“I don’t care about being paraded before the court like some symbolic gesture. I know who I am, and I know what I will become. I have you to thank for that since my father refused to train me for war.”
“Grandfather believed women to be equal in battle against men. I taught you only what he taught me, and I can only pray to the Goddess that it is enough.”
“We should sleep; soon the heathens will be starting their journey to the Night Court, and I will be summoned back to handfast the monster. We must prepare this place for their arrival, because we don’t want them to be comfortable here, or want to stay a moment longer than it takes to secure a child.”
“You’re either brave or insane. I have yet to decide which one you actually are.” Lara watched her, smirking as Lilith let the dark curtain of her hair fall into her face to shield her own matching smirk.
“If I were insane, I’d run and think that the Horde couldn’t find me.”
Chapter 4
Asrian paced outside the king of the Night Court’s chambers, listening as the king grumbled about errant children and the early arrival of heathens. What the hell had he expected? For them to actually walk here? It was common knowledge that all High Fae could sift, and Faery made it painfully easier on them if they’d been to the location before, which Ryder had strategically picked each place and who would go based on it.
“Is she missing?” Cailean chuckled, his turquoise eyes sparkling with amusement as his platinum hair caught the light and shimmered vibrantly. “You go and scare the little damsel?”
“How the fuck could I have done that, asshole? I was with you. Maybe she saw your pretty face and didn’t want to marry a pansy?” he growled as he pushed his fingers through his auburn hair and swore for the millionth time.
“She’d fall in love if she’d seen me first. I figured I’d stay out of sight and let her hopes not dwindle that it wasn’t me she was getting,” he said with an exaggerated shrug.
“The King has sent for his daughter, but you weren’t expected until tomorrow,” the steward said yet again.
The poor man looked like he was ready to piss his pants as he stared up at Asrian’s 6’8” frame with open fear. Sinjinn flicked the dagger again, sending it twirling in the air before he caught it, making the man tremble even worse than he’d been.
“Where is she?” he asked as he dismissed his brother, staring at the short little dwarf who couldn’t be any taller than four or five feet at most. He watched the worry spread over the little dwarf’s face and stifled a laugh of frustration when all he continued to do was peer in awe at Asrian. “Where is the princess?” he asked again.
“At the Court of Shadows, probably hiding from you and your kind,” he muttered and then as Asrian watched, he turned an ugly shade of paleness. “I meant…we fear your kind,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll be honest, your kind only comes to take from us, and the last time they came, they killed our beloved queen. A gentle soul whose only crime was being married to a king who enjoyed lavish things,” he explained softly as the color began to return, only in anger as the memories played across his pinched features.
“Our father was a monster, one who not even we care to remember. We are not him, no more than you are responsible for your father, dwarf. The crimes of the past do follow us, but they don’t forge the future. We do. My father would never have agreed to a marriage in place of a tithe. Now, would he?”
“No, never. He demanded blood when it could not be paid.”
“He did, and we cannot undo that. Yet here we are, willing to take a bride in place of the tithe. That should show you something, should it not?”
“He killed our queen, the princess’s mother. I fear she may not see this as a suitable match and rightly so. She prefers the ruins of the Shadow Court to being here, and so is usually there, hiding from everyone she thinks failed her. We should have tried to help them. If you listen at night, you can still hear the screams of the Shadow Court carried on the winds. A reminder to the rest of us what happens when you stand up against those stronger than you.”
“As I said, our father was a heartless prick, but that doesn’t mean we are created of the same cloth. We’ve done our best to right his wrongs, but we don’t pretend to be anything less than we are. Now, where can I find the Court of Shadows?”
Less than an hour later, the men stood on the edge of the ruins of what was left of the Shadow Court. His father had been a heartless prick to do this, to murder an entire caste of lesser Fae in one tantrum because of something someone else had said they’d done. Asrian remembered this place, remembered the horrors of what had unfolded as he and his brothers had tried to save those they could.
Only a few had made it out alive, and those that had were now hidden and protected by the Horde. This was one of the last places his father had destroyed before his own death. Wiping out entire caste of Fae was unheard of; it unsettled the fragile balance, and there had been no sign of the end to his madness until Ryder, the firstborn son of the Horde King, had challenged him. Not because he’d been ready, but because their father had intended on killing his own sons to ensure the others remained in line.
“Gods, what a fucking mess,” Cailean muttered as he wiped his hand over his mouth, letting his eyes settle on the debris that covered the empty courtyard.
“This place used to be beautiful, one of the rare beauties of the lower courts. Great waterfalls once crashed over the edge of that mountain, feeding the moat and lake that surrounded this palace. Father destroyed it, right before he sent the giants to crush the palace. The palace itself was the largest in this realm, towering peaks that touched the clouds. It was one of my favorite places to visit, and then he destroyed it. In one single day, he’d killed the entire court, sparing no one.”
