Page 7 of The Ruthless Fae King
“I’ve heard the stories about you,” I told him. “You’re a cruel man who is unkind to staff members, and severely punishes people for the smallest infraction. I would be lying if I said I was excited to be your betrothed.”
There, I’d done it. I was completely honest to him, and allowed there to be no pretenses between us that I was going to be some doting wife who was in love with him. It was a bold thing to say to a king, and I awaited his angry response.
Instead, the bastard just smiled at my verbal account of his reputation.
I crossed my arms and pinned him with a glare. “Andfurthermore, I’m not interested in giving you children right away, so you will have to wait until I am ready.”
His gaze went half lidded and he licked his lips as if imagining having children with me.
Heat traveled to my cheeks and I flushed. “And I will not bed you unless we are making a child. You can take a mistress, or a whore, I don’t care.” I tipped my chin high, then a bark of laughter erupted from his throat.
The sound shook me. It was deep and gravelly and filled the entire room.
“Are you laughing at me?” My hands balled into fists and a light gust of wind filled the drawing room, causing the fire in the hearth to increase its flame.
A sudden flurry of snow drifted into the hearth, down the chimney and dropped onto the fire, causing it to crackle.
Was he displaying his power because I had? What the Hades was this? Were we in some sort of showdown?
He just watched me, smiling and seemingly entertained as I wrestled with all of my emotions.
Reaching up, he grabbed his heart. “I think I just fell in love.”
I rolled my eyes, groaning as the wind died out in an instant. Was this man going to be an insufferable charmer the entire time?
“I tell you that I think you are a horrible person and you fall in love with me?” I asked. “You sound unstable.”
He stepped forward quickly, causing my heart to quicken as he suddenly strode to within two inches of me. “I’m not known for being stable, am I?” he whispered, his warm breath washing over me.
Holy Maker.
I stepped back a pace, looking towards Piper in panic, but she was statue-still, an observer. She played the role well when she needed to, but we would no doubt be talking about this for days when we were alone.
He took another step, closing the distance I had just gained, and lowered his voice. “I have a confession to make,” he murmured.
My heart was in my throat and I swallowed hard. “What?” I breathed.
Why did he have to be so handsome?
He looked down at my lips, and then at my throat before finally meeting my eyes. “I saw you in the meadow by your house last full moon. I was traveling with some of my soldiers in the woods. We were searching for a lost hunting dog. You were dancing in the garden with your sister and…” He took in a deep breath, reaching out to catch a lock of my red hair. “I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I knew then I had to have you.”
It was as if all of the air had been sucked from the room. I couldn’t breathe. What was happening? The evil king was… complimenting me?
“Name your price, Madelynn Windstrong, because there isn’t a piece of gold in the realm I wouldn’t pay to be able to wake up next to you each morning.” He smiled sweetly then and I had to swallow a whimper. It was the sweetest thing a man had ever said to me and… it was coming from the bastard who’d caused my family so much pain in the past. I didn’t know what to say or feel. I was… at odds with myself. What I had initially assumed were a charmer’s flirtations had quickly become a serious confession.
“When you first became king and you brought the Great Freeze across the entire land, my grandmother died,” I blurted out.
A darkness cast over his face and I almost regretted saying it. I was already getting used to his smile.
I was now staring at a man devoid of all emotion. He’d retreated somewhere, a place I couldn’t follow, a place I didn’t want to follow.
“I’m sorry I killed her,” he stated. “Others too. Thirty-seven people died in Summer Court that night. Twelve in Spring. They weren’t prepared for that kind of cold.”
My brows knotted together as he confessed the horrible things he’d done without an ounce of emotion.
“You admit it?” We’d never gotten an apology or explanation. Just an extreme cold that ripped across the land and the next day it was back to normal.
“I do.” He stood tall, his back erect and his chin up, his smile gone. “My powers are tied to my emotions. Same as yours. I couldn’t control them.” He was speaking about a moment ago when I couldn’t keep the wind from entering the room.
