Page 66 of Fae Unleashed
“Faust?” Del spat incredulously.
“No! Dummy, I mean Rhoan. Do you love him, too?” My heart hammered, too afraid to hear her answer.
Del was strong and competent. She was beautiful, too. I wouldn’t blame Rhoan for loving her. Though every shared look between Rhoan and myself flashed before my eyes, I still couldn’t help but worry that he would love her more. Del was everything I wasn’t.
“I love him like a brother. Faust took a lover from me that I’m never getting back, and I don’t think I can stand to see the pookah take anyone else from my life after that.”
She knew exactly what kind of man Faust was, and yet she’d handed Rhoan to him on a silver platter. Her foolishness would have the exact opposite impact than what she wanted.
“Pain can blind us. It can lead us to foolish decisions.” I knew from experience. I’d been avoiding my duty up until now.
While I’d been roleplaying the part of a good princess and future queen, my heart hadn’t been in it. That meant I hadn’t been paying attention to Del. I could have noticed the signs sooner. If I’d really put everything into becoming the next queen, then I would have won this war already and everyone outside fighting for me would be safe and happy.
I, too, needed to set aside my own fears. I needed to move forward with intention and purpose.
“Let me go,” I said. “I’m going to save Rhoan all by myself. I don’t need you or your intervention. When this fight is over, you will leave here and never return. You will never lay eyes on Rhoan ever again.”
While I spoke, I pulled my arcana from the seed in the domain. I brought it up around Del. This time, she caught me before I could capture her in a cocoon. She released me and leapt away, bouncing off the wall to project herself further in the process. I dropped to my knees and caught myself before my face could greet the stone floor.
Instead of chasing after Del, I turned and ran back the way we came. I needed to stop Faust from taking Rhoan.
If…if Faust stole Rhoan from me and turned him into a beast, I would stop functioning. There would be no reason for moving forward. Everything I’d done up until now had been for him. I never quite realized it until now.
When Rhoan told me the thinly veiled story about a princess that gave him hope, I should have realized then that I’d been working to make a home for him again. I wanted the man to stop looking for solace in the bottom of his drink. There were other places to find peace, like with me.
A deep purple gown stepped into my vision and made me rock back. Beryl bent and cupped my cheek. The smug grin on her lips slipped for a fraction of a second when she took me in.
“Well, well, you’ve changed so much, dear niece.” She tightened her grip on my chin.
“Get out of my way!” I needed to get past her. Rhoan needed me. And I needed him.
There were more important things going on. I yanked my chin from her tight grasp and paid no mind to the burning sensation along my cheek. Her nail must have sliced my skin. She was never gentle with me.
Beryl snarled and backhanded me. I flew across the hall and slammed into the wall. Impact with the stone knocked the air from my lungs. I dropped to the ground and gasped for air like a fish out of water. Scrabbling at my chest, I feared the worst until my lungs unclenched and allowed air back in again.
Damn, I felt mortal again.
It’d been a while. Learning that I was fae and that I had healing arcana had made me too cocky. I’d forgotten what it meant to feel weak in the hands of another. Beryl stalked up to me. She had a cocky sway to her hips and one hand perched on her waist. She bent and put her face in mine the same way I had with Del earlier.
“You will never amount to anything,” Beryl said. “While it was fun watching you scurry around in a panic, I must tell you that it was all for nothing. You never had the power to defeat me. Your mother was weak, and she birthed a weak child. I’d hoped to fold you into my court and keep you safe in my sister’s memory, but there’s no point in protecting something so useless.”
I did the only thing I could think to do: I spat in her face.
Beryl recoiled. Laughing, I darted around her. My entire body rebelled. My muscles burned and my lungs ached. There was no stopping now, though. I had to get to Rhoan. His scream had gone unanswered.
I imagined the worst. When I burst through that door, I thought I’d come face to face with Rhoan’s beast. It wouldn’t recognize me. It would be in Faust’s control…
Outside, Rhoan towered over Faust. The tip of Rhoan’s blade pressed against Faust’s jugular. The pookah looked up in startled shock at Rhoan, like he couldn’t believe that the man had bested him alone. Then a hungry gleam crossed Faust’s eyes. He wanted Rhoan more than ever now.
Behind me, Beryl groaned.
“Again, pet? You are such a greedy little pest.” Beryl pushed past me.
Rhoan swung his blade, but Beryl was faster. She snapped her fingers mid-swing, and Faust appeared beside her. She caught a fistful of Faust’s hair and yanked him close so she could growl in his face.
“Stop. Disobeying. Your. Queen.”
We all knew what would happen to Faust later. I locked eyes with Tal across the rooftop. His face blanched. Faust would be turned into a lesson for the others, but she wouldn’t kill him. We wouldn’t be free of Faust’s machinations. If anything, I knew he would come back with an intense fervor.
