Page 45 of Fae Unleashed
I didn’t know until I stood before the man himself. The tall redhead with waves of deep copper hair flowing down his back looked at me from behind a fox mask. It wasn’t until he removed the mask that I realized the pointed fox ears atop his head were a part of him and not the mask.
He set the mask down on the dining table between us. The room smelled of butter and yeast as there were pastries heaped on half a dozen tiered platters. Lord Foxglove plucked a small apple tart from a nearby platter and popped it into his mouth.
Lord Foxglove never took his eyes off me when he spoke, but he didn’t speak to me. “It’s lovely to see you again, Taliesin. I’ve missed you so.”
I cringed, even if that wasn’t quite polite. I mean, the man was looking directly at me while telling his lover that he missed him. It was a slap in the face!
Before Tal could respond, I interjected. “There is a spot for you in my court, Lord Foxglove. That is only if you give fealty to the Seelie and my crown.”
His lips curled upward in a smug yet playful smile. He wasn’t like Lady Ostara. While that woman’s tongue had been a knife looking to draw blood, Lord Foxglove wanted to use his words to push pieces around a game board.
“Please, tell me what the Seelie Court would look like under your rule, young thing. I wish to know what the latest generation of fae would have our grand court become.” He lounged back in his seat and waved for me to continue.
Foxglove knew that I’d invited small fae into my court. He wanted me to tell him, as if that was some sort of admission of guilt.
So, I raised my chin and told him with pride. “The Seelie Court will become one that protects those that it has failed before. I wish for no one to know the fear that I knew from living in a corrupt Pack that looked down upon me. The court I create will open its doors to all who uphold my ideals, as well.”
Foxglove sucked on the inside of his cheek as he studied me. His piercing gaze threatened to strip me of the bravado that I’d pulled over myself, but I held that protective barrier tight and refused to let go.
I wasn’t going to let anyone bully me. Not a damn person in this world could push my boundaries anymore. It seemed that Foxglove saw that. He grinned and gave me an appreciative nod.
“Here are my stipulations.” He sat upright in his seat, snapped his fingers, and produced a contract from thin air. When he slapped it down, he turned a challenging gaze in my direction. “Natually, I want half of everything. If I’m going to throw the last of the Seelie court into your mess of an entourage, then I want a guarantee that you will not, as they say, fuck it all up.”
I didn’t quite understand what Foxglove was asking until he pushed the contract in my direction and I saw a single word: Marriage.
I took a step back and shook my head. “No.”
“I want you to know that a determined heir with true dreams for her court would take any offer so long as it meant power. Someone else in your position with far more wit would know how to manage such an offer and keep autonomy at the same time.” Foxglove gestured to Rhoan. “I will not be upset if you decide to lay with your knight, if that’s what you’re worried about. We all have lovers, but those lovers do not offer the same advantages as marriage contracts. Do they?”
Foxglove was honest and forward, and I appreciated that after so much dancing. That didn’t mean I could trust him with my crown. No one else here knew that I had plans to give it up after we reclaimed the throne. I couldn’t do that if I married Foxglove.
I slid a sidelong glance towards Tal, whose jaw was so tight that it could have crushed concrete. In turn, he met my gaze and gave the barest shake of his head.
Of course, Foxglove caught that and laughed. “My love, how could you do me like this? I thought you would be able to trust me.”
Tal groaned. “I trust that you will do everything in your power to reach far beyond your own means if the objective is glittery enough. Do you have any aspiration to rule? Or do you see yourself upon the throne with a glittering crown for the beauty of it alone?”
Foxglove’s grin turned wolfish. That told me he had plans, and there was a possibility that I wouldn’t factor into them past our marriage contract.
“I will not beat around the bush with you,” Fox said as he relaxed in his seat again. He threw one slender leg over the arm of his chair and waved an elegant hand in my direction. “I damn well intend to overthrow you once it is all said and done. If you would like, we could turn it into a game to keep the spark alive. We shall begin on the same playing field, and your objective will be to thwart my machinations at every turn. It would make the long years entertaining, no?”
My nose wrinkled at the thought of a loveless marriage, long years spent trying to avoid dying by your own partner’s hands. It was the exact opposite of what I would have wanted for myself. Every part of me screamed to run out that door and never come back—I’d stop and fill my purse with pastries first, then run.
Somehow, I kept my feet rooted and held my ground. Just as I was about to sayno deal, Rhoan gently touched my arm. I jerked, startled, and looked back at him. He tilted his head towards the foyer.
“Take your time,” Foxglove said. “You have three days to decide. Should you return with a signed contract in hand, I will give you my allegiance and my best fighters.”
Fox raised his hand and a hidden door slid open behind him. Three fae stepped out. Two women flanked a single man, though it was hard to tell when their fae stature gave them all the same lithe physique. They reminded me of Del, who we hadn’t seen in days.
Had Faust scared her off? I needed to tell her that he was nothing more than a scarecrow dressed as a man. So long as he was obsessed with Rhoan and me, he would be of no threat to her. She didn’t have to hide.
Rhoan guided me out of the room while Tal stayed behind. I fought the urge to grab Tal and drag him with us. That had to be a toxic relationship, the kind that never really went away even after you left. I couldn’t save him. He had to purge himself of Fox on his own.
That left Rhoan and me alone together. His hand slid down my arm and gave my fingers the briefest squeeze before letting go completely. When he stepped away from me and put his hands behind his back like a soldier at attention, I knew what he was going to say.
I pointed a finger in his face. “No. Don’t you dare say it.”
His lips flattened. I could read nothing in his gaze. He’d blocked me out entirely. I tried to pry and reach past this wall that he slammed down between us, but it was of no use. The urge to kick him in the shin just to get a reaction out of him nearly overwhelmed me, but I was a graceful fae princess and—
