A ridiculously pretty human in fey clothes scurries back away from the bed. He is all big brown eyes and glossy hair. Hair that is done up all fancy like a fey’s.
Wait a minute, he was babbling about being scared when he first got here, and how he was going to get Tristan to stop scaring me.
Is this Tristan’s pet? His first? Am I not the only one? Am I merely an addition to his collection? It makes perfect sense that Tristan has a whole damn harem.
My guts twist painfully. My lungs constrict. My hands ball into fists.
“I’m not scared!” I snarl again. “I’m not a snivelling, pathetic coward like you! I don’t need your pity. I’m not some charity case you can make yourself feel better with. So take your smug, pretentious face and fuck off!”
Wide brown eyes stare up at me. I’m pretty sure I’m only appearing taller than him because I am kneeling on the bed, but whatever. It works, so I’ll take it.
His face has gone very pale. Now his chin is wobbling.
I roll my eyes and grind my teeth. “Leave me the fuck alone, you whiny piece of shit!”
His hands fly to his mouth. Tears fall from his eyes. A sob escapes him as he whirls and runs out of the room.
I climb off of the bed and stalk into the next room. Time to spread the message to Tristan. He hasn’t fucking scared me. He has pissed me off. There is a big difference.
The fancy door that leads to the hallway and the rest of the palace is just slamming shut as I step into the main room. Tristan is frozen, half risen from a plump chair as he stares at the door in horror.
His ruby eyes turn to me. “What have you done?”
I shrug and cross my arms over my chest. I don’t care that I’ve upset his little pet, and I certainly do not care that Tristan cares so much.
Tristan collapses back into his chair. “Jamie is Rhydian’s consort.”
My brows furrow. What the hell is a consort? And does it mean the pretty human is Rhydian’s and not Tristan’s? Oh…wait. I remember now. In the throne room, kneeling before Rhydian, and the pompous ass saying Jamie wasn’t there to save Tristan.
Jamie. That Jamie? That’s the Jamie I was just yelling at?
Okay, the pieces are starting to fit together, but I still have no idea what a consort is.
Tristan sees my look of confusion. “Jamie is Rhydian’s wife.”
I can feel my eyes popping out and my jaw dropping open. My crossed arms fall weakly to my side.
Oh shit. Oh shitty shit. Shit, shit shitty.
I look at Tristan and he huffs as he sees that I am grasping the full severity of the situation. He might as well be screaming, ‘Oh so now you understand when it is too frigging late!’ into my face.
Indignation coils through me. How the hell was I supposed to know? I’m not psychic.
“Rhydian loves Jamie and is very protective of him,” Tristan says weakly. “And you made him cry.”
I suck in a breath. Okay. That intensifies the shit level. We are not merely talking about pride or appearance or saving face. We are talking about that scary king dude being genuinely pissed off. At me. A human pet he wasn’t pleased about in the first place.
Tristan’s gaze fixes on me. I watch as a calm resolution fills his eyes. He has decided something. I swallow dryly and wait to hear my fate.
“I have to punish you,” he states. “Or Rhydian will. And then you will have no fingers or toes.”
A sharp inhale escapes me. It almost sounds like a gasp. Okay, it totally was a gasp. Because this time, I am actually frightened, and I think the threat of having all your fingers and toes cut off, is a very valid reason to be scared. Nothing pussy about it. It is entirely reasonable.
Tristan stands up and moves around the room. My heart is pounding. I can feel it in my chest and hear it in my ears. My mouth is dry. Tristan is hinting that his punishment is going to be more lenient than his brother’s. But just what exactly is he going to do to me?
“Come here,” he says suddenly and I startle.
Oh wow. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice what he was doing. And now he is sitting in the middle of a couch, with a snowy white towel on his lap. As I stare at him, he pats it.
