Page 10 of The Ruthless Fae King
I stiffened, and Piper moved protectively to my side.
This was the temper he was famous for. Freezing and breaking off your own healer’s hand! It was insane. I was so confused by his behavior. Didn’t he want to make sure I was pure? I didn’t know what to think of this man. He was breaking all the rules.
“Just the written statement will suffice,” King Thorne told him.
The healer’s jaw tensed but he nodded, then he turned to face me. “Madelynn Windstrong, do you swear on the Maker that you are pure from sexual defilement?”
I swallowed hard, my cheeks heating. “I swear,” I squeaked.
He handed me a piece of paper that said as much and I signed it with a shaking hand.
As the healer was leaving, my mother and father entered the room, both smiling. Clearly they were happy with the dowry I had secured.
“Is the purity check done already?” my mom asked, seeing the healer leaving.
“It is,” the king said, not stating that I’d never been physically checked.
“Would you like to see a display of her power before it gets dark?” My father beamed. He was always so proud of my magical abilities. It was sweet.
King Thorne looked across the drawing room at me. “If Madelynn doesn’t mind. I know we have to leave early in the morning for the engagement tour, so if you are tired I understand.”
Piper and I shared a look. Why was he so considerate? Was this all an act? It didn’t make sense. The selfish and angry winter king I heard rumors about was not the man who stood before me.
I stood, straightening my back. “I’m always down to show off a little,” I exclaimed, to which my mother scoffed.
“She is rather humble, my lord, I promise,” my mother told the king nervously.
“Not when it comes to her power,” Piper said honestly, which got a chuckle from my father.
I glanced at the king to find him smirking at me. It was as if I brought him great delight with my rebellious, unladylike behavior.
We all stepped outside into the flat meadow surrounded by trees. A few of them were knocked over from the last time I’d displayed a tremendous amount of wind power.
I could feel the king standing at my back, and turned to see him a mere foot away, watching me with interest. My mother, father, and Piper, however, stood a good six feet away.
“You’re going to want to stand back further, my lord,” I told him.
His eyes glittered as if the thought that I could hurt him was asinine.
Taking my heed, he stepped back to where the others were waiting, then I drew in a deep breath. Calling the wind to me, it filtered through the trees, pulling leaves with it as it came. I started with a show of force, using the wind to pick up a fallen tree and lift the large log into the air, spinning it wildly.
The sounds of clapping came from behind me and I turned to see my mother, father, Piper and the winter king all cheering me on.
“Impressive!” King Thorne shouted.
Encouraged by the audience, I dropped the log and gathered more leaves, wanting to end the performance with a beautiful swirl of colors. Brown, orange, green, and bright yellow leaves ripped from the branches and joined the swirl of wind. A gasp of surprise came from behind me, fromrightbehind me, and I knew it was the king. My mother and father had seen this dozens of times—they could do it too, on a smaller scale. Piper wouldn’t be shocked either as she’d seen me do it often.
“You’re incredible,” King Thorne breathed, and then he was right beside me, his hands reaching out to mine. “May I?”
I didn’t know what he meant, but it would be rude to deny the king, so I nodded. And that’s when it began to snow. Not on us, or my parents, it was strictly controlled to the funnel. I watched as snowflakes dropped into my wind funnel and then were sucked into the swirling motion. The white flurry reminded me of a snowglobe toy I had when I was a child. Whenever I got angry I would shake it and watch the snow fall and it would soothe me. That was happening now. The snow and the bright leaves were in perfect sync, making a soothing spiral around the meadow. It was as if my magic and his were made for each other, and if I was honest, it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.
My parents and Piper started to clap and I dropped my hands, dissipating the wind tunnel.
“I’m famished,” I told my mother, giving King Thorne my back. Something had happened there, something I couldn’t explain and didn’t like. Or Ididlike it—too much, and that was the problem.
This man admitted a mere hour ago to killing dozens of people in the Great Freeze, and then threatened to break off his healer’s hand. I wasn’t going to let a little snow dazzle that out of my memory.
“Oh, well, alright, let’s go inside.” My mother laughed nervously as I stomped away and back towards the house.
