Some of the fae were still glaring at me, so I started awkwardly moving my limbs, trying to match his movements. “Oh, it is,” I said, nodding vigorously, then winced when I accidentally punched my other arm as my limbs flailed around. “But I don’t think I could ever master such an expressive dance.”
His smile grew wider, and I tried not to think about the four monsters who had moved closer behind me and were watching us intently.Oh, I’m definitely going to hear about this later.
I shook and moved my body closer to the prince, sure that almost all the fae females in the ballroom were glaring at me now. From the way they’d fawned over him all night, it was clear if the prince wasn’t yet betrothed, he had plenty of potential candidates. With the music loud in our ears, I leaned closer to him, hoping no one else would hear. “So when are you going to hold up your end of our deal?”
Prince Azaren’s gaze darted around us cautiously, but before he could answer, King Chalir stood up on the raised dais and lifted his arms.
Immediately the music and chatter quieted, and we all stared up at the monarch. Unease went through me, though I couldn’t explain why.
“My fair fae of Zalei, how wonderful it is to see you here tonight. It brings joy to my heart to see you all celebrate the return of Prince Azaren, my eldest and only son. But now I must admit it is not the only reason I invited you here. Tonight I have a special treat for you.”
He’d barely finished speaking when at least a dozen guards fully dressed in silver armor jogged into the room, lining the walls. A hand gripped my waist, and I flinched until Darian’s scent wafted over me. Kade, Locke, and Asher were crowding close around me now as well, and my heart picked up its pace. “If this goes badly, you run, hide, and do whatever you need to do to survive,” Darian whispered in my ear, his words so quiet I almost couldn’t make them out. A tremble worked through me.If this goes badly.
But the king had announced we were heroes, and the prince had just been dancing like we were friends. I tried not to let my thoughts spiral and kept my focus on the king who looked wholly impressed with himself.
His expression hardened, his eyes shining with hatred and cruelty I hadn’t seen there before. “As you’ve no doubt heard by now, two nights ago a member of the Forgotten Fae infiltrated this castle and tried to assassinate me in my very bed.” I didn’t think it was possible, but the ballroom became even quieter then like the fae had stopped breathing altogether. “Yes, those rumors are very true, but what you don’t know is that I captured my attacker, and tonight, I will show him what happens to traitors who dare try to take what’s mine.”
An uproar of chatter exploded across the ballroom, and the king gestured to the guards closest to the doors. At his signal, the doors flung open, and another two guards dragged a ragged figure between them, their hands hooked under the prisoner’s arms.
The male’s head was down, long dirty-blond hair hanging over a beaten face, and blue blood dripping from his pointed ears. Angry dark bruises marred his skin, and a few of his fingers hung awkwardly as if they’d been broken.
The guards brought the prisoner to a halt in front of the dais and dropped him to the floor.
Darian’s hand tightened on me, and I resisted the urge to lean back into him, suddenly not wanting the king to know how I felt about the siren.
The prisoner slowly lifted to his knees like every movement was agony, and though I knew he was a traitor, my heart clenched at the sight. He swayed in the position and lifted his head to stare at the crowd. Despite his injuries, his topaz-colored eyes were alert and defiant as he peered up at the king.
“This traitor wanted to destroy everything we’ve built,” King Chalir said, his voice booming across the ballroom now. “The Forgotten Fae wish to take what is ours. To ruin the lives of our children and take what our ancestors left us. He came into my bedchamber in the middle of the night and planned to slay me while I slept like the dishonorable worm he is.”
Boos and angry shouts erupted from the fae around the ballroom now as they voiced their displeasure at the criminal in their midst.
It wasn’t hard to picture the prisoner sneaking into the castle to kill the king. Even now, his expression was fearless. Like he’d already given himself up to the idea of death.
“Enjoying the show?” said a smooth, slick voice with dry amusement.
I jolted, my head tilting to the side, but no one appeared to have spoken, and they all had their gazes locked firmly on the Forgotten Fae. “What—?” I began in confusion, but the rest of my sentence trailed off as I realized no one had spoken aloud.
Darian and the others were watching the fae grimly. Even Prince Azaren looked displeased, though I could tell he was trying to hide it.
“Hopefully it will be over quickly,” Darian said softly to me as if he thought I was about to ask what was going to happen to the prisoner, and I bobbed my head in agreement, realizing that I must have imagined the voice from earlier.
Turning my attention back to the prisoner, I almost reeled back in surprise when I found his topaz-colored eyes were fixed onme. What the hell?
“You shouldn’t have left us,” that same smooth voice spoke again, and I cocked my head, finally understanding but still not quite believing that it was the prisoner who was speaking to me. In my freakingmind.Panic crawled up my throat, and I tried not to react. Tried not to show the fae I’d heard him.
“He’s going mad without you,” the fae continued speaking in my mind. “But I’m sure you already know that. He’d like the red hair. It suits you. Though, I’m not sure why you decided to get rid of the glamour. If we hadn’t spent so much time together back then, I would have hardly recognized you.”
When I still didn’t respond, he continued, “When the real fight comes, just remember you’re the one who picked the wrong side. What is it the king calls you? Hisjewel.” A laugh that was almost maniacal sounded in my mind, and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. “We’ll see how he treats his jewel when war is at the castle gates.”
I couldn’t keep silent any longer. Nothing the prisoner was saying made any sense. Why was he telling me all this? “Get out of my head,” I snarled in my mind. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What war?”
But that laughter continued in my head, and the prisoner simply kept staring at me like he was determined that my face would be the last thing he saw when the king took his life.
I didn’t even hear the king give the order. One moment, the fae was staring at me, and the next, his body was slumped over as a fae with white hair and swirling gray eyes stood over him, holding his hand over the prisoner. Power crackled in the air, and the prisoner’s back arched, his head flying backward and his muscles tightening.
The laughter in my mind abruptly cut off, and the next words I heard were faint and pained. “Tell Xander I have no regrets. We couldn’t know the king would—” The voice cut off, silence filling my mind as the fae standing over the prisoner yanked his hand back. As he did so, a long stream of silver light flew upward and threaded between his knobbly fingers, like the fae had ripped the prisoner’s soul from his body. My breathing became rapid, sweat coating my skin. I couldn’t explain the way my chest caved. Couldn’t explain why my throat tightened, but sadness overcame me. Somehow, I knew the prisoner didn’t need to die, and whoever this Xander was, I hoped one day I’d get the chance to pass on this fae’s message.
Darian and the others shuffled closer to me, their muscles bunching with tension as we all watched the prisoner’s body fall, lifeless, to the ground.
