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He spun to face me, eyes sparking. “What were you thinking being that close with a guard?” he demanded, then paused. His palm planted against the door, and his expression closed off. “What is that going to signal to the members of the court?”
I swiped at the tears still drying on my face and scowled. “That he’s a good friend.”
He laughed darkly. The tension rolled off his body, the fire lingering, though he tried to hide it. “I should have told you before now, so I do not lay the fault of what happened at your feet. There is an unspoken rule in the faerie court that we do not speak about the battle with the Fomori.”
My gaze snapped up to his and, like the first time I met him, the dark expanse in his eyes threatened to overwhelm me. Was it the stupid oncemate bond that made me respond to him? I folded my arms and matched his stare. “Why?”
“Many reasons,” he hedged. “Tensions within the court have been high since that particular event.” He straightened and squared his shoulders. “I must attempt to mitigate what just happened. Stay here until I return.”
“Wait.” I caught his arm. Its hardness surprised me. He froze and stared at my hand, and I realized it was the first time I’d reached out and touched him. I quickly withdrew. “Are you saying thatIcaused the fight in there?”
“You did not know.”
Shit. No wonder he was upset.
“I will come back shortly.” He moved to leave.
“What if I want to come?”
“You will soon go before all the people. It is more important that you prepare for that event.”
“You just don’t want me to witness anything that might get me worked up.”
He threw me a look that seemed to ask,do you blame me?
I sighed. “Fine.”
After he disappeared around a corner, I groaned and leaned against the throne room door. Any goal of helping Dagda, of somehow shoring up his rule with my support—to assuage my guilt even a little—had been shot.
Giggles carried down the hall, and I turned. A line of children made their way toward me, four boys and two girls. They paused when they reached me, each bowing in turn. “Your Majesty,” they said. I nodded to them. Where had they come from? But they didn’t stay to chat. They continued through the hallway and around the corner.
I watched them go. Adorable, but odd.
“You created quite the stir in there.” An unfamiliar voice caused me to jerk toward the window.
A man leaned against the wall next to the windowsill, arms folded, taking me in. He wore all black, his face angular, eyes an inky coal. Long nails curved from his fingers. He prowled forward on shoeless feet, a grin that revealed pointed teeth splitting his face.
I trembled, ready to run, ready to scream. Dagda had left me alone, only to be slaughtered. My muscles locked, refusing to do my bidding.
“Ah, do not be afraid, young queen. Fear puts out the scent of prey. Makes us thirst for the hunt. Makes us hungry.” His grin turned feral, his black eyes glittering.
“Us?” I grit out, the sound almost like a whimper.
His grin stretched wider. “My kind.”
My fear caressed into a dark curiosity. Like a hunter lulling his prey into security before moving in for the kill. “I thought only faeries were allowed on the court.”
He crept toward me. Slow and stealthy, that black glittering gaze never leaving mine, and still, my body refused to move. “Oh, they are. I serve on a different council. One that the faerie king apparently failed to mention would be in attendance today. The High Nine. The council of creatures who oversee the differing territories of the Otherworld.”
I tried to follow his words. The darkness that emanated through him seemed to tug on me like a line, reeling us inevitably together. “The man with green skin. In the fight.”
“Yes.” His stealth was beautiful. He was beautiful. It was in his lithe movements, in the strength of his body. “A member of the elf king’s court. The elf king serves as emissary between the faerie court and the High Nine. Technically, he was the only one from the council meant to show up today, but what can I say? I am the curious sort.”
My thoughts grew fuzzy, and something slithered under my skin, curling and uncurling. “And wha-t aryoo?” My speech slurred, and I dropped to my knees. He suddenly was there, kneeling in front of me, keeping me from smashing face down onto the floor. His body steadying me, his hands on my arms, encircling me as I collapsed against him. The crown toppled off my head to the floor, giving a dull thud. That enticing dark desire grew inside, and I wanted to beg him to sink his teeth into me, to shred my skin with those wickedly curved nails. To feast on me.
“Forgive me, your majesty.” His voice was smooth and sensuous in my ear. “Your fear initiated the prey and hunter magic that exists in all demons. Once you are through it, you shall realize that I mean you no harm, and it shall grant you protection against further encounters with my kind.”
The darkness filled me, breaking me, and I pled with him, begged him to taste my blood. Demanding to know why I wasn’t good enough to be his. To be brought into death by him. It was the only thing I wanted.
