Page 28 of The Ruthless Fae King
I peered at Marcelle, who looked positively delighted with the turn of events, and panic started to rise up in me.
The winter king stepped away from the table and walked over to the woman as every single person in the room went stock still.
Don’t hurt her, I prayed to the Maker. I didn’t know Lucien well enough to tell what he would do. But he did have a temper and she’d just screamed at him. I was clenching Piper’s hand so tightly that it probably hurt, but I couldn’t move.
When Lucien finally stood before the woman, we all watched in fear for what he might do. Marcelle’s fingers twitched as if he was ready to use magic against his own king any moment.
But what Lucien did next caused the tears to spill over onto my cheeks.
He knelt before her, resting on his knee and bowing his head deeply. “I bow to you now, my lady. Please accept my humble apology. I was a young boy with too much power and no control. I didn’t think in your grief that you would want to hear the excuses of that young boy in a letter, or to see his face, so I just stayed away.”
The woman’s bottom lip quivered as she stared down at the winter king kneeling on one knee before her. She looked to be in shock. Her eyes misted over and she swallowed hard.
After a few moments, she tapped his shoulder. He glanced up at her and then she leaned in and whispered something in his ear. I couldn’t hear it from here, but it caused him to rise, and they embraced.
It was a beautiful moment, the best I could have hoped for, and I wished he’d done the same in my court and in Spring.
I looked over at Piper and smiled.
“No!” Marcelle slammed his fist on the table, causing my glass to fall over and gush water on my plate. Marcelle stood, and the room was suddenly sweltering with heat. “You’re going to listen to the carefully orchestrated lies of this madman!” Marcelle screamed to his people. “He admits he lost control. You want to follow a king who can’t even control his power? What happens the next time he gets mad? We have an eternal winter? More die!” Some of the Summer people nodded in agreement, but the majority kept silent.
Lucien looked like he’d been slapped. Here he was giving a genuine apology, confronting his demons, which I’d asked him to do, and Marcelle was twisting it.
“He’s not my king,” Marcelle said boldly, and tipped his chin high.
That’s when a torrent of rage exploded within me.
“How dare you!” I shouted, standing so fast that the chair I had been sitting in fell backwards. The window at the far end of the room shattered and a strong wind burst into the room, throwing all of the flowers and light cloth napkins into the air. People gasped and watched in shock as I pulled a small wind tunnel around Marcelle. “You will not disrespect the king like that and live,” I declared. “What you have said is treason! You have forgotten your place, Marcelle Haze!”
My words mixed with the wind, making them sound thunderous as they moved around the room. Marcelle looked genuinely terrified, realizing he’d gone too far. It made me wonder how often he spoke like this, to let it slip before the king himself. This was the making of an uprising. No wonder he wanted to separate the realms. The difference between Lucien and I was that I had complete control over my power. This little display was on purpose, and I wanted every single person present to know it. The wind funnel followed Marcelle as he backed up, his hair and clothing being tossed around him.
“Kneel and pledge your loyalty to Lucien Thorne, king of Winter, leader of Thorngate and of all fae,” I seethed, “or I will tear the skin from your body layer by layer.”
Gasps of shock filled the room. I no longer cared that this wasn’t proper behavior for a lady. Lucien wasn’t perfect but hewasour leader, our king, and to disrespect him in front of a room of courtiers like that was not something I would stand for. Lucien suddenly appeared beside me, standing before Marcelle.
I had no idea what he thought of my current behavior and I didn’t care. Marcelle would kneel or I was well within my right to prosecute him for treason.
Marcelle looked to me, then to the king, and he fell to one knee, bowing his head deeply. Relief rushed through me and I stopped the wind all at once and it became eerily silent.
“Forgive me, King. I drank too much wine and forgot my place,” Marcelle said, his voice shaking a little. He’d had no wine.
Lucien stared at Marcelle on his knee, head bowed, and said nothing for a full minute. It was as if he was soaking the moment in. No one in the room moved. We were all waiting to hear the fate of the man who’d just spoken such treasonous words.
“You may rise and keep your life,” Lucien said, and the courtiers around us sighed in relief.
I was angry for a moment with that decision, but then I realized Lucien was playing a longer game here, to win the hearts of the Summer Court. If he had killed Marcelle it would have squashed the separation petition, but an uprising would happen eventually. They would hate him even more.
Lucien turned to the crowd and then looked at me. “I’m quite a lucky man, am I not? To have a woman fight for respect on my behalf?”
The room chuckled nervously at the topic change and the tension broke. Some women smiled adoringly at us, and the men nodded their agreement with Lucien. Then Lucien hooked arms with mine. “We will leave you now, but we hope to see you at our wedding.” We both spun, and together walked quickly out of the room, with Piper trailing behind.
My heart was in my throat the entire walk through the palace. There were servants down every hallway so I couldn’t say a word or ask him anything in private. I was nearly shaking by the time we reached his front doorstep tucked into the garden with the night sky around us.
Would he be mad? Had I completely overstepped? Did he hate me for sticking up for him when he so clearly could do it himself? Had I made him look weak?
Piper was in the garden sitting on the bench under the moonlight, and we were finally alone. I looked up at Lucien, hoping he would just say something, anything. But he just watched me with those stormy gray eyes.
“My king, I’m sorry if—” My words were cut off when his lips pressed against mine. I gasped and he swallowed the sound. His hands came up to cup my face and my shock gave way to desire. My lips parted and he inserted his tongue, causing me to moan. One second I was standing in front of the door and then next he spun, moving me so that my back was pressedagainstthe door. His thumb trailed down my neck as our tongues stroked each other. Heat traveled down my chest and settled between my legs. I never wanted this kiss to stop. It was raw and full of passion, in a way I’d never felt before outside of my beloved romance novels.
