by A. M. Hardin
Truthfully, I agree that dressing to impress when you’re simply having dinner with your family is a bit much.
Levi sighs, his frustration plain to see. “Levi.” He turns his gaze to me. “It’s clear that we aren’t going to get her to budge on this,” I say with a shrug. “Continuing to argue about it is a waste of time.”
Crystal smiles gratefully at me. “Exactly. And, if this conversation doesn’t end soon, you’ll discover how a dark fae gets payback on those who annoy us, Levi.”
My mouth curves as I shake my head.
I’m honestly still reeling that this female with all of her light, fire and sass is a dark fae. The moment I learned she was a dark fae, I was surprised. Especially, since we were told her magic had never surfaced. The fact that her family lied about her magic pissed me off more than I expected it to.
It’s not unusual for light fae to shun dark fae, but I’ve never seen it happen inside a family. Light fae like to act as though they are better than dark fae, but from what I’ve seen of the princess’s family, I would definitely prefer to be a dark fae.
My family is a mixture of dark and light fae. There has never been a dark fae that I’ve met who talk to their children the way the king and queen talked to Crystal in their study.
It’s common for a dark fae to have the sass and fire that Crystal has, but there’s always an underlying tension that you can feel whenever you’re near them. They don’t have a ‘light’ about them, the way Crystal seems to. However, Crystal feels as though she really is a magicless fae.
That may be how her family got away with that lie for so many years. It helps the lie that she left a couple years after they developed. She wasn’t around to prove anyone wrong.
Pounding on the door pulls me out of my thoughts. Frowning, I move to open the door. Inwardly groaning, I step aside to let the visitor through, leaving the door open in the hopes that she’ll be gone quickly.
“My, my,” she purrs, “doesn’t this look cozy?”
Crystal purses her lips, a sour expression on her face before quickly schooling her features. With a blank expression, she greets the female. “Hello, Rita.”
“Sister,” Rita says, her face not showing the sneer that’s so easy to detect in her voice.
Crystal puts the brush down on the vanity and crosses her arms over chest, facing Rita head on. “What brings you here?”
Rita raises an eyebrow as she eyes Crystal in disgust. “I had heard the black sheep had returned. I just couldn’t believe it. I had to see it with my own eyes. What brings you home, dear sister?”
“This isn’t my home,” Crystal immediately denies, making us guards’ frown. She’s quick to deny this being her home. I get that she technically doesn’t live here anymore, but to be that quick to deny it. I didn’t realize she hated this place so badly.
Rita rolls her eyes before her gaze lands on Levi. A seductive smile takes over her expression. It’s not nearly as seductive as Crystal’s was a moment ago. Crystal’s was more natural, whereas Rita’s is practiced and cold.
“Levi,” she says silkily. “It’s good to have you back home.”
Crystal rolls her eyes as Levi calmly greets Rita, nodding once. “Princess.”
Rita opens her mouth, but Crystal is quick to interrupt her. “Can the fucking bullshit, Rita. Why are you in my room?”
The temperature in the room grows cold and tense as Rita glares at her sister.
“Fine. Here’s the deal—” Rita flips her blonde hair over her shoulder as her gaze moves to us. “Leave us. All of you.”
I raise an eyebrow. I don’t know about the others, but I have no intention of leaving. She doesn’t want this to be a civil conversation. She came here to talk down to her little sister.
“With all due respect, my men and I are going to stay,” Levi says, crossing his arms over his chest.
Rita’s face turns red, her lips pursing, and her fists clench. “There’s no need to protect my sister from me.”
Crystal groans, tipping her head back. “For Gods’ sake. Get over yourself. Tell me what you want or get the fuck out of my room.”
Levi’s and Rita’s eyes widen in shock. I’m guessing the old princess Crystal would never speak that way to someone.
A twisted smile creeps on Rita’s face. “Well, well, well, look who has finally grown a backbone”
Crystal sighs. “Just get it over with.”
