“You really killed her?” I asked.
Jhaeros didn’t grimace at this question. Jaw set, he nodded. “I would do anything for you, Aerith, without a moment’s hesitation.”
“Am I your sun, and star, and moon?” I asked teasingly.
This time Jhaeros scowled. “Ending her life was easier than saying those words.”
I sobered at his confession. We both frowned, the mood turning somber.
“I just want to go home,” I said, resting my head against his chest.
Jhaeros kissed the top of my head. “We’ll be home soon.”
“How?”
“After the funeral, Teryani promised to return all of us, including your sister and her friend.”
My lips could not form a sigh of relief. I shook my head slightly. “He’ll never let me go,” I said gravely. “Even now that his attentions have turned to another female. He’ll keep me in Dahlquist forever.”
“I won’t let him,” Jhaeros said firmly. “We will return home, and our baby will be born in Pinemist. Most importantly, we’ll be together.”
I wanted to believe him, but even if we made it out of Faerie, Liri now knew where I lived. It didn’t matter if I left the cottage to live with Jhaeros. The town of Pinemist was the first place Liri would send Galather and Folas to look. Plus, he’d seen Jhaeros’s face. And Mel’s. And Devdan’s.
But maybe Teryani wasn’t the only ally we had.
Maybe Hensley could somehow break through to Liri’s cold, cruel heart.
I held back a scoff.
And maybe the sun would never set, bringing light and warmth to every hour of every day.
There was no sense hoping for things that would never be.
Somehow I had to take matters into my own hands the way Jhaeros had.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Hensley
After the dining room cleared out, I sat patiently watching the footmen clear the last of the plates before wiping the table down and leaving me utterly alone. I remained in my seat, candlelight flickering over me from the candelabra in the center of the table.
Queen Naesala was dead.
I couldn’t find it in my heart to care. I hadn’t known her well. What I did know is that she’d never liked Liri. I’d heard rumors that even when he was young she’d been hard on him.
I relished her death.
Unlike back home, in the mortal world, the Fae didn’t waste time with trials. They moved forward. It was winner takes all.
Liri and I would have Queen Naesala’s kingdom, as would our heir.
At least I assumed Ravensburg would be passed on to Liri. Who else? Ryo? What a disaster that would be.
It was poetic justice for Liri to take the throne from his aunt. Perhaps he’d even plotted it. I didn’t want to know.
I shook my head.
No, Hensley, this is precisely the kind of thing you need to know. If I was to be queen, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the happenings of the court, especially not my husband-to-be’s affairs.
There were no clocks in the dining room, only the beat of my heart to tick away the time.
I half expected him to forget me. The queen was dead. Liri had important matters to attend to. Of course, he wouldn’t hasten back to me. I should get up right now and go to my rooms.
I’d wait a little longer.
Given the shocking news of the queen’s death, I was surprised when I heard Liri’s voice at the door of the dining room.
“You waited.” He sounded pleased, which made me happy I had waited.
“You told me to.”
He closed the door behind him and walked into view, smiling smugly. “Will you do anything I tell you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s find out. Hmm?” He stalked toward me. “Push your chair aside and sit on the edge of the table.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. The longer I waited, the more gleeful his look became. He already knew I’d do as he asked. It was why I’d waited here rather than fled to my chambers the moment everyone left. I wanted him. Needed him. Couldn’t get enough of him. It felt as though I’d awoken from a long slumber, experienced sunlight after years trapped in a cave.
With as much poise as I could muster, I stood up and set my chair aside before sitting on the edge of the table.
“You did well tonight,” Liri said approvingly. He looked me over as though I was a prized mare he’d selected for breeding.
He made me his fiancée, I reminded myself. I’m no mistress. I will be queen.
If only my stepfather could see me now. He’d once called me a whore. A slut. A worthless piece of garbage who would never amount to anything.
“I’m going to be a queen,” I wanted to shout into his sneering face.
