Drayven’s large chest rose as he took in a deep breath, and his nostrils flared at my formal tone. The green of his eyes pulsated before fading to their typical black, and his scythe disappeared with the color. Clasping his hands in front of him, he cleared his throat before responding, "Your father has requested your presence in the meeting room. Apparently they have something to discuss with both of us."
Finias' voice rumbled behind me. "Would that have been so hard to say the first time around?" Okay, I was getting way too turned on by this man standing up for me and demanding manners from Drayven. I clearly needed some space.
I had expected Drayven to quip back with spite, or to perhaps attempt to cut Finias' head off with his scythe, but instead he kept his tone even as he asked, "Ama, would you please accompany me inside? This is important."
Had he just said please? To me? To little old “you nearly sucked my soul out when I kissed you, so I am going to publicly humiliate you” me? No way.
And yes. I was still bitter. Thanks for asking.
Noticing me glancing around me rapidly to see if the world was ending and pigs were flying, Finias chuckled and asked curiously, "You okay there, crazy?"
True bafflement was etched on my features as my mouth flopped open and I pinned Drayven with a stare. Wait, what if this was an elaborate trick to get me alone and off me? And I didn’t mean “off me” in a good way. There would be no orgasms in my future unless they were by my own hand.
Wait a second. I didn't need to go with Drayven alone.
A smile curled my lips upward as I turned my head to look at Finias. "You said you were here for the open court session and to meet the royals, right? Come with us, and I'll introduce you to the assholes. The royals, I mean. Not their actual ass holes," I fumbled with how awkward that probably sounded.
How obvious was it that I didn’t socialize often?
Drayven was quick to cut in, venom dripping from his judgmental words, "Open court is for other royals only. He certainly does not look like he fits those requirements."
Wow. Could we say “judgy”? Anger billowed inside me at Drayven, once again, judging a book by its cover. Even if that cover was a sexy package of tattoos that made Finias’ tall, lean form look fairly intimidating. Really though, why was everyone in this house such an entitled prick? Just because I was a hybrid didn't make me any less than them, and just because Finias was dressed casually and had tattoos didn't mean he was some vagrant here to rob us.
A dark chuckle rumbled from Finias, pulling me from my thoughts as I glanced into his beautiful violet eyes. My breath caught in my throat as I took in the deadly calm expression in his eyes. They practically begged Drayven to push him over the edge and give him an excuse to enact all the wonderfully violent thoughts I could see running through them.
Gone was the man who had joked about sharing butt warmth just a few minutes ago, and in his place was...someone who would burn the world down without a second thought. And call me crazy, but it turned me right the fuck on.
It was a completely sound conclusion that I had some serious problems.
Finias shocked me by reaching out and pulling me gently into his side, rubbing circles on my shoulder that made me wish I could burn this leather jacket off. I wanted to feel his touch on my skin. "And, pray tell, what do I look like, pretty boy? Because I can assure you that you don't have the slightest idea."
That was fair. Finias was seriously like no one else I’d ever met before.
Drayven's eyes glowed with his power once more as they fixated on where Finias was touching me. It probably pissed him off that someone was giving me the time of day and treating me like an attractive woman instead of some diseased hybrid to be avoided at all costs.
The Reaper’s jaw clenched, and I imagined his teeth were probably grinding themselves down to stumps. I was quite enjoying seeing him so riled up, so I decided to play into it further. My hand snaked around Finias so that I was wrapped snugly against his lean body.
Glancing up at the elf who had appeared from the shadows and made my heart flutter, I bit my lip as I once again appreciated how gorgeous he really was. There was a sort of feminine beauty to his high cheekbones and full, light pink lips. His head turned slightly down towards me, and he tossed a wink at me while whispering, "This is the most fun I've had in ages. How about you?"
Another giggle bubbled out of me, and I mentally chided myself. Why did I sound like an excited school girl being flirted with for the first time? I just couldn't help it. Finias' cheeky yet confident attitude had inexplicably drawn me to him, and I wanted to peel back his layers and learn more.
"I think riling Drayven up might be my new favorite hobby," I joked back, though I thoroughly meant it. A glint entered Finias' eyes as he leaned down towards me, his plush lips descending dangerously close to my own. He stopped a mere inch away, and his breath fanned my face, a minty scent accompanying it as he asked, "Can I rile him up further?"
His intentions were astoundingly obvious, his eyes dropping to my lips, which had parted at his question. My cheeks warmed, a blush staining them at his forwardness. I couldn't deny that I wanted to feel how his lips felt against mine.
Now, how did I explain to Finias that I couldn’t kiss him because I could kill him, without scaring him off?
"I think you look like trouble, and I think you need to leave before I make you," Drayven finally answered, shattering the moment between us. Damn him.
Finias instantly straightened, his arm tightening against me as he tutted back, "I don't take well to threats, and I don't think your king would be happy to hear you've threatened the prince of the House of Runes."
I would have chopped my arm off to have a picture of Drayven's horrified expression framed and hanging on my ceiling to stare up at for eternity. Somehow his skin paled further—a feat I hadn’t thought possible for someone from the House of Death—and his eyes widened in shock.