“You need to pack your shit up and go back to the hole you crawled out of. We don’t need you here, and we sure as hell don’t want you here.”
Crystal smirks at Rita and steps closer to her, causing Rita, myself and the others to tense. “What bothers you so much about my being back?” she asks quietly, her expression darker than I’ve ever seen it.
Rita stays silent and glares at her.
“Let me tell you a secret, sister,” Crystal says, a bite to her tone on the last word. “The moment I get a chance, I’m fucking gone. I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me to be here.”
Rita swallows hard. “Good.”
“Was that all?” Crystal asks in a bored tone, an eyebrow raised.
“One more thing,” Rita announces, finding her bratty ass attitude again. She steps toe to toe with Crystal, so close their noses are practically touching. I didn’t think it was possible, but I notice Levi tense even more, his fists clenching. “Don’t you ever speak to me like that again. You are nothing. You may be a princess, but that is literally all you have going for you. You’re still the same weak little girl you were when you snuck out and left us.
“Mother and father see it just as much as I do. You ran because you were weak.”
Who the fuck talks to their sister like that? I grind my teeth. I’ve never wanted to strike a female in my life, until this moment.
“Oh, hell no! This bitch did not just say that,” a voice at the door says, sounding shocked and more than a little pissed off. I glance over my shoulder and sigh at the sight of Jade and Celeste glaring at Rita. Fuuuuck. Even just being around these girls for the short time I have been, it’s clear to see how protective they are of Crystal. It doesn’t help that they also have very short fuses. At least, Jade does from what I’ve seen.
I haven’t seen too much attitude from Celeste, but it’s clear that her and Crystal are Jade’s calm. Fuck with either of them, and that calm flies right out the window. Hence, her little outburst. It’s then that I notice Celeste has a firm hand wrapped around Jade’s wrist, as if attempting to stop her from attacking.
Rita flicks them an uninterested glance before turning her attention back to Crystal who is chuckling now. “What’s so funny?”
Crystal shakes her head, still chuckling. “You are.”
“What?” Rita snaps.
“Well this whole situation is funny, really.” Crystal grins at her sister. Her expression hasn’t changed, but it’s eerie and doesn’t feel like it’s all Crystal. “I didn’t see it when I lived here before, but you feel threatened by my presence.”
Truthfully, that’s the vibe I’m getting, too.
“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” Rita scoffs.
“Right. You honestly don’t need to feel so threatened, Rita. I’ll be gone before too long.”
Rita smirks. “Not if mother and father have anything to say about it.”
Crystal’s eyes narrow suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” Rita wiggles her fingers at Crystal and leaves the room, ignoring the rest of us.
“Please, let me kill that bitch,” Jade asks emphatically.
Celeste sighs as Crystal laughs. “You have got to get that anger controlled, Jade,” Celeste says.
“Seriously?” Levi groans. “What part of ‘dress appropriately’ for a royal family dinner did you three not understand?”
Crystal shakes her head before punching Levi in the arm. Hard, if the grimace that flashes across his face is any indication. “Deal with it, Levi. I’m not chan
ging.”
She turns her attention to her friends. “I don’t have to remind you guys to keep your traps shut during dinner if you can’t say anything nice, do I?”
Jade groans, her expression pained as Celeste smiles. “We get it, honey. I’ll keep her under control.”
Why do I have the feeling that this dinner is going to be a disaster?
Chapter Eight
Crystal
Gods, I wish I had been recording when I walked in here.
The moment my friends and I entered the dining room my mom gasped in horror, my father shook his head, his face scrunched in distaste. The guards in the room looked shocked as hell, and my sister sneered at me—not all that shocking, really.
There’s one person in the room that I don’t recognize, but I’m guessing Celeste and Jade do, because I can hear their sharp intakes of breath. He looks me up and down, a smirk on his face as amusement dances in his eyes. Who the hell is this guy?
