“It should be us,” Emrys says assuredly.
Malice meets his gaze, those piercing blue eyes bearing down on him.
“Us?”
Emrys furrows his brow. Fae traditions confuse him. “Yes?” he answers.
The Dragon-Fae narrows that punishing gaze. “Together?”
“That is what she wants, isn’t it?” Emrys asks, still confused. Something in Malice seems to settle or perhaps resign.
“I suppose yes… it is.” Malice pushes off the wall. “She’s done with the Human.”
39
REYNA
Never in a hundred years did Reyna Locke imagine she would find herself in the bathroom of a Zeneith nightclub with the Princess of Valtara and two Viper Shifters while they do lines of Pixie Dust and chat about which creatures they plan on fucking that night. But then again, Reyna had not imagined much of what has happened to her since she fell in love with Khortland Hale.
The thing about being a Human in a world built for full-magic creatures is your primary focus must always be on staying alive. That idea is at the forefront of Reyna’s mind as the Princess offers her a line of Pixie Dust for the second time.
“You’re sure you don’t want any? It makes the night so much morefun.” Aerin gestures to the four lines of sparkling pink powder on the counter.
Reyna leans against the wall, shifting on her feet and cursing herself for wearing heels. “Humans don’t do well on Pixie Dust,” Reyna elaborates, since her refusal the first time wasn’t enough.
Aerin shrugs. “Your loss.” She leans down and snorts a line. One of the Vipers comes out of a bathroom stall while the other examines her features in the mirror.
The Vipers are an eerie type of Shifter. Reyna is used to being around Shifters, but with the knowledge that even the meekest among them can break her neck with ease, Reyna always attempts to keep her distance. The Vipers are almost silent in their movements and their appearances are almost identical. She hasn’t figured out which is which. They cast a menacing shadow, a powerful background for the Princess, and Reyna supposes this is why Aerin keeps them around.
The one that comes out of the stall takes her line of Pixie Dust while they chat amongst themselves, debating the merits of fucking Yarrow Hale over a Lion Shifter. The idea of a Lion Shifter in bed sends a chill through Reyna’s body.
There are generally two types of Humans. There are the Humans who give into the temptation of the full-magic creatures. Who take tremendous risk, and whose lives generally end early. Then there are the Humans who live and breathe caution. Who stay as clear from the full-magic creatures as they can. In Zeneith, the Humans live in small settlements outside of the walls, though she’s heard of entire Human towns in the West.
Reyna has always considered herself one of the cautious Humans, only coming into Zeneith when it’s required, never engaging with Fae, Shifters, or Mer outside of her work. There are very few prestigious careers a Human can obtain, and Reyna’s position as a healer is one of them. Humans hold no magic, which in the eyes of Fae, makes them worth less than gum under their shoes.
Reyna spent her life with her head down. She’d been set to marry a kind farmer from her home settlement, have a couple of children, and live out her short Human life the way Humans are supposed to. Instead, Khortland Hale stumbled into her clinic with a nasty head wound and a deadly smile. Reyna’s life wasupended, and she let him upend it—a series of small decisions that ultimately ended with her in this bathroom.
Aerin snorts the last line of Pixie Dust and rubs her nose.
“So,” she prowls, turning her attention back to Reyna. It seems the conversation about who the Vipers would sleep with tonight had concluded. “Tell me how you managed to wrap my Paramyr around your little Human fingers.”
The Princess says it casually, leaning against the countertop with a smirk playing across her features. Reyna knows this is an act; the Princess is lethal.
Aerin Tolvare is almost too pretty to look at directly. While Shifters have an undeniable amount of wildness to them, Fae contain a deadly sort of stillness. And for a species built on perfection, the Tolvare family is the gleaming ideal. It almost hurts for Reyna to look at her, golden hair and golden eyes that glow in the dim bathroom lighting. Her tan skin, long legs, and curves. Even the bow of her lips or the slight upturn of her nose. Everything about Aerin makes Reyna outrageously envious.
Reyna attempts to hold the Princess’s gaze but eventually lets her eyes fall to Aerin’s shoulder instead.
“I don’t have Khortland wrapped around my finger,” Reyna disputes.
If anything, it’s Reyna who’s at his beck and call. She sometimes hates herself for it and yet, she always goes.
Aerin strums her fingers on her bicep. “Interesting,” she hums. Aerin’s eyes are assessing her, though Reyna doesn’t know what she is looking for. The Vipers narrow in, closing any path Reyna has to escape. Her pulse ratchets up.
“He does seem quite smitten with her,” one of the Vipers says. When Reyna glances her way, she flinches. The Viper is half-shifted, her eyes a daunting yellow and her pupils narrowed to slits. Green scales pepper one half of her face. Reyna swallowshard. She is suddenly very,very,aware of the danger she is in. She decides quickly that she needs to take a calculated risk.
Leveling her gaze at Aerin once more, Reyna says, “Khortland Hale is smitten with what I give him. I think that is something you can understand, considering the two males that follow you around.”
It takes everything Reyna can muster to keep her voice even as she essentially insults the Princess of Valtara. The very same one who is rumored to change those who earn her ire into mice she keeps in cages.
