“What would happen if you didn’t? Acknowledge us, I mean.”
“Other than betraying the trust put in me as a judge chosen for this trial?” She smiled at Bo, that warm, inviting smile that offered a hearthside bed and a swift, merciless death. “I risk losing my lands, starting with that orange grove. There are few things more dangerous, Bo, than to look Faerie in the eye and say, ‘You chose wrong.’ ”
Chapter twenty-three
Everil
They had survived. Despiteinterfering with an ancient fae’s sovereign territory. Despite Everil’s unforgivable missteps (breaking hercup). Despite all of it, they had survived. Passed another trial; received Leana’s blessing.
The next judges wouldn’t be so forgiving. Kesk and Veroni, the sidhe and the sylph. The Monarchs’ heirs now, as if they needed more justification for their arrogance.
Everil allowed his hand to brush Bo’s as they stepped through the door of Leana’s home and into new territory.
Dark wood gave way to austere elegance. Pillars of ivory and marble, shot through with gold. Perhaps a dozen fae ringed the outer edges of the room, many of them familiar. Gauze-winged piskies, bright-scaled undines, and towering brownies. Kesk and Veroni’s sycophants. He knew their names. Their laughter.
And there, on the other end of the long room, waiting for their approach through the smiling crowd, their judges.
Kesk, like all sidhe, was startlingly beautiful, even by fae standards. Eerily perfect from his blood-red lips to his pearl-pale skin. His hair and enormous wings were true bronze, glittering under lights he’d doubtless summoned for just that effect. He wore a crown of antlers and a perfectly tailored black suit.
Veroni, wispy and ethereal, in a crown of silver. Valkyrie wings flared from the flyaway curls of her hair, and her pale blue ballgown set off the storm cloud gray of her skin perfectly. Her smile was as it’d always been. Cruel.
They were among Nimai’s oldest friends. The power couple that he had wished them to emulate only to have Everil let him down.
“Well, let’s get this over with,” Kesk called, gesturing for them to step forward. “I won’t say you don’t suit each other.”
Kesk’s voice had hooks in it, dragging Everil’s gaze to him and making Bo start. It was a quirk of sidhe that Everil had always despised. When one spoke, you couldn’t help but listen.
“Kesk. Veroni.” Everil started the too-long walk forward, his hand falling away from Bo’s. He could feel the bitter burn of anxiety through their bond, but there was no way for him to address it. Not here. “We thank you for your hospitality.”
“Hospitality,” Veroni said, cold-eyed and smiling like a hungry cat. “Do you hear that, love? Ourhospitality.”
“Perhaps they’re expecting tea and cake.” Kesk laughed, and so too did every fae in the room. “You’re here to be judged. Not entertained.”
Everil and Bo stood at the foot of the twin thrones. He glanced at Bo, expecting some rejoinder. None came. Bo so rarely held his tongue. He’d spat venom as the dryad attacked him and faced down Leana. Selfishly, Everil found comfort in that defiance. Bo was, in so many ways, stronger than Everil.
But here, now, he was quiet.
“We were invited. You opened the way.” Everil kept his voice level, even as he shifted closer to Bo. If Kesk wouldn’t concede the point, they would leave. Quickly.
“Always so particular, Everil,” Veroni murmured, all cultured exasperation. “Very well. You’re our guest.”
“You and your pet,” Kesk added. He studied Bo, lips pressed together in open disdain. “Oberon, wasn’t it? And you’ve even given him a little oak crown. Never knew you to have a sense of humor, pony.”
“Bo.” Calm still, even through gritted teeth. “You’ll address my bondmate as Bo.”
“Soparticular.” A quiet laugh from Veroni, then a susurration of amusement through the room. “How fun it will be to have you back at our parties. DoesBoknow any tricks?”
“We know he turns them.” Kesk’s attention remained on Bo, lips smiling and eyes hard. “What do you pay your little pet in, pony? I might just know someone in the market.”
Everil growled, low, taking a step forward. Foolish. He knew it was foolish. He just didn’tcare.
“You willstop,” he snarled.
Kesk didn’t even glance at him. “My mother collects humans, you see. Sick habit, but you try telling her that. If you’re looking to trade up, she’s between toys. You’ll get further with her than with the pony.”
“Refreshing to meet a guy who cares so much about making sure his mom gets properly dicked down.” Anger radiated from Bo: sunburnt citrus and swarming bees. “But I’m not a pet or a toy. And I’m more than good with my bondmate. My affinity bond, Everil. A kelpie.”
Veroni’s eyes went wide while Kesk’s perfect brow furrowed. Everil didn’t let himself smile. Though he did lean in, when Bo looped an arm around his waist. Showing attachment, or any weakness, in front of Kesk and Veroni was deeply unwise. The pair loved knowing where best to dig a blade. And still, selfishly, Everil was glad of Bo’s nearness.