While I’d thought Drayven had been afraid of insulting a prince from another house, his words contradicted my thoughts. "Ama, get away from him. Now. He's a trained assassin."
What the fuck?
My eyes flew to Finias' face, and he didn't bother denying Drayven’s claim as he stared right back at Drayven. "I might have killed people in the past, but I still know how to treat a woman with respect. Can you say the same?"
Fucking burn.
For some reason, Finias’ admission of what he was didn't scare me in the slightest. Maybe it should have, but the thought of blood staining his hands didn't change the gut feeling I had about him. Instinctively, I knew he wouldn't harm me, especially with the way he had immediately moved to protect me when Drayven spat my name out earlier.
I pulled away from Finias, and the hurt that crossed his face melted my heart. He probably thought I’d pulled away in fear, but that wasn't the case. I held my hand out for him to take as I asked, "Care to accompany me inside, Mr. Assassin Creeper?"
He entwined our fingers and laughed softly, a warm affection infiltrating his gaze and making my pulse pick up. "I'd love nothing more, my butt warmth buddy."
"What the actual fuck is wrong with you, Ama?" Drayven growled sharply, his voice rising in volume and pulling our focus back to him. "I tell you the man is a literal assassin, and your first instinct is to hold hands with him? You seriously are lacking some fucking brain cells. You’re going to get yourself killed. I won't allow this."
My head jerked back for multiple reasons. For one, I was not the type of woman who was going to be told what I could and couldn't do. He wouldn’t allow it? It was as if this man was custom built to hit all the buttons that would infuriate me.
Secondly, he’d actually sounded like he gave a shit about my safety for a brief second there, and that made me more uncomfortable than anything else that had happened today. Including holding hands with a hot assassin.
"The day you openly mocked and rejected me after stealing my first kiss was the same day you lost any right to act like you gave a
shit about me," I responded with a brisk chill to my tone, trying to signal that this conversation was over. Somehow, I didn’t think the man got the message.
"Let's go inside, Finias," I moved forward, pulling on his hand as I looked back at him, semi-frozen in place and staring over me at Drayven.
"Call me Fin," he answered, finally coming out of whatever trance he’d just been in.
We crossed the space to where Drayven stood. At the last second, as I turned to take the path to the castle, Finias crossed behind me. Before I could even blink, his fist connected with Drayven's face, dropping the large Reaper to the ground.
His head cracked against the ground, making me wince. Shit. How Fin had managed to knock out a man who probably doubled him in muscle and weight was beyond my comprehension, but Drayven was out cold.
"That's for making her first kiss such a shit memory," Finias seethed at Drayven's unmoving body before running his hand through his shaggy white hair and walking back to me.
He grabbed my hand softly, as if nothing had happened, and strode forward, "We can go inside now."
My open mouth slammed shut, and I fluttered my eyes as I tried to take in what had just happened while walking towards the castle entrance with him.
Had he really just hit a man for something that happened years ago that he wasn't even around for? For a woman he had known less than an hour?
My chest stirred with emotions I hadn't felt since I’d thought I had something with Drayven. These were dangerous feelings for me, considering I had almost allowed Fin to kiss me, knowing damn well I could have sucked his soul from his body.
I knew what I needed to do was let go of his hand and banish all of these butterflies from my stomach. But instead, I squeezed his hand in my own and whispered softly, "Thank you. No one has ever defended me like that."
"No one deserves to be treated that way, Ama," he practically growled, and the sound churned a new burning sensation to life within me. One much lower in my body, making me rub my thighs together awkwardly as we walked through the entrance of the castle.
I felt like I was in a daze of emotions and shock as we silently crossed down the hallway towards the meeting room. Fin's hand halted me as he reached for the door. "Are you okay, Ama? I'm sorry if I startled you earlier. Just...the thought of him taking such a beautiful first moment for you and twisting it into one of shame and embarrassment made my blood boil."
Looking up at him from below my long lashes, I swallowed down the emotions that lodged in my throat at his admission. My exhale was shaky as I covered for the real reason I was so nervous, "I'm okay. I just hate meeting with all the royals of this house. They always find a way to make me feel like shit."
He dropped my hand and pulled his finger up to rest below my chin, softly pushing it up so I looked at him fully. "I swear that whenever I am around you, I won't allow anyone to speak poorly of you or cause you to doubt how incredible I already know you are."
A lethal coolness and bloodthirsty spark of excitement pooled in his eyes as he added, "Even if I have to cut their tongues out to do so."
A laugh spilled from me before I sucked my lower lip into my mouth and bit it. Nodding to him, I pulled my shoulders back and reached up to smooth down my hair, which had gotten frizzy from the rain. "Let's do this."
Pulling the large, black door open, he gestured for me to go first. Lifting my head up, I entered the throne room with the most confidence I'd ever had in here. They could only get me down if I allowed them to. It was time for me to stop caring about what they thought of me and start going on with my life in the way I wanted to.
I wanted to make my father proud.
I wanted to earn the respect of my people, and I would do so by showing them that I took my position seriously.
I wanted to prove that hybrids were not any less.