Asrian listened as Sinjinn spoke, his words growing thicker as he was lost in another time, another place. He droned on, reminding them all of the past, a time when fear ruled and you either followed what the king said, or you died. These people, this caste had been destroyed for seeking a way to end his reign. They’d been a dark, deadly caste of lesser Fae, one that might have stood a chance if they hadn’t been sold out by the Summer Court, who had feared them but also wanted them dead.
A rumble started inside the ruins, and Asrian paused before shifting into his hound form. He started towards the rocks and debris that blocked the main entrance of the ruined palace, sniffing the air as the rich, enticing scent of night blooms lingered, growing stronger as he reached the palace. He’d missed the smell of the night blooms. Once they’d been a sight to behold that glowed iridescently in the night, releasing the seductive scent far into the breeze. Now, they were hard to find and far and in between worlds, misplaced like the people who’d once flourished beside them.
He pawed the ground as his brothers in hound form also paused, scenting her the same moment he had. He lunged as a volley of arrows started towards them, twisting midair as he took his Fae form, taking her to the ground with him as Sinjinn took the other female down as well.
Asrian stared down into eyes the color the brightest full moon, framed by thick, black lashes. The angel who’d tried to kill him and his brothers had the most perfect, full lips and a heart-shaped face. Her eyes filled with murder as they watched his slow perusal of her features. Midnight curls pooled around her body, appearing of the softest silk that his fingers itched to trail through. He swallowed hard, audibly as he lifted some of his weight from her, moving his green gaze to where the bow sat, discarded.
“I’m here for Lilith,” he uttered thickly, not immune to the beauty who glared up at him.
“And you would be, heathen?” she hissed.
“Asrian, son of Alazander,” he replied softly before he bent his nose down against the soft, creamy perfection of her neck and inhaled deeply of the night bloom that seemed to cling to her flesh. “Her betrothed.”
“Do you mind getting off of me?” she hissed again thickly as she pushed against him. He slowly lif
ted, pushing the bow away from her as she rose to her dainty feet. Asrian rose with her, staring down at her where she barely reached his chest. She was childlike, but her curves left no doubt that she was all woman.
She was tiny, dainty, and yet he could see the fire burning in her eyes along with the pain he sensed she held in check, barely. It called to the demon inside of him, the one that craved pain and the need to feed from it.
“You can stop staring at me, asshole,” she chided as she turned those icy blue eyes away from him to stare at Sinjinn, who was just now helping the other female up from where he’d taken her to the ground. “Is this how heathens retrieve their brides?” she snapped crossly, her arms tight against her sides as she peered around, as if searching for her bow.
“No, normally we show up, throw them over our shoulders and spank that ass,” Cailean offered amusedly as he stared at her. “If you want, sugar, I can oblige and show you how we heathens like to get down.”
“You think that’s cute? How about I cut those lips off and use them to kiss your own arse with?”
“Hey,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “You want to kiss my ass, I’ll let you. But trust me, these lips are way more useful where they are.”
“Enough,” Asrian snapped as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I came for Lilith. I don’t have time to sit and split hairs with you. Which one is the woman I am to handfast with?” he asked, and hell if he wasn’t praying it was the blue-eyed one with fire burning in her veins. He wasn’t even sure if they were actually blue, or just tinted such, but then he didn’t care either way. It was the fire burning in her that lured him to her, the pain she hid that he wanted.
“I am Lilith, you oaf,” she admitted as she turned those eyes in his direction, and the shadows seemed to creep towards them, eerily. “I was told you wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.”
“Well I’m here now, so let’s go. I have no intention of being here any longer than I have to be.”
“Don’t like what you did to the place?” she asked pointedly, her eyes daring him to say no.
“I liked it before my prick of a father destroyed it, lady,” he admitted and watched as her fight deflated, as if she’d expected him to say something else. “We didn’t want to destroy it, but then when the Horde King says or else, you do what he says.”
“And the new one? He said jump and you did so? Impressive, you’re a fucking lap dog, do you say woof too? I’ve always wanted a dog.”
“Careful, I enjoy fighting but I prefer fucking, and you’re about to be my wife to enjoy for a year. You choose what happens between us. I can be your fucking fairytale or I can be your fucking nightmare. That choice is yours, princess.”
Chapter 5
Lilith watched as the Neanderthal continually paced outside the ornamented doors of the Night Court. This was the monster she was to marry and spend an entire year of her life with? He was a giant! She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but it hadn’t been him. He was incredibly tall, forcing her neck to careen to look up and glare at him. His skin was bronzed, kissed by the Gods as if he spent endless days bathing in the sun without worry. The gentle scent of wood and outdoors clung to him, tickling her nose as he passed by her, endlessly pacing. His hair was red, a mixture of auburn and other shades that only enhanced his male beauty.
Of all the beasts she’d expected, it hadn’t ever occurred to her that he would be pleasant to look upon. She liked him less for that fact. He hadn’t spoken much, but the other male with him had filled the awkward silence with flirting endlessly with the women who served the court. His tri-colored eyes seem to hesitate as they landed on her, quickly moving away as if he didn’t care to look longer than was polite.
