Page 18 of Vicious Kings
The patterns keep my mind sharp. And they stop me from drowning in the luxury they're trying to suffocate me with.
The door opens without warning. Dr. Helwood enters first, those purple eyes sweeping the room like he's checking for signs of mischief. Behind him follows someone new.
The stranger looks young, maybe mid-twenties in human years, but he's Fae so he's probably older than the compounditself. His hair falls past his shoulders in waves of gold. He's wearing silk robes with subtle embroidery that shifts between colors I don't have names for. His eyes are the pale blue of winter ice, and they study me with an intensity that makes my skin crawl.
"Miss Moreau," Dr. Helwood says, and I hate how he makes my name sound like poetry. "This is Lord Lefrent, Steward of Omega Affairs for the kingdom."
Steward of Omega Affairs.Fancy title for someone who manages breeding stock.
Lord Lefrent inclines his head slightly, a gesture that somehow manages to be both polite and condescending. "Miss Moreau. I trust you're feeling better?"
"Peachy," I reply, not bothering to hide my sarcasm. "Really loving the luxury prison vibe you've got going here."
Dr. Helwood's lips thin, but Lord Lefrent actually smiles. It's not a nice smile. More like the kind of smile a cat gives a mouse it's decided to play with before dinner.
"Would you care to join me for a walk?" he asks, gesturing toward the door. "Fresh air might do you good, assuming you're feeling well enough."
It's not really a question. These past few days, I've learned that Fae don't really ask questions. They make suggestions that sound like requests but carry the weight of commands.
Still, I've been dying to get out of this room for something other than the supervised strolls they've been allowing me.
"Sure," I say, standing and trying not to grimace at the robes they've dressed me in. The fabric is soft as water and light as air, but it makes me feel naked. Vulnerable. Nothing like my hunting leathers that were basically a second skin. These robes float around me like I'm some kind of ethereal being instead of a trained killer playing dress-up. "Lead the way, my Lord Lefort."
"Lefrent," he corrects. His smile widens, showing teeth that are just a little too sharp to be human. "But please, call me Aurelius. We needn't stand on ceremony."
Right. Because we're such good friends already.
The gardens are, annoyingly, even more beautiful in the afternoon light. Paths wind between flowers that definitely don't exist in the human realm, their petals shifting through colors that make my eyes water if I look too long. Fountains tinkle with water that seems to flow upward in some places, defying physics with the usual Fae arrogance. The air smells like honey, sweet with an electric undertone that keeps me on edge.
We walk in silence for a few minutes, Lefrent setting a leisurely pace that makes me want to scream. I feel the guards trailing us at a respectful distance, their presence a constant reminder that there is no freedom here. This is just a longer leash.
"So," I say, because I'm tired of playing games. "What are you going to do with me?"
He glances at me sideways, those ice-blue eyes glinting with amusement. "Direct. I appreciate that quality in humans. So many of your kind prefer to dance around their intentions."
"Yeah, well, I was raised by people who believe in cutting straight to the heart of things." Literally, in most cases. "So? Am I getting auctioned off to the highest bidder? Shipped to some breeding facility? Given a nice collar and taught to heel?"
"Such colorful imagination," he murmurs. "Tell me, Billie, how did you come to be in our woods? It's quite unusual for an omega to be wandering alone, especially one in heat."
I stop walking, crossing my arms over my chest. The movement makes the robes shift just enough to be irritating.
No telling how much Dr. Helwood told him. Probably everything. This could be a test to see if I'll lie.
"Isn't it obvious? My resonance was revealed at my Unmasking. Turns out the hunter they trained to kill your kind was actually meant to breed with them. Funny how life works out."
"And your family's response to this revelation?"
The words taste bitter, but I force them out. "They dumped me in the woods like garbage. Figured nature would take care of their embarrassment one way or another."
His expression shifts, and for a moment I think I see genuine shock flicker across those perfect features. "They abandoned you? A newly manifested omega?"
"Why wouldn't they?" The bitterness in my voice isn't entirely fake. They did abandon me, just with more purpose than I'm letting on. "I know Helwood told you I'm a hunter."
His silence speaks volumes. He just continues giving me that annoyingly sage look, as if waiting for me to continue.
"Omegas might be useful to you, but to us, they're the curse that allows your kind to continue to exist," I add. "Any other clan would have killed me the second they found out what I was."
"And yet yours spared your life," he remarks.
