Page 45 of The Ruthless Fae King
ELEVEN
Birdie had to come in twice in the night to stoke the fire in my room and add another log. It was cold, though not enough to kill. It was like Lucien wanted the entire realm to know he was angry that they’d left him and separated, and that he still had control over them whether they liked it or not.
I barely slept, tossing and turning, waiting for Lucien to arrive and save me—to march in and tell me he still wanted me and he didn’t care if I was defiled and married to another man.
But he never came, and those thoughts weren’t realistic. So by morning I put on a heavy wool cloak and walked down to the dining hall. My door was no longer locked I was pleased to find, but the cuffs were still on, so I was definitely still a prisoner.
Marcelle was at the table already eating when I entered.
“Sorry it’s late. I barely slept.” I yawned for effect. As if not getting up early to eat with him truly bothered me.
He waved me off, looking annoyed. “Who can sleep with this chill? How that monster lives in the constant cold is beyond me.”
I swallowed hard. Clearly Marcelle wasn’t too happy with the weather either. “Can you warm things up? Bring out the sun?” I questioned.
Marcelle shot me a look. “Of course I can. But I don’t want to deplete my power just so everyone can go outside and play.”
Hmm interesting. I wasn’t aware power depletion was an issue for him. I’d never run out of power. There was always wind around; air was everywhere. But when the sun went down or was hidden with clouds, it must render Marcelle weak. Did Lucien know that? Was that why he’d brought on the cold spell? Did he make the clouds roll in to cover the sun and weaken Marcelle?
“Understood.” I sat down and began to butter a roll. “Any word on the Winter Soldiers at the border?”
Marcelle stared at me with slight suspicion and I rolled my eyes. “You can’t tell me that my homelands are being attacked and not give me news! Fall and Spring are holding off Winter! Those are my people.”
He relaxed a little. “The three courts fought Winter off all night and they retreated. They are no match for all three courts working together.”
Just like the four courts working against the Nightfall queen would be no match, I wanted to say. He didn’t want war and yet he’d still gotten one. How ironic.
“I’ve made an appointment for you to meet with the palace jeweler after breakfast. He’s made a crown for your coronation and you can take whatever other jewels catch your eye. My mother had exquisite taste.”
The mention of his late mother reminded me of his brother, Mateo. “Where is Mateo? I haven’t seen him,” I said, wondering if maybe they chose to live separately or he’d gotten married, though he would be quite young for that.
The corner of Marcelle’s mouth ticked. “He was too rebellious, so I had to send him away for re-education.”
Re-education. Too rebellious? It sounded like Marcelle had changed since I’d seen him at Midsummer Festival all those years ago, and though I cried to my father for marrying me off to Lucien when I thought he was a monster… it was clear that the real monster was sitting right in front of me.
* * *
I feltnumb throughout the entire coronation. Fake smiles, false thank yous on the good wishes given to our union. It made me sick. With each passing moment I hated Marcelle more and more. I kept asking myself, how did I get here? It had gone too far and I’d played along too well to turn back now. I was stuck and constantly worrying about my mother and sister’s wellbeing, so I didn’t fight back. I stayed the course.
Get Marcelle to trust me enough to take these cuffs off,was my mantra.
I vowed in that moment to take sword training after I was free of here. I never wanted to feel so helpless again. Without my power I was weak. I hated to admit it but it was the truth.
As the crown was placed on my head and I took an oath to lead a people who had come against the man I loved, I died inside just a little bit. I had officially just become Lucien’s enemy.
After taking as many blessings as I could handle, I then begged Marcelle to let me go for a walk.
“I’d like to see the townspeople and check out the shops. Make myself known to those who couldn’t come today.” Really, I just needed to get the Hades out of here. I wanted to be alone, to breathe the fresh air no matter how cold it was.
Everyone at the coronation was bundled up. Lucien’s cold still plagued our land but it wasn’t enough to hurt, just enough to not let you forget Lucien was mad about the separation.
Marcelle looked out at the thinning crowd as people made their way home, and then back at me.
I raised my cuffed hands. “I promise not to get into any trouble,” I said sweetly.
He was quiet, and I hated that he had all the power.
“Am I really asking permission to go for a walk, Marcelle?” I growled then. “Am I your new wife and queen or aprisoner?”