“Open your legs,” Liri’s voice invaded the storm clouds in my mind.
A queen, I reminded myself. I’m going to be a queen.
Even queens had a carnal duty to perform. Especially queens. Liri needed an heir, and I wanted to give him one. I wanted to serve the kingdom of Dahlquist and the Elmrays. I especially wanted to serve my king. Liri. I never dreamed I’d attend him in this capacity, but I was just as willing as the day I’d entered the beautiful world of Faerie.
I spread my legs wide.
Liri’s eyes dilated. “I thought I preferred a female who played hard to get, but this is so much better,” he said, voice dripping with satisfaction.
I nearly fell off the edge of the table in surprise when Liri dropped to his knees in front of me. He grabbed my thighs and leaned forward.
Blood rushed between my legs.
“My king,” I gasped, feeling his hot breath at my entrance. Before I could say anything more, his mouth was on me.
I moaned, my lashes fluttering closed.
Why was he doing this? Was it my reward for dressing and doing as he’d said?
He’d told me to keep my head held high, that it would displease him if I cowered in front of his family. I’d done my best. It had been easier after he sent a maid to dress me. Thankfully, he’d listened when I asked that someone other than Aerith attend me. I didn’t mind lording my new position over his family, but not Aerith. She’d always been kind to me. I could never make her wait on me like a servant.
Liri had sent a beautiful young Fae woman to assist me instead. After she finished my hair and makeup, I’d hardly recognized myself in the mirror, which made it easier to pretend I was someone else, a desirable woman fit for a Fae king. A king currently kneeling between my legs.
When his tongue penetrated me, I cried out his name. “Liri.”
I gripped his silky head of white hair in my hands. Liri fastened his fingers around my wrists, pulling them away, pinning them to the table.
He lapped and thrust with his tongue.
“Liri. Liri. Liri.” I said his name over and over again.
Sweet Jesus. It was wrong to want him this much. Did hell exist in the Faerie realm? If so, I was surely headed straight down into the fiery pits.
No, that was my stepfather talking.
“I want to be a mother,” I rasped. I want to have your babies.
Liri paused his ministrations to look up at me with triumphant eyes of the brightest, shining silver. He loosened his hold on my wrists and stood.
“I’ll give you all the children you could ever want, sweet Hensley.”
I frowned. “Don’t call me that. That’s what you called Aerith.”
Liri chuckled and freed the hair I’d tucked behind my ear, sweeping it until it covered my rounded lobe. “Jealous?” he asked gleefully.
When I pursed my lips, he chuckled again and unfastened his trousers.
Once embedded deep inside me, he leaned closer, whispering inside my ear. “You have no need to be jealous, darling Hensley. I am not my brother. I am not weak. I will not stray.”
My heart beat rapidly inside my chest, pounding with longing and hope.
This was the second chance, the new beginning I had
n’t dared dream of.
I would be the attentive mother I never had. And Liri, for all his cruel, murderous ways, protected those he cherished. He seemed to value family above all else so long as his close circle remained loyal to him.
I trusted him when he said he would be faithful, though there was one thing he hadn’t offered.
His heart.
I hoped, rather than believed, a child would change that.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Melarue
Beautiful Fae clad in black filled the throne room at Ravensburg’s castle. The males wore fancy trousers and fitted jackets. The females wore all manner of dresses that clung to their lithe bodies and shimmered with dark jewels. Black feathers, lace, tulle, and ruffles adorned their gowns. It was like no funeral I’d ever imagined.
Devdan and I stood beside Aerith near the open casket with the rest of the Elmray family. The throne sat empty on the dais just above the casket.
I wore tight black pants and a black blouse. Beside me, Aerith was dressed in an off-the-shoulder long-sleeved gown that fanned out past her knees. Her hair was parted down the middle and pulled back into a wide black hair clip adorned with black crepe flowers.
Jastra’s teal hair had been tied back, and her flat belly was exposed beneath a tight black corset. She wore a long, wispy skirt with slits up both legs.
