Page 16 of The Ruthless Fae King
“Sheera, is your father going to try to overthrow King Thorne?”
Her face went stony still as if she were assessing me, no longer looking at me as a dear friend but more as the newly betrothed queen to who I was now realizing was her family’s enemy.
“We should go to dinner. I don’t want to keep my father waiting,” she said, and then pulled me from the room.
My heart dropped into my stomach at her dismissal of my question. I knew that by being close to Winter’s border, my father naturally aligned with King Thorne on most things, but did that mean that Spring and Summer were going to stage a coup? My mind spun with this information as we walked the halls of Spring Court to the large dining room. A few days ago I wouldn’t have minded learning this new information, but today… I was torn.
When we entered the dining hall, the duke and duchess of Spring turned to greet us. Lucien sat at the head of the table, in the place of honor, and I noticed the seat beside him was empty, for me.
Piper was gone, which meant she’d either been asked to stay away or had chosen to do so. I didn’t blame her. She and Sheera never really got along.
Sheera’s mother, Petra, stood to kiss my cheek. “Madelynn, it’s been too long since we’ve hosted you. What a surprise to find out about the upcoming nuptials.”
Her careful wording was interesting. She called it a surprise but not a joyous one. Could I blame her? Our families were close and Lucien was hated across the fae realm. She was probably terrified for me.
“Thank you, Petra.” I kissed her cheek back. We were long past the Mr. and Mrs. or Princess this and that. We’d been on a first name basis since I was ten.
“Well, what King Thorne wants, King Thorne gets,” Sheera’s father, Barrett, said.
Another dig.
“Yes, and don’t you forget it.” Lucien raised his water glass and sent a chilling glare at the duke.
This is not going well.
“I think we will make a good pairing, and the realm will benefit from our partnership,” I said in the most diplomatic way possible. I barely knew the guy; I couldn’t say that I loved him or was excited to marry him. It would be untrue, and obvious that I was trying to quell the rising discomfort in the room. Lucien locked eyes with me and nodded.
“I agree. Two of the most powerful fae ruling over the kingdom. What more could the people want?”
I knew he was partly marrying me for my power, but hearing him say it like that did make me think of what Sheera had just said in her room. She looked at me as if to emphasize her point. I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a seat next to the king.
“The people want continued peace, Your Highness,” Duke Barrett said. “Rumors of war with the Nightfall queen have made their way to us, and I have to be bold and say that the people of Spring and Summer want nothing to do with that.”
My entire body flinched at his boldness. I looked to Lucien, who set his glass down and glared at Barret. “You speak for Summer now too, Barrett?”
The room suddenly plunged twenty degrees as a chill formed in the air.
Barrett shifted in his seat. “Well, no, but we’ve communicated on this issue and we are in agreement.”
Lucien nodded. “Well,I’mking, and if I think we need to go to war, you will mount your horse and ride at my side or I will have you imprisoned for treason.”
Holy Maker, he just said that out loud. I was again witnessing his famous temper, but I hadn’t expected it to be aimed at my dear friend’s father. Still, he didn’t raise his voice, or stab anyone in the chest with ice. No one’s tongue was cut out. He was a king asserting his dominance over someone in his realm. Could I blame him? What Barrett said was cowardice. If we went to war, we would need all four courts’ help.
“I thought this was supposed to be a celebratory dinner for our engagement. No more talk of war, okay?” I dropped my voice into the syrupy sweet range that I used when I wanted something from my father, and the men’s glaring session broke as they both smiled tightly at me.
Petra raised her glass. “To the newly engaged couple. Long may you reign.”
We all clinked glasses and then tucked into the most awkward dinner of my life. Silence, clanking forks, talk of the weather which was completely controlled by the men at the table, and more silence. After an hour, everyone feigned exhaustion and we all shut ourselves away into our rooms. By the time I got back to my sleeping quarters I was so glad to see Piper. She looked to have just finished unpacking my things in the bedroom. There was an adjoining guest room next door that she could sleep in.
“How was it?” she asked brightly as I entered.
“Pretty awful,” I admitted as I kicked off my shoes and turned for her to unzip my dress.
“Oh no, what happened?” she inquired as she pulled the zipper down and I stepped out of my gown.
I told her about the conversation I’d had with Sheera in hushed tones as she drew me a bath. Sitting there in my undergarments, I then told her what the king had said when Barrett mentioned he didn’t want war.
Piper shrugged. “Can you blame the king? He needs one hundred percent loyalty. If he calls for a war and there is dissent, lives will be lost on our side as the battle would be weak.”
