep as she possibly can.”
She dipped her head in deference. “Thatismy job, your majesty.”
I raised an eyebrow, but Dagda nodded. “Very well. Then I shall leave you to it.” He turned to face me. “I will retire to my quarters. Keelin shall be stationed outside your room all night, should you need anything.”
I blinked. His quarters.
The bastard.
His mouth twitched as he moved away from me and swept out the door.
Chapter 8
Thechaosofbattlesurrounded me. Undead faeries fought against all kinds of beasts, among a forest of trees—tearing, stabbing, killing.
“Stay close, Chels.” Palon, my designated guard, loomed, tall and strong at my side.
“Okay.” My voice trembled. Wet leaves slipped under my feet, making my footing unsteady. I’d known I was a faerie for only a few weeks, and everyone was already trying to kill me. If any creature broke through, if any realized who I was, I was dead. I reached for my hood on my black sweatshirt to make sure it still covered my face.
Palon stepped up to a tree, his muscles tensing as he yanked it out of the ground. My jaw fell open at his sheer strength. He dropped it to the earth, creating a barrier.
“This way.” He released his centaur faerie guardian, and it cleared a path through the mess. I hurried after them.
An ogre burst out in front of us, standing at tree level, fighting an undead female faerie. A roar ravaged the night, coming from the ogre’s gaping jowls. It plowed forward. In one swift motion, the monstrous creature clamped a hand around the faerie’s head and tore it from her shoulders.
I screamed. Nausea gripped my stomach. The head dangled from the ogre’s grasp, eyes wide, skin ashen.
“Chels!” Palon had moved ahead while I’d been frozen in terror. He was racing back to me, staring at something past me.
I turned. A white mist floated through the darkened trees, weaving its way between monsters and faerie. I watched it with a strange sense of foreboding. It called to me, but somewhere in my mind, I knew. If that white tendril touched me, it would be over.
I raced away through the forest, skirting the beasts, a sob of terror lodged in my throat. Like a snake spotting its pray, the tendril shot forward, ready to strike.
It lashed around my waist, pulling tight. I tried to grip it, but all I felt was a coldness that chilled my blood even while the misty cord tightened.
I locked gazes with Palon.
The white leash retracted so fast it pulled my feet out from under me. It dragged me through the battlefield, over rocks and earth. I clawed at the ground, digging my fingers into the pine covered floor, shredding them over stones and twigs. Tears blurred my vision. Gasps of panic erupted from my chest.
The misty leash whipped me up, wrapping my body, squeezing as I entered a small clearing, dropping me at the feet of a woman dressed in regal faerie armor.She stared down at me. Auburn hair and red lips against pale skin. Beautiful and cold. She reached down and drew back my hood.