The long table before me seated all the royals of our house, with my father at the head of the table at the far end of the room. His chair screeched against the floor as he pushed it back and stood with a smile on his face. "Ah, there you are! Where is Drayven? Did he not accompany you?"
I honestly wasn’t positive what my father’s opinion of Drayven was. He knew that the royals preferred Drayven to his own daughter, but they always seemed to get along. I had also never told my father what had transpired between Drayven and me because…well, what sixteen-year-old wants to tell her dad about her first kiss? Also, I think a part of me wanted to protect Drayven from my dad’s anger. By the time I had decided I despised the guy, I rationalized it wasn’t worth telling my father about it.
Before I had a chance to respond, Fin piped up from behind me with all the polite civility in the world, "I don't know whom exactly you speak of, but I saw a tall and broad young Reaper taking a nap in the courtyard out back. Could that be him?"
I had to bite down hard on my tongue to prevent myself from laughing. He was definitely taking a nap. A forced one.
"Absurd! Drayven would never slack off like that when he knew how important this meeting was," an old Reaper, who probably flicked her bean at night to the image of Drayven, scoffed. And now that image was playing through my head, and I could literally feel myself getting sick to my stomach. Nasty.
My dad merely cocked his head and asked, "Who are you, young man?"
With a grace I hadn’t thought possible, Fin strode to my side and crossed one arm in front of his waist and the other behind his back as he bowed slightly, lowering his head in respect. "I am Finias, Prince of the House of Runes. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Dad's eyes searched my face, and he squinted at me as if he knew there was more to the story than what was being said, but thankfully, he didn't push it. "Thank you for coming all this way, young prince, although I regret to inform you that this is now a closed meeting to discuss my daughter representing our house at the Summit in just a couple days. I know this is quite rude of me, but there has been a last-minute change that we must discuss."
A screech flew from me that sounded like the cry of a banshee, "What did you just say?"
Ok, I’d said I wanted to make my father proud and take my position seriously, but this was too much, too fast. I didn't know the first thing about how to represent our house alone or navigate the politics of court, and I most definitely would not have the respect of the other house kings and queens.
To sum it up: this was going to be a dumpster fire.
Chapter Five
Ama
“Ama.” My father attempted to soothe the situation as Finias appeared at my side again, his hand twitching as if he wanted to offer me a comforting touch. I wouldn’t have been opposed to that, but it wouldn’t fix the situation at hand. A situation where I was apparently now having to represent the entire House of Death at a Summit where I would have to deal with a new breed of hate compared to what I was used to around here.
It was one thing to hear the same sneering comments and grumbles every day, but to have the five other house kings and queens not only fully ignore your existence, but most likely also decide to band together to further the already abundant disdain for hybrids? All while trying to create a productive and influential political atmosphere?
Yeah, not my cup of tea.
I wasn’t positive how much the other houses knew about me. I knew my dad had never hidden my existence, but he was also protective, and with that came a certain level of discreteness regarding information about me. So, I was positive there would be people who would be absolutely shocked at my appearance at the Summit as a princess of a house.
Which didn’t bode well for me because people tended to be even meaner when they were caught off guard. They’d lash out at what they didn’t know and what scared them. Because make no mistake—they feared change, and allowing a hybrid princess into their ranks? That challenged their entire system of purity and their claims to their thrones.
“No,” I felt my jaw tighten. “No, no, no. Come on, Dad.”
The other Reapers talked in low, disapproving
whispers as I pleaded with my dad, who offered me a firm look that had a groan building in my throat. I knew that look because it was the exact expression I wore in the occasional moments I was serious about something.
Fuckity fuck fuck. No. There had to be a way out of this, right? I mean…come on. I could not attend this Summit as our sole representation.
“I would like to talk to my daughter alone,” my dad insisted as I muttered a curse under my breath and looked up at Finias. My heart tightened at the sight of the sweet elf staring at me with concern and a level of emotion I wouldn’t have expected from someone who had just met me. Honestly, it was flattering that he seemed so interested in me after I’d spent the majority of my life as a pariah in my own home.
“It looks like you may not get your royal court meeting tonight,” I mused as the other Reapers stood and gathered their stuff. My hand drifted to Finias’ and as our fingers brushed, my cheeks heated. It almost felt like my first crush all over again.
Obviously, that wasn’t the case, but the sweetness that Finias regarded me with was breathtaking and made my stomach flutter.
“I think I met everyone I needed to,” he offered with a wink. “Besides, it looks like I’ll get to spend time with the most important person at the Summit now.”
I nibbled my lip and tilted my head, “Alright, you’re making the Summit sound a bit more appealing, I must admit.”
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” he teased, tugging on my hair gently.
“Never,” I admonished, realizing that I was flirting with the man. “But hypothetically, if you were there, I would be really happy to see you and would hope that we could spend time together….” I trailed off, then rushed to add, “Since we’re butt warmth buddies and all.”
A beautiful smile graced his features as he stepped closer, tilting my chin up and speaking softly, “I would love to pick up where we left off in the courtyard right now, but I fear I won’t see tomorrow if I attempt to kiss you in front of your father.”
Insurrection (Monarchs of Hell Book 1) Page 4
