Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
His lips curled wickedly, but she didn’t mistake the disquieted frustration in his eyes. “Maybe it is chemistry, then. Who would have thought that was possible between a fae and a human, hmm? If anyone found out, I’d be laughed out of the court. How embarrassing.” He studied her for a long moment. “To get rid of it, it seems I’ll have to kill you.”
She huffed out a laugh, ignoring the delicious buzz. The delirious hum inside her. It was a race to the death, then, was it? Because she had a score to settle. There was that little issue of revenge from all those years ago, and then his trying to help his kind flock over the Faegate, and now this huge inconvenience? Oh yeah, there was a score to settle, and she’d be the one filling out the toe tag. She hadn’t gotten this far, and survived this long, to let some arrogant fae with an Adonis complex decide her fate. She had plenty of conviction, and when she got those weapons, she’d prove it.
A smile soaked up his features.
“Well then,” he said softly, “I guess we know where we stand. Magic, a horrible joke by the gods, chemistry and attraction—it doesn’t really matter what is causing this feeling. In the end, one of us will kill the other. What is that human saying? ‘All is fair in love and war’?”
He leaned ever nearer, and that damn hum turned into a full-body vibration. She tried to hold on to her logic before it swept her away, but his eyes fluttered closed, and he let out a tortured groan that she felt across every inch of her flesh.
“It is truly a pleasure, though, isn’t it? While we are sharing our truths…” His voice was low and rich. His eyes drifted open, finding hers, burning. “I enjoyed watching you earlier. Gliding through the room, playing those people like a perfectly tuned musical instrument. You made that man move with nothing more than a look. Masterful. You’re a natural. You’d do well in court, playing the gentry like puppets. You’d like it, too, wouldn’t you? You’d like making them dance to your tune before you stabbed them in the back and let them bleed out in front of all their peers.” He leisurely reached up, sliding his hand against the side of her neck. Electricity sparked within the touch, sizzling across her. He hooked his thumb under her jaw and gently lifted, angling her face away. “I’d watch you from my throne, my crown crooked in mockery of the position.”
It was hard to breathe through her tight chest. Hard to keep her eyes open. “Your throne?” she asked in little more than a whisper.
He matched her volume. “The Obsidian Throne in the dark fae kingdom. Do you know it? Currently ruled by the wicked king and his miserly queen. Set to be inherited by his rotten, strategizing children, the scourge of the realm. Ignored by the Celestials because of a trade that should’ve never taken place and is now left to run amok. They have ruined that kingdom, and the imbalance is spreading. It is time someone stronger rips the royalty from their perch.”
“And yet…you’re attempting to amass power to cross the Faegate?”
“It is time for a fresh start. Here, you could be at my feet. My treasured pet. A queen of her kind. You’d fill the role so perfectly…”
She could still hear the teasing in his voice, marveled at the blasé way he spoke about killing a king and taking the power for himself. She wondered how much of it was true, if any. How much of it was him dreaming. Despite the myths, fae could lie, even to themselves.
He chuckled darkly. “True enough,” he said in answer to her thoughts, his hot breath dusting her as he lowered his head to beside her neck. “We all dream, do we not? Me of getting out of this suffocating, demeaning position, and you of one day fitting in. Of one day not having to constantly look over your shoulder, worried that someone stronger, more powerful—which is everyone in your life—will finally cast you out of this life in which you do not belong. I see your struggles. I feel your pain. I am not the only one lying to myself, am I?”
Something dark and raw opened up inside her. She had never before voiced those thoughts. Never before given light to them. Hated that Zorn might hear them through the comms now. There was no point in thinking like that. Her family was magical. It didn’t matter that she was not. Despite her situation, she would always stay with them, danger or no. Looking over her shoulder all the time or not. Their love was worth any price.
But yes, she had to admit, it was exhausting constantly being vigilant. Never really belonging, even within her home. Always being different.