Page 14 of Fae Unleashed
My hopes of finding a kindred spirit who could tell me about my family died and plummeted. Instead of wallowing in disappointment, I rolled my shoulders back and donned the steel that I’d been forced to wear most of my life.
Did she really think she could hurt me with such frail words when I’d lived a life of horror up until now? While I didn’t understand why she would seek to hurt me like this, I wasn’t going to let her blows land the way she wanted them to. Instead, they would roll off the steely coldness that I wrapped around myself.
I forced a smile to my lips and bowed my head to the woman because I wasn’t about to show her the courtesy of a full bow, especially when I held higher rank here.
“You grew up…interestingly, darling.” Lady Ostara flicked her hand and summoned a pale white fan to waft over herself.
This time, my forced smile turned into a real smirk. I lifted my chest and let the cape of flowers fall away from my too-large breasts. There’d been jealousy in the woman’s words. Tal had been right to dress me in such a revealing gown.
However, that revealed more than just my impressive cleavage. The scars on my neck, arms, and chest were in full view now. While I could have attempted to cast a glamour over myself to hide them, it didn’t occur to me until the moment I revealed them.
The fae lounging around the room gasped in unison.
Lady Ostara pouted with pity. “Oh, you poor thing. The world has broken you. I endeavored to place you somewhere you would be safe, but it seems that fate craved your blood in a way that I couldn’t have anticipated. Perhaps I was right to throw you away, for fate never wanted you to become queen in the first place.”
I blinked, stunned.
Perhaps I was right to throw you away?
Rage seethed just beneath my skin. This woman had been my mother’s best friend? How could my mother have trusted her? Already, my skin felt slimy just from standing in her presence. There was no way that I wanted this woman on my side.
“Kneel before me and I will take the burden of your work upon myself, freeing your broken psyche from a duty you cannot complete.” Though she spoke softly, Ostara’s voice echoed through the grand room.
I closed my eyes for a brief second to gather myself. Were I shifter, I would have felt the sharp tinge of fangs pressing into my tongue because I wantedblood.
“You remind me of my aunt, Beryl of the Unseelie Court,” I said, knowing that the words were more devastating than any other knife I could have twisted.
Ostara flinched like she’d been slapped across the face. Though I wanted to smile, the heavy sensation weighing down my stomach kept me from feeling triumphant. This meeting had quickly become a waste of time. Lady Ostara wasn’t going to help us. She had no intention of trusting us.
“I could say the same of you,” Lady Ostara said softly. “My tongue has sharpened over the years, but I remain Seelie, nonetheless. However, the mark you bear shows that corruption suits you. That makes me fear for the future of my court. No one here wishes to bow to another corrupted royal.”
I bit the tip of my tongue so hard that I drew blood. It was easy to pull just enough arcana to heal the cut in my tongue. The flare of magic around me made Ostara tilt her head curiously.
For a heartbeat, I thought she could feel the Seelie in my arcana. I thought she was having second thoughts. Then her attention slid to the men on either side of me. She sized up Rhoan and gave Tal a crude sneer.
I wanted to scream. A howl lodged itself in my throat. I somehow kept it down, but that didn’t stop the frustration from building like a bomb in my chest. It would go off any minute.
And I wasn’t going to be able to stop it.
Arcana swirled around my feet. It lapped at my calves and tickled my skin like leaves fluttering in the wind.
I drew in a breath and grounded myself in the swelling power. I was capable of far more than anyone else in the room. They could look down at me, but that didn’t make me smaller than them.
“It’s funny, then.” I gave Ostara the softest smile. “If your blood is more Seelie than my own, then why am I the only one here embodying what it means to be Seelie? I came here with excited eagerness, so I could hear you talk about my mother, but it seems as though you have sullied her memory and spit upon her daughter.”
Beside me, Rhoan grinned wide. Tal, on the other hand, didn’t look as pleased. He must have wanted me to fawn over Ostara to win her alliance. I wasn’t going to lick anyone’s boots today. That wasn’t the kind of position I liked to take—in or out of the bedroom.
Tal face-palmed and bit back a sigh.
I pushed my power out and let it unfurl through Ostara’s domain. She flinched again, her eyes flicking to the far corners of the room. Red stained the tips of the white petals filling the room. The red slowly obscured every soft color in view. I latched onto the domain with my arcana and bound it to myself.
Ostara’s jaw dropped.
Tal whispered his shock.
Rhoan laughed, the sound bellowing through the room. It was filled with pride and warmed my chest. I dug my fingers into the domain and worked it like the fresh soil of a garden. My eyes drifted shut. I imagined planting all sorts of flowers. I could almost feel the tangle of their roots in my hands.
The imagery made me smile softly. The frustration building in my chest waned. Taking Ostara’s domain and letting my arcana flow into it released some of the pressure that’d been slowly taking me over.
