Page 42 of The Ruthless Fae King
Her childlike innocence hurt my chest in that moment. Because it reminded me of myself a few days ago.
“I don’t need a lady-in-waiting. I’m never leaving this room.” I fell back into the bed and rolled over to give her my back. If I was going to be forced to bed Marcelle and then be locked up like a prisoner with my powers bound, then I wouldn’t let him insult me with a lady-in-waiting like I was some honored guest of the palace or a real wife.
I could hear her swallow hard, and for a full moment she didn’t say a word. I believed I’d stunned her and I felt badly if I hurt her feelings, but I couldn’t play Marcelle’s games and live with myself.
The bed dipped then, and suddenly she was hovering over me, her mouth to my ear. “The vote was held overnight. Summer, Spring, and Fall have separated from Winter. Marcelle is the new king of Hazeville, and once your coronation is held you will be our queen.”
I wasn’t sure I could be shocked any more until that very moment. A whimper lodged in my throat and I couldn’t keep the sob from escaping. My father voted to leave Thorngate. Lucien just lost three courts… if the queen attacked… Winter would be overwhelmed.
Her hand rested on my arm and squeezed lightly. “I overheard King Marcelle talking to an advisor. He said he wants tabs kept on your mother and sister, that if you do not cooperate in this new role as his wife and queen… he will make them have an…accident.”
I whipped around so fast that she jumped backwards.
“Why are you telling me this?” I looked at her skeptically, my mind racing as I thought up all the ways Marcelle could hurt my mother and sister. I shouldn’t have fought back last night, it was stupid of me, but it wasn’t in my nature to just lie down and take injustice with a smile.
She sighed. “I was serving in the dining hall the night you arrived with King Thorne. I was taken with his genuine apology, and I don’t agree with how Marcelle has handled things. You were already promised to King Thorne and he just… it’s clear you are here against your will and that doesn’t sit right with me.”
It seemed that against all odds, I had one ally in this place. I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
She gave me a small smile. “Hopefully, I can make your time here as our queen more comfortable.”
Time here as our queen. Alifetime. That’s how long I would be here. I had married Marcelle Haze and it still hadn’t set in.
How the Hades had all of this happened so quickly? Did Lucien know yet? Surely word reached him about the separation. To know that three of your four territories had betrayed you would kill him, but not as much as me not showing up for our wedding.
A sob formed in my throat and I fell back into the pillow. A warm comforting hand was on my back then and I sniffled, pulling up from the pillow to look Birdie in the eyes. “Have you heard anything about King Thorne?”
She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Now that we’ve separated, no messengers are getting in or out of Winter. Fall and Spring have closed their borders and Winter is now considered… an enemy.”
I gasped. “An enemy? The king who has kept us safe for years and we make him an enemy?”
Shame burned into her cheeks as she cast her face down. “No one wants war with the Nightfall queen. Marcelle made a deal—”
“I know about the deal.” I sat up and looked down at my new lady-in-waiting. She was only a few years younger than me and yet seemed so much more naïve. “Do you really think Zaphira will spare us? The queen who has publicly declared her desire to wipe all magical creatures from Avalier?”
Birdie swallowed hard. “I suspect not.”
“No. Marcelle bought you time. That’s all. And in that time the Nightfall queen will grow stronger than ever before,” I growled. “Marcelle has doomed you all.”
We didn’t speak again after that. She went about tidying my new room quietly and then gave me a bath and brushed my hair.
I liked her, I did, but I wanted Piper. I wondered if my dearest friend had gone to Winter Court and told Lucien what happened. Did she even know what happened? Surely she’d seen Marcelle bring me out in cuffs and throw me into a carriage with the sun crest emblem. It wasn’t that hard to speculate. I wondered if Lucien lashed out in anger that I’d taken another man, his rival, and then had sent her away. I wondered if possibly Piper would come for me here to at least live by my side as I walked through this new Hades of a life.
But no, the borders were closed as Birdie just said. No one would be getting to me. I felt the tears spring up again and bit them back. The time for crying was over. Now was time to plot my way out of here.
Three things I was sure of.
I loved Lucien Thorne. He would never forgive me for marrying Marcelle and giving him my purity, but I couldn’t betray Lucien by playing queen to his enemy.
I had to get out of here and get my mother and sister into Winter Court, where I would beg Lucien to protect us. Even if I had to be stripped of my title and work as a handmaiden to whatever new wife he chose.
In order to accomplish all of this, I needed to kill Marcelle Haze.
With my newfound plan mapped out, I decided playing nice was the easiest way to get Marcelle to trust me again. Maybe he would even uncuff me and allow me to have my power back. Then I could use it to suck the air from his lungs until he turned blue and died. Something I now daydreamed of every moment.
My other idea was to smuggle a knife into my room, then request a night alone with him, to bed him. But he was stronger than me, and I was afraid he would wrestle the knife from my grip and then he’d never trust me again.
No, I had to play the long game and get him to uncuff me, releasing my power back.