His hair is silver and cut in a way that is longer on top than the rest, with his bangs nearly covering his eyes. His green eyes watch me closely, but he doesn’t say a word or otherwise react to our presence.
“Holy shit,” Jade breathes. “This is bad.”
Before I can ask what her deal is, my mother stands and gestures to the unknown male. “Prince Julian, this is my daughter Crystal, and her friends. They’ll be joining us for dinner tonight.” This guy is a prince? Shit. This better not be a stupid dinner for my parents to set my sister up. Those are always awkward as hell. “I apologize for their choice in clothing,” my mother adds. “Crystal has always been a defiant child.”
Bullshit.
I sigh internally as we move to the table. Levi, Maxwell, and Ezra move to the wall to stand with the other guards in the room.
“Crystal, sit here please,” my mother says as she meets my eyes, pointing to the seat beside the prince. I narrow my eyes slightly but decide not to argue when her eyes flash with a warning. Whatever. It won’t hurt anything to do as she wants for now.
My friends and I sit at the table and shortly after, several maids enter the room carrying various dishes. They set the dishes on the counter as new maids come in with wine and pour the wine in each of our glasses.
“So, Crystal,” Rita starts as I grab my glass of wine, “what have you been doing with yourself on Earth?”
I take a quick sip of my wine before setting it down. I forgot how much my mother’s favorite wine sucks. “I’m a waitress at a club run by a dark fae, along with Celeste and Jade.”
“A waitress?” Rita’s face scrunches in distaste as she cuts into her food. “That’s below you.”
I sigh and lean back in my chair, not bothering to touch my food. In the corner of my eye I notice the prince shaking his head slightly. At me or at my sister, I’m not sure which. “I wasn’t a princess on Earth, Rita,” I point out unnecessarily. “It’s not like I had parents there to give me everything I needed. You have to earn what you get. I enjoy my job.”
Rita scowls, understanding the low jab I added in there. Our parents give her everything and anything she wants, no questions asked. The only reason I ever got the bare minimal a princess could get away with, was to keep up appearances.
“In any case,” my mother interrupts Rita before she can do more than open her mouth, “it’s so good to have you here with us while we welcome our darling daughter home, Julian.”
Oh, gag me. My jaw tightens as my mom smiles warmly at me.
“We’ve missed you so much, Crystal, dear.”
“Mm,” I mumble, forcing myself to take a bite of my food to hide the fact that I truly have no response to that bullshit statement.
“Yes,” father says flippantly. “It’s long past time that you came home. It’ll be good for all of us to have you home again.”
Keeping my face blank, I inwardly frown. Why do I get the feeling that he’s deluding himself into thinking that I’ll be staying here?
“Yes, it will be sad to see her go when she returns,” Rita sneers.
Mother scoffs. “She won’t be returning, Rita.”
“Too right, she won’t,” my father adds.
I narrow my eyes at my parents as I swallow my bite of food, trying to ignore the sensation of it settling like lead in my stomach. “What do you mean?”
Rita’s eyes open wide as she stares at our parents in what appears to be a very bad attempt at feigning shock. “Yes, whatever do you mean? Crystal is looking forward to returning to the human realm, mother.”
Father guffaws. “There is nothing in the human world that she cannot possibly have here. Her family is here.”
I sigh and look at my food, thinking over my words carefully. “I have friends in the human world, father. I don’t plan to stay here for very long. I only came back because I was told that mother had fallen ill.”
A wicked gleam sparks in my mother’s eyes as she glances to my father who grins. Is it just me or is there an evil look to that fucking smile? “Yes, well, as unfortunate as that is, Crystal, I assure you, you won’t be returning to that world.”
“Why?” I ask, doing my best to keep my tone polite, but it’s hard to keep the bite from my tone as I put my silverware on the table in front of me.
“Because I said so,” he says with a shrug.