Sarfina’s blonde-and-gold hair was pulled up and tucked into a delicate veil that covered her forehead. Her black dress had lace sleeves and a full lace skirt.
Hensley was as scantily clad as Liri’s sisters. I hardly recognized the innocent human I’d first met upon arriving in Faerie. She stood beside King Liri, who wore a shiny black crown with sharp spikes that jutted like castle spires on the sides.
I felt like I was attending a macabre costume party. In fact, there was a masquerade ball taking place after the funeral tonight. I’d never understand the Fae.
An older male with a wrinkled face and gray hair stepped onto the dais and cleared his throat, the sound rumbling around the large room. I guessed he must have been using magic. The gathering quickly quieted.
“Today we lift our heads in memory of a great queen.” He paused, allowing the gathering to look up toward the tall ceiling.
I slid a glance at Devdan. He smirked and nearly made me burst into laughter. I quickly bit my tongue and stared up, which was yet another Fae novelty. Maybe it was only for royalty. Where I came from, we bowed our heads in respect, but whatever. This wasn’t my realm.
“We honor the beautiful female who ruled the kingdom of Ravensburg. We give praise for her governance. We mourn her loss the way we would mourn a mother’s, a sister’s, a child’s, a lover’s. Her life meant more to us than our own existence.”
“Speak for yourself,” I muttered.
“Shh,” Devdan scolded, but his eyes lit up with mirth.
A certain giddiness had taken hold of us the moment we learned Liri had found someone other than my sister to obsess over. Aerith said Teryani would get us back home tonight, during the masquerade ball. The new queen wasn’t so bad after all. But Jhaeros impressed me the most. Aerith had filled me in on the foreplay turned to foul play. I had to admit that was some total badassery on his part. Jhaeros had killed a freaking queen of Faerie! I couldn’t call him boring any longer.
He stood at the casket, his back to the crowd, playing the part of the bereft lover until the very end.
It struck me as ironic that after trying to save him from the Fae the day we left Pinemist, he’d been the one to rescue all of us.
I mean, I would have found a way out eventually. Jhaeros’s approach was simply more resourceful. Big surprise. Mr. Efficiency. Yep, my soon-to-be brother-in-law, ladies and gents.
I sorta loved him now. As a brother. Obviously.
I mean, he was making me an aunt! It made me feel so grown up.
“I’m surprised you’re not saying ‘ew,’” Aerith had said after I’d jumped in the air and whooped when she told me.
To which I informed her, “There is nothing ew, only cu-te, about a baby.”
I planned to teach my little niece or nephew so many cool battle moves. I wondered what age was old enough to hold a sword. I was going to be the best aunt, way better than Shalendra.
In between my eager thoughts, the crusty old Fae droned on about the wonder that had been Queen Naesala.
“How come he doesn’t have to look up?” I complained, to which Devdan shushed me once more. “I’m getting a crick,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Hang in there, Mel,” Aerith whispered without looking over.
In the past, it had seemed weird to think of her as a princess, but since observing her in Faerie, I was struck by her poise and grace. Cirrus had never deserved her, and neither did Liri, but I could understand why my sister had captivated them. She was a rare beauty and kind soul and—you guessed it—badass.
“At this rate, you’ll be giving birth in Ravensburg,” I said, maybe a little too loudly judging by the glare Sarfina cut my way.
I lifted my brows, silently daring the spiteful blonde to argue with me. Her eyes narrowed sharply. Then she turned to face the droning speaker.
“And so, with heavy hearts, we send Queen Naesala’s spirit to the sky realm, which will shine brighter with this royal soul we send from Faerie.” The male lifted his hands above his head. Everyone around me did the same.
Rolling my eyes, I stretched my arms, yawning as I did.
Devdan kicked my boot.
“Hey,” I said, dropping my arms. I kicked him back.
He smirked.
