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Please let that not be the case.
“He is the heir to the throne, and you are a feeder. You’ll do well to remember your place.” Her eyes narrowed, honing in on me and demanding an answer.
I nodded once.
“Good. Enjoy your evening.”
With that, the queen left with two lady’s maids trailing behind her.
I let out air I hadn’t realized I was holding and shook my head, wanting to rid my mind of the incident altogether.
I didn’t know whether to be angry or sad at the comments made by the queen. Regardless, I’d imagine Noah’s hesitation and rejection the other night had much to do with the very fact of life that she’d just reminded me of. I was a feeder. A human. He was heir to the entire Unseelie lands. A fae.
My hand was jostled and patted and I turned, finding the king staring at me. His wide grin changed the way I felt instantly and I found myself in awe of the way he could engage someone so quickly. “My wife can be a very hard person to love,” he said.
He dropped my hand and I didn’t respond.
His eyes twinkled as he watched her walking through the party, making her rounds. “It comes with the territory, you see,” he continued. “Her family has ruled the Unseelie in an uninterrupted familial monarchy since the original great divide of Seelie and Unseelie. Through wars and triumphs, losses and darkness, they stood at the helm of our people.”
I sucked in a breath, understanding immediately where her desire for decorum came from. That was quite a family history she came from.
The king put his arm around my shoulder and we faced where Noah was standing. I lowered my gaze and looked over at the king instead of focusing on the man I truly wished was standing beside me.
He turned his smile from his son to me. “I was the son of a shopkeeper. My mother made hats.”
“Hats?” I asked.
The king chuckled, his shoulders shaking as his smile took him away from our conversation, even if it was only for a moment. “Hats. And the queen, my wife’s mother, loved hats, and she adored ours the most. Sometimes the place you’ll end up isn’t the place where you began.”
With that he kissed my knuckles, bowed to me, and went off to meet up with the queen. I smiled after the king, the warmth from earlier spreading further through my body. How that man had so quickly gotten into my gut and made me care for his opinion of me, I’d never know. But the fact of the matter was he understood me and took time to comfort me after his wife’s smackdown. How had he known?
Noah’s was suddenly right in front of me and I shook my head and blinked, taking a step back. “How on earth did you sneak up on me like that?” I demanded, holding my chest for a moment as I regained my balance.
“Fancy a walk?” he asked, that damn eyebrow cocked and a smile that brought just one side of his lip curling upward. He moved his arm for me to take.
I swallowed, wondering if the heated gaze from the queen was on me.
“She’s watching,” Noah said, knowing what I was looking for without me having to verbalize anything. “You saved me from a dragon, I figured it was time I returned the favor.” He winked.
“You’re a terrible son,” I said, looking at his outstretched arm, still not taking it.
“The worst apparently. But my offer remains unanswered, Ms. Coraline Fray.” He smiled, wider this time. “Fancy a walk?”
I didn’t hesitate this time and laid my hand on his arm. “I think I’d walk anywhere with you, Your Majesty.”
He led me away from the party, away from the spite-filled eyes of the queen, and then broke out into a run. We ran down the corridors until he threw the doors open facing the beautiful garden outside. The one I knew I’d spend every moment I could from this point forward.
We slowed down, moving through the delicate and serene landscape in silence. I didn't need words right now from Noah. There was time.
Because more important than his feelings for me were my own feelings about this place. This world. Faerie. The Unseelie. For the first time in my lonely life, I knew I belonged. This was where I was meant to be. Feeder or not, servant or not, Unseelie was mine.
Home.
I had a chance to build a family here. One not of parents and romantic love, but of friendship. Of strength and pride and loyalty. I’d found that here in the most unexpected place.
And I would protect it at all costs.
