My retort froze on my tongue as my gaze landed on the forest’s edge. Without Breandan’s warning, I would have missed their arrival. So silent in their passage that nary a ripple came from the forest around them. Not a rustle of a tree branch or the stirring of the wind. Not even the crash of underbrush as an animal fled in startlement at their presence.
They appeared as quietly as ghosts. One moment the space between the trees was empty. The next, Fae clad in the same green and brown hunter garb as the ones who’d chased me and Anton through the Playground and casino stood sentinel in the trees’ shadows. Their gazes vigilant and guarded.
The reason for their presence became obvious a second later as a group stepped into the meadow. The being at their center claimed my attention.
I say being because he didn’t feel human to me. Despite having the form of one. He possessed an unearthly beauty. A perfection that didn’t exist in nature. The presence of which left a jarring sense of disconnection.
His skin was as colorless as a vampire who hadn’t seen the sun in centuries. His hair longer than mine by almost a foot and the blue black of a raven’s wings. With his deep red eyes, he seemed more vampire than me.
A fragile looking crown carved from white wood perched atop his head, with intricate swoops and swirls no mortal hand would have ever attempted.
His extreme beauty was ruined by the haughty expression that made it clear he didn’t see others as people. More like tools to be used and discarded at his whim.
Though I only had rumors and second-hand descriptions to go by, I had a guess as to who this was.
Muiredach, I presumed.
My biological father’s enemy.
I was so dead.
“Why is she still alive?” Vitus demanded upon seeing me curled up at the base of the oak. “We had an agreement.”
Other than Vitus, there were two additional council members present.
I wasn’t really surprised about Sophia’s betrayal. The councilor had never left much of an impression. Her loyalties as mercurial as the wind.
Navya, on the other hand. Now that was a shock.
This must be what Ahrun had meant about rot on the council. For Vitus to secure an alliance with someone as ancient as her, who held nearly the same level of authority as Ahrun, it would cause tidal waves among the rest of the council.
Funny—I’d thought she and Ahrun were friends. I guess he wasn’t entirely wrong about the potential for every relationship to fall victim to the test of time.
The king’s features were aloof and remote as he left the cool shadows of the forest’s edge to step under the searing sun of the meadow. The flowers and longer grass seemed to move out of his way as he paced in my direction.
Vitus grimaced, looking up at the sky before mincing his way after the king.
Navya floated in their wake, the sun seeming to have no impact on her.
Sophia remained under the protection of the forest canopy, keeping herself removed from the situation.
I wished I could do the same.
Instead, I kept all emotion off my face as Muiredach stopped at the edge of the shadow cast by the oak’s canopy.
The anger on Vitus’s face as he stopped next to him made me tsk internally. Someone had forgotten his lessons on diplomacy. That or he was arrogant enough to believe he was this Fae’s equal.
Fool.
The king spent a long time observing me, his strange colored eyes never leaving my face. “You feel familiar.”
I quivered.
If his gaze had been intimidating, his voice was like hearing death speak your name.
“Have we met before?”
I huddled on the ground, saying nothing. My gaze jerked to Navya then away. With nowhere else to look, I dropped it to the ground.