“You have not started repairs in the Court of Shadows, why?” the darker haired Fae asked. Sinjinn, wasn’t that what he’d told Lara his name was?
“We do not have the power of glamouring it back to its former glory after your kind destroyed it,” she answered sharply, her tone a mixture of anger and hate.
“No, you wouldn’t, but with Asrian with you, it would be easy enough to remake it as you wish it to be. Our kind does have some useful abilities, princess.”
She stared at him, wondering if he actually meant it or if he was only saying what he thought she wanted to hear. It would be just like them, to offer empty promises. She had prayed to the Goddess, begging her or anyone listening to right the wrongs of the past, to bring back the power and beauty of the Palace of Shadows so she could see it. She had never gotten to see what it had looked like before it had been destroyed, and had only the word of others to imagine it through.
“If I agree to this, maybe,” she said softly, her hand skimming against the daggers hidden in the folds of the gown she wore. She’d taken her time preparing to travel here, forcing the men to wait among the rubble as she’d slowly readied herself. The dress she wore was ice blue, with a deep V-line that exposed more curves than she’d intended it to. It had tulle ruffles that flowed delicately to the floor, covering the thin heels she’d selected for this occasion. Her hair had been piled into a work of magic, with curls escaping it to frame her heart-shaped face. Platinum bands covered her biceps, as a crown of black jewels sat atop her head. Beneath she wore nothing, no sexy garment, no enhancement to push up her breasts as the other ladies of court wore.
“You don’t want this, do you?” Sinjinn asked pointedly, not bothering with proper court etiquette.
“Would it matter if I said I didn’t?” she asked, her eyes not missing the slight flinch or tick in his jaw as he quickly hid his reaction.
“No, it would change nothing that is happening. Unfortunately, your father isn’t able to pay the tithe demanded of him or this court. He was given a year past what was asked, and still has been unable to pay the tithe.”
She stared into his tri-colored eyes, watching as the green seafoam ate away at the outer chocolate brown ring. His hair was pulled back, sleek and not a single strand out of place as he slowly took her dress in. “The tithe is unjustly requested. No one can pay what is needed as the world doesn’t offer what it once did. Crops are failing as more and more portals appear from the human realm into this one. What goods we do have are used to barter to keep the people of the land from starving. How can you expect to ask it of us, when you and your kind are the bane of the infection that grows in this world,” she paused, as if she realized too late who she was arguing her point with. “And even if this buys us time, it will never be enough for you or your kind. You take from us, the lesser Fae, to feed the High Fae and their needs. We are nothing to you, nor will we ever be.”
“I don’t think you understand the why of it, or who really brought this blight upon us. We didn’t ask for war, nor did we condone what our father did to this world. Life isn’t black and white, and we who live in the grey part of it have to choose which path we take. My father, that murderous bastard treated his own children worse than any other people, even the ones he sought to destroy.” Sinnjinn’s eyes glowed as his fingers ignited, as if the memory was too much, or too dark to endure.
“Murderous bastard,” Cailean muttered as a visible tremor rushed through him. He pushed his hands through his thick, platinum hair as turquoise eyes slowly slid from Asrian to Sinjinn, then settled on Lilith with a languidness that spoke volumes. “Wish we could bring him back just to watch him die again and again.”
“He was your father,” she uttered coldly.
“He was our king, our torturer, and the monster who dictated what we were allowed to do, and what happened if we didn’t follow his orders. A father protects his children; ours tormented and used us as his personal assassins. Those who didn’t follow his rules died. End of fucking discussion,” Asrian growled, his eyes green and glowing as something cold and ancient shone from within them.
The doors swung open, revealing guards who waited on either side of the entrance to lead the small party to the king and his throne. Lilith straightened her shoulders and h
er resolve as she moved to stand beside the giant she was about to marry. She would follow through with this marriage of horror to save this court, one who held no love for her.
That wasn’t true; a few did actually like her because of whom and what her mother had done. It was a legendary move she wished to the Goddess hadn’t been required, but that and nothing else she did would change the hands of time. And here she was, the daughter of the martyr making another sacrifice to the Horde for this court.
Once they paused in front of her father, she bowed at the waist before lifting, glancing sideways as the giant stared down her father. She turned, taking in what he must see. Her father was young for being king; even at three centuries in age, he was one of the newest royalties in the lesser courts, save her. She was the youngest queen in history, becoming the Queen of Shadows when still unable to make words work from her dainty lips. But then the entire court had been wiped out minus Lara and herself, and Lara’s father had been a human.
“I see you found your bride,” her father noted, his ice blue eyes slowly holding Lilith’s in silent rebuke.
“She was where the steward said she would be. She welcomed us splendidly,” he said, and Lilith had to force her eyes from rounding in shock.
It was widely known that the High Fae couldn’t lie and yet hadn’t he just done so? No, he’d played with words, making her father believe she’d been subservient to his arrival, instead of the truth which was that she’d tried to murder them all. Albeit failing miserably which was probably for the best all things considered.
A Demon's Plaything: The Elite Guards Page 3
