Then he looked at me, and our eyes met.At my wide-eyed look, his gaze softened.“One look at Jasmine on my moss this morning, and I knew it was too late for me already.I wish to be with her, Mesia.If she would have me.”
I released a shaky breath.But I didn’t have time to fully process Karim’s confession, because the Queen chose that moment to come take a closer look atthe human.
– 19 –
Plus-one
Lowering my gaze yet again, I heard the swish of the Queen’s stunning dress as she glided towards me across the grass.
“Rise, human,” she ordered when she stopped by the bed.I could see her toes below the dress’ hem and the gold rings decorating most of them.
“I–I’m not sure I can.”
I didn’t want to admit to a weakness when I was clearly being assessed.But getting up and falling over if my ankle turned out not to be fully operational yet would be worse.
“She is lame?”the Queen asked, scrunching her nose.
“Just injured,” I specified before Karim could reply for me.
Her pretending I couldn’t speak for myself awoke something in me.I didn’t want to cause further trouble for Karim, but I had keptmy head down and taken her royal attitude in silence long enough.
“I’ll recover fully,” I told her as I lifted my gaze.“Queen Mesia.”
Laughter as gentle as the sound of raindrops on leaves, filled the room.“Bold, is she not?Addressing me directly, and when she has not been allowed to speak, at that.”
“Sister, leave her be.”
“You may have convinced me not to execute anyone for today’s transgressions, brother, but you cannot stop me from talking to your chosen one.She seems fully capable of defending herself.At least, as far as words go; she wouldn’t last two seconds in a fight againstme.”
Her eyes locked with mine, and I felt my heart stutter.Her gaze, met full-on, was as loaded with power as Karim’s.But while his eyes held warmth when he looked at me, hers were a black void of coldness.
“Now tell me,” she addressed me personally this time, her gaze unwavering, “are you the human my brother took from her gardening duties at noon yesterday?”
If she expected me to break eye contact first, she was up for a long wait.“Yes, I am.”
“Did you go to the surface together?”
“Yes.”
“To retrieve a rare specimen?”
“Yes.”
“Were you injured while trying to escape from the Kingdom?”
“No.We were attacked by werewolves.”
“The pack of dead moon-cursed my warriors had to clean up last night,” the Queen noted with distaste.“So much trouble because of your presence, human.What happened next?You couldn’t run to save your life, slow and clumsy as your kind are?”
Her disdain toward humans was palpable.Nothing I said could change her view, so I might as well be frank.“I ran as fast as one could after being restricted to a cave and gardening on my knees for hours on end for a month.”
The corners of her pink-painted lips tipped up, but the smile never reached her eyes.“Your human is not just bold but also strongly opinionated,” she told Karim without taking her eyes off me.
Mine started to water, but there was no way I would lose this staring contest.“Yes, that’s me.”
“Tell me then, what do you think you’ll achieve by getting my brother wrapped around your short braid?Freedom from the gardens and no hard work?”
I hesitated for just a second.“Yes, I want freedom.Both for myself and the other humans here.But I’m not trying to wrap anyone around my finger–braid.”