“And now it is my great honor to welcome our new queen,” the old male said. Finally. “Teryani, former princess of Dahlquist and beloved daughter of the royal Elmray family, please step forward and accept your throne.”
I lifted onto my tiptoes, trying to spot Teryani. I hadn’t seen her during the service. Two guards marched out from a side entrance into the throne room, taking up places on either side of the dais. Then Teryani swept into view, commanding the attention of all those present.
I’d never seen her wear any color other than white. On this day, she wore a high-collared dress that draped down her arms and all the way to the floor. It looked like an elegant cloak with black feathers lining the inside of the wide collar framing her face. Her white hair had been braided into a crown at the top of her head. Smoky-gray powder dusted her eyelids, and her lips were stained a matted deep red.
A hush fell over the throne room as Teryani approached the casket, looking like Lady Death come to consume the old queen. She reached inside and pulled out a large gold ring with an oval sunstone that glinted as she slid it onto her finger.
Ew. I kept my disgust to myself. Teryani looked scary in black.
Next, she retrieved a solid gold crown and held it in front of herself like a shield at the beginning of a great battle.
When Teryani pivoted, her cloaklike black gown swished through the air like a raven swooping in on a prize. She handed the crown to the male officiating the ceremony, then made her way up to the dais. The male followed her, waiting until Teryani had taken her seat on the throne. She jutted her chin in a regal gesture.
He cleared his throat again. “It is my great honor to stand before the friends and citizens of Ravensburg and crown our new queen: Queen Teryani. All hail the queen.” As the crown was set on Teryani’s head, echoes of “all hail the queen” swept across the throne room.
The male who had crowned Teryani came down and closed the casket. Then he beckoned four guards who came forward and hoisted the coffin from its stone pedestal. An aisle formed in the crowd as they carried it out.
The Elmray family was the first to be summoned onto the dais to kiss the royal ring on Queen Teryani’s finger, including my sister. A slow line formed after them.
I turned frantically to Devdan, my eyes expanding. “Please tell me we don’t have to kiss the corpse ring?”
Devdan’s face screwed up in di
sgust. “We’re not her subjects. We’re not even Fae. Plus, ew.”
“Right?” I said.
Devdan took my hand in his and pulled me out of the line that had formed behind us. He tugged me gently, walking backward slowly. He ducked down and darted through the sea of black gowns and tailcoats, taking me with him. I stifled a giggle, reminded of the time we’d fled the commissioner at the market back home.
We weaved through the crowd, escaping into the corridor where lesser Fae waited to get inside the throne room to kiss their new queen’s corpse ring.
“Teryani will be late to her own masquerade,” I noted.
“What should we do while we wait?” Devdan asked.
“Explore, of course!” I gripped his hand and tugged him down the hall. “I heard you can see all the way to Dahlquist from the watchtower.”
Devdan chuckled when I pulled him behind me. The crowd thinned as we rushed along the stone corridor. When the hall bisected into three directions, I marched up to a guard positioned against the wall.
“Excuse me, which way to the watchtower?”
The Fae guard glowered at me. “The watchtower is for guards.”
“We’re Princess Aerith’s guards,” I answered, beaming.
“Guards of Ravensburg,” the guard amended curtly.
“What about the queen’s family?” I asked. “She’s my sister’s sister-in-law, which makes Teryani my—” I paused, searching my brain before casting Devdan a look for help.
“Queen,” the guard furnished.
“Actually, we’re not from around here.”
The guard folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.
Devdan took me by the shoulders and steered me toward the hallway to the left. “But it’s been a pleasure visiting this beautiful realm. Lovely scenery you have. Excellent cuisine and wine.” He lifted one hand off my shoulder to kiss his fingers. After we turned the corner, he added for my ears alone, “Though the natives aren’t particularly friendly.”
I snickered. “I still want to find the watchtower.”
“Of course you do.” Devdan shook his head, but there was a smile on his lips. He totally wanted to see it too.
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