Page 22 of Royal Hunt
Because I was wearing a dead princess’s gown. A dead pregnant princess.
“That will be all. You can leave,” I ordered. I almost didn’t recognize my own voice, full of ice and authority. I wanted to keep my breeches on underneath my dress, and that wouldn’t happen if she stayed.
She fell into a clumsy bow and excused himself. As the door clicked shut behind her, I let a few tears squeeze from the corner of my eyes. Just hours ago, my biggest problem had been marrying Lord Cadgan. Now the entire continent was in chaos, and my childhood friend was happily planning our wedding and my eventual submission. A wedding I was mostly sure now that I didn’t want. Odd how things could change so quickly—in the blink of an eye.
I dug Ellis’s crown out of my old underskirt pocket, and shoved it in the new one. The fancy dressed had one advantage—the pockets were so deep I could probably fit anything I wanted in there.
A loud thumping came from the wall on my left, followed by muffled voices. I flinched, then moved closer.
“Your instructions were to keep all of the heirs alive. Not to pick and choose!”
The voice was muffled through the wall, but nothing like I’d ever heard before—smooth like silk and cloying in a way that made me want to do whatever was necessary in order to hear it again. I couldn’t hear what came next—that voice was too ordinary and subdued for me to make out what it was saying. I pressed my ear up against the wall, unashamed. Then the first voice roared back, forcing me to take a step backward.
“I don’t care! You had one job, and you failed! If you have ruined the games, I swear I’ll bleed you right here! You’re lucky he didn’t escape!”
Something slammed against the wall on the opposite side of me, and I took another step back before hurrying out into the corridor. I smacked headfirst into a large, solid figure.
I froze, my eyes caught on boots that glinted in the candlelight, made from obsidian scales. My eyes traveled up to see thick, muscled legs covered in gold armor that looked too light and flexible to defend against anything, but a work of art all the same. He wore a tunic that was a deep amethyst, with the same black and gold armor snaking down his arms and along his back. Long black hair was intricately braided away from his face, proudly displaying his pointed ears. He scowled at me, baring two pointed fangs, and silver eyes glowed at me in the dim lighting.
I think I stopped breathing at that point.
Holy fuck.Fae.
Eight
“Who the hell areyou?” he snapped, and I finished my panicked observation, noting the scowl and pointed, angular face. His eyes glowed with power, and the hypnotic voice had me rooted to the spot. With a heavy swallow, I realized he was the one who’d be yelling in the next room. I couldn’t stop staring at the pointed tips of his ears.
Fae.
He was painfully handsome.
I stumbled backward, only to slam up against another one behind me. I spun wildly, taking note of the short, red hair tousled messily around his pointed ears. He grinned at me, and I gasped. Eyes of pure gold captured and held me, leaving me unable to move a muscle. Both of them were so tall that I almost felt like an errant child getting caught with their hand in the sweets jar.
I couldn’t stop staring. Two fae, so beautiful it ought to be a crime.
“I thought the human said they’d killed all the heirs,” the red head observed, his eyes picking apart the intricate details of my dress.
I shook my head, trying to keep up. My head pounded relentlessly, making it even more difficult to focus.
Danger!
“Who knows. With the way they breed, I can’t be expected to keep track of all of them,” the one with silver eyes huffed. “She doesn’t have eyes like an heir.”
“I’m not—” I tried to speak, but the redhead grabbed my arm and yanked me back into the hall. Panic found my throat and squeezed, and I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t talk. His hand on my forearm felt like a mild electric shock: jarring, but not too painful.
I’d been taught from birth that full-blooded fae didn’t exist anymore; the closest we had left were the royal families from each realm, who were originally descended from the fae stranded on our continent. I wasn’t sure about the details, but something had happened that left them without their powers, leaving them stuck here. According to Clara, they’d used what powers and knowledge they could pull from the land to help the fledgling tribes of humans survive a famine and then flourish afterwards. To thank them, the humans allowed them to rule.
The red-headed fae kicked the door open and revealed us to the entire hall. He shoved me forward into the group of heirs on the dais. I stumbled with a hem that was slightly too long for me. Nessian caught me as I fell against him, holding onto my arm with a vice grip so I didn’t fall.
“Eve! What are you doing?” Gregory stood up from his table, alarm on his face. I wrenched free of Nessian, who glanced at me with confusion. I tried to creep closer to Ellis, who was on the far side of the line of heirs.
The dark haired fae stepped out onto the platform behind his friend, and everyone went deathly silent. The sound of his armor whispering against his body was oddly loud in the surreal quiet, his careful footsteps echoing in the quiet hall. Viana practically vibrated with anger down the line from me.
“My name is Cassus,” he began his voice dripping with power and persuasion. “None of you have seen me before, but your souls recognize me.”
An uneasy feeling swept the hall, even as men and women alike nodded in bewildered acknowledgment. I was flummoxed. What did he mean my soul would recognize him? I’d never seen him before in my life! His voice was pleasant to the ear, but the rest of the crowd was utterly entranced—even Gregory and Trenton! I snuck behind Ellis, easily blocked from the crowd by his taller frame and that of one of the thick, muscled triplets next to him. I put my fingers gently on the middle of his back, and he flinched, but didn’t otherwise betray my position.
“You do not know who we are, yet we seem familiar,” Cassus continued, a feral smile on his lips. “This is by design. Your rulers are descended from our bloodlines, but you know that already. When their ancestors were abandoned on this continent, they willingly shared their magick and knowledge to better their lives and yours. In return, you placed them above you. The heirs standing in front of you are the last remnants of those bloodlines.”