I raise an eyebrow. “You think that’ll be enough to keep me here?”
His mouth curls in a smirk. “Of course not. I knew you’d have every intention of returning to that dreadful place, so I have taken precautions.”
Not sure I really want to know the answer to the question I’m about to ask, but I need to know. “What precautions?”
“It is of no consequence to you, dear,” mother says, keeping her tone reassuring but there’s a coldness to her eyes that makes me pause. “In any case, there is a reason that we wanted you home and have invited Prince Julien to feast with us in celebration of your return.”
My stomach drops as I glance at the Prince who’s watching me closely, his expression not giving anything away. His eyes are swirling with a mixture of concern and confusion as they dart to my family before coming straight back to me.
“What was the reason?” I ask slowly, bringing my attention back to my mother.
“Our kingdom’s have been meeting, both wish to form an alliance. Prince Julian’s father suggested a marriage between his son and one of our daughter’s would do well in bringing our alliance to fruition. Of course, we couldn’t have the marriage between his son and Rita, because she will be the queen here when your father and I give up the throne.”
“So, what? You’re just pimping me out now?” I ask, not able to stay calm anymore as rage burns through me.
My mother frowns, confused. “I don’t understand the phrase.”
“Selling me to the highest bidder, mother,” I bite out the explanation as I stand, my eyes going to my friends, who stand with me before turning back to her.
“I don’t think you understand, Crystal,” my mother says, her tone hardening. “You will be the queen to Julian’s king when his father passes the crown to him. Instead of being just a princess, you will rule at his side.”
I snort. “If you ever really knew me at all, you would know that that is something that I would never want. In any case, I will be returning to the human world, whether you or anyone else likes it or not. You cannot keep me here.”
My father waves a hand dismissively. “Oh, yes, we can.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Really? Do tell. How do you plan on stopping me?”
He smirks. “My dear, we already have.”
When he makes no move to say anything more I grind my teeth. “Explain that.”
“All portals in this kingdom have been shut down. There will be no returning to the human realm for you. The only way to get through is by having a royal seal of approval. Of course, your seal will not count for this.”
Chapter Nine
Ezra
Crystal’s face turns red
in anger as her fists clench at her sides, shaking slightly. Shit, she’s pissed.
I watch, my body tense as Crystal takes several deep breaths to calm down. None of us know what this female can do. All we know is what she’s shown us. She can use the butterflies that only the most powerful dark fae are capable of using, and she’s wicked fast and strong.
After a few minutes of calming herself down and looking visibly calmer, Crystal looks at her friends. The one called Celeste nods once, then all three of them disappear in the blink of an eye.
Everyone gapes as we stare at the spot the princess had been standing in no less than thirty seconds ago. What the hell? Where’d they go?
The queen stands, frustration and fury all over her face. “FIND HER!”
Every guard in the room moves at the angry command. Our team is the last to leave. As we go, I hear the queen speaking to the prince.
“I’m so sorry about all this Julian. This kind of behavior is normal for Crystal. Please be patient with her.”
We leave the room and out of earshot before I can hear the prince’s response.
“Was that a normal response for the princess?” I ask Levi, genuinely curious.
If so, then I wouldn’t be shocked to hear more about that kind of behavior from the queen.
Levi shakes his head. “No, it’s not. When we showed up at her apartment and she threw her glass was the first time I’ve ever seen her angry.”
Maxwell frowns as we continue out of the castle and onto the palace grounds. “Surely she’s been angry before.”
Levi shakes his head again, looking weary. “You don’t understand. You probably won’t unless you were there. She was . . . broken as a child. I don’t know how else to put it. She was never angry. She was honestly one of the kindest creatures I’ve ever known to exist. Especially considering the shit that her family has put her through over the years. I’ve never known Crystal to raise her voice. Yes, she fought in the past in duels before her magic came in but the only reason she survived those was because I trained her in secret. No one expected her to survive them.”
