Anger slashes across his face, and for a moment I think he might actually do it. Might actually hit me. But instead, his expression shifts, and his rich, warm laughter spills out.
“You really think I would put my hands on my own fiancé?” he says, as if reading my mind.
“I’m not your fiancé. And yes. I do.”
“Darling,” he softens his voice, shaking his head apologetically. “I don’t even have totouchyou to make you hurt. That’s what my brother is for. And should that fail, I can simply move on to some of your other friends.”
So they are alive. Thank you, god.
“You’ll never catch them.”
“Who’s to say I haven’t already?”
My blood heats, boiling to the point of rage. “Don’t you dare.”
“Haven’t you wondered why no one has come for you? Why you remain bound at my side? Perhaps I already have them. Perhaps we should start with that shifter you call yours.”
I swing my fists, catching his lip with my nails. Kylian laughs, dabbing the pad of his thumb to the perfect crimson dot that squeezes out.
“Little wildcat, aren’t you?”
He yanks me forward and forces his bloody thumb into my mouth. I gag at the metallic tang, wrenching my face away and spitting the taste of him out at his feet.
His cheek grazes mine as he drops his voice to a bedroom-soft murmur. “You endear me, you really do. But mark my words, Dragon Rider, when I am through with them, you will be begging for me to take you. You are mine. Sooner or later, you’ll see that. I just hope it’s not too late. For his sake. For all their sakes.”
Kylian releases me and stands, waving a hand in Mal’s direction.
“Finish him off and return my pet to her cage.”
I sit in pained silence, chewing my cracked lip as Mal finishes his scraggly writing, using Kai’s skin as parchment, his blood as ink.When he steps back—vivid red streams like veins trickling down the length of Kai’s torso—I can read the completed word scored into him with perfect clarity.
Worthless.
Why am I here?
My eyes frisk over the mass of High Fae scattered throughout the candlelit hall. Nobles and courtiers flit by in revealing fashions, casting me scornful looks and exchanging whispered jeers at my expense. They leer at me like some sideshow curiosity—manacled, dirty, and powerless.
I am in my usual spot—chained to the cool marble floor at Kylian’s feet, dressed in rags while the party guests strut around clean, proud, and haughty.
The smell of food wafts toward me on a sea breeze, and my stomach gurgles with desperation, demanding to be fed. I ignore it. I’ve become well acquainted with the dull ache of starvation since my stay here began. It’s fine, I’ll just snack on my guilt later.
Grappling for distraction, I glance toward the wall of ivy-covered archways and the backdrop of glittering starlight beyond. The hall looks magnificent at night, like a Tuscan dream, with romantic pillars expertly placed throughout to give it an old-world, classic feel. Past the balconies, the Praxian sea is a dark blanket, drenched in pale moonlight.
Soft, sensual music floats through the air as the guests mingle on the dance floor, next to naked in their paneled skirts and matching bras, the men wearing only lightweight linen pants.
I search for Kai among the sea of heads, but I don’t see him. Not that I was expecting to. I just pray he’s alright.
A peal of giggles draws my attention toward the dais.
Kylian is seated on the throne beside me, a harem of girls draped around him. They slither over him like snakes, and he laps up their attention like a man dying of thirst.
That’s exactly what he is.
A snake charmer.
I make no attempt to contain my disgust.
“Not having a good time, love?” Kylian is too busy staring up at one of his pliant pets to look my way. “I hate it when you sulk.”
