Page 58 of Fae Unleashed
She squeezed my face one last time. Her claws pierced my skin right before she released me and stepped away. The woman vanished, stepping in-between like she was made of nothing more than air that got swept out the window.
Rhoan rushed to catch me before my knees gave out. I cursed myself for not having tighter wards. I had no idea what I was doing, but it felt like everything I did was wrong. As Rhoan cradled my slumped form, I stared at the pile of ash that had been the leshy.
The wind stole pieces of him, carrying the dust away before I could think to pick him up. I had someone bring us a small chest. We placed the ashes into the box and set him down to rest.
A scream built in my throat.
I’d promised them safety. Here, of all places, I should have protected them.
Yet, Beryl had played with my mind. The woman dangled a tempting offer before my face right when it was all starting to be too much.
It didn’t help when Rhoan pulled me back into his arms again. I wanted to sink into him and hold him tight, but I knew that it would only be for the moment. No matter what happened, Rhoan was there. He was within reach, and yet so far away.
I could hold, but I could never have.
“What is she going to do?” someone whispered in the crowd.
“Do you think she’s going to leave us?” another whispered.
I could feel Ostara and Foxglove watching me. Their eyes bore daggers into my back. They were waiting for me to cave. Instead of helping, they circled like bored vultures.
Right when I thought I couldn’t handle this, Ostara came up and put a hand on my back. She smoothed my hair away from my face and offered a tight, yet scared smile. For a moment, I thought she feared me and what I’d become. It took me several heartbeats to realize she was afraid that I’d give in.
Ostara had said it herself; she never wanted to rule anything. She wanted to sit in the lap of luxury. Ostara needed me, because if I folded, then she would have to go back to making decisions. It wasn’t the most comforting thought.
“You’re stronger than anyone I have ever met,” Ostara said, to my surprise.
I sat up straight while still keeping Rhoan’s shirt fisted in my hand. Ostara’s smile softened. Her demeanor became much less strained and more open.
She let my white curl fall through her fingers and said, “Your mother was an amazing person, but she never would have shown this much resilience. She folded to her sister, and that’s what got us in this mess.”
My mother gave in to Beryl?
I became consumed with questions, but I didn’t dare ask them here and now in front of everyone still watching. Foxglove’s gaze still lingered on my back. I made a mental note to remind Tal that his boyfriend was sketchy, but otherwise said nothing.
“No one stands up to Beryl like that,” someone in the crowd said.
An echo of agreements circled the room. I couldn’t say that I stood up to her. Beryl had almost gotten the best of me. She’d caught me at my weakest, but that wasn’t what the others saw. They’d watched Beryl kill the leshy, and a heartbeat later I marched right up to her.
To them, that was strength.
I only hoped that I could live up to it now. As badly as I wanted to tuck tail and run to safety, I knew that I had to stay for them. The fae in this court trusted me. If I left, they would have no hope. There was no other princess waiting to come save them.
“I think we need to address how Queen Beryl enteredyourdomain,” Foxglove interjected.
Honestly? Yeah. We did.
23
RHOAN
Someone in this room had let Beryl into Cerri’s domain. There was no other way that the Unseelie wench could have entered.
In the time it took to get Lady Ostara, Lord Foxglove, Taliesin, and Cerri into a private room, I’d learned that Feri had betrayed us. Del had delivered the news while the others were preoccupied. Del shot Cerri a disgusted side-eye as she explained that Cerri had pardoned the traitor. He was among us again.
I had to trust in Cerri’s judgement. It wasn’t up to me to decide who did and didn’t earn pardons, however I was livid that Cerri hadn’t told me. It felt like something I should have heard about.
Arms crossed over my chest, I leaned back against the stone wall and watched the faces of everyone present. Lady Ostara sat at the table and gleefully sipped her tea like there was nothing wrong with the word. I think she was happy to wipe her conscience of what she’d done to Cerri as a child. It seemed like Cerri had pardoned her, too. Though I wasn’t too sure on the legitimacy of that. Cerri could have been putting up with Lady Ostara for the alliance.
