Cobalt leans toward me, his voice low. “You should eat. The guards say you haven’t touched the food that was brought to you.”
I open my mouth to reply, but Aspen’s voice halts my words. “Maybe she’d prefer wine,” he says. With a snap of his fingers, a servant steps forward, decanter in hand.
My eyes jolt to the face of the servant, expecting to find the handsome male, but this one is unfamiliar to me.
“In fact,” Aspen says, “all servants who have served me or any of my guests wine since the Fairfield girls arrived, please step forward.”
The servants exchange hesitant glances. Then, one by one, several step forward from their places along the walls. I eye them all, then meet Aspen’s penetrating gaze.
“Do any of these servants spark recognition?” he asks.
I’m about to say no, when I think I see the handsome one I remember from the other day. He shifts anxiously from foot to foot. “I don’t understand,” I say. “Why are you asking me this?”
Aspen narrows his eyes, fingertips steepled together as he leans back in his chair. “You seemed to suspect one of these servants after your sister went missing. Since you never explained yourself, I’ve come to suspect them too. Why did you ask me about a wine servant? About seeing something I didn’t like?”
My mind goes blank as I seek an explanation. What can I say that won’t condemn me or any innocent person? I have no idea if my suspicions are valid in the first place. Besides, it’shimI’m more wary of.
I take a breath to calm myself, then meet his gaze. Two can play at this game. “You mistake me, Your Majesty. It wasn’t your servants I suspected, but you.”
A flicker of surprise crosses his face before he steels his expression. “Explain.”
“Well, you see, I only brought it up because I thought perhaps you were a jealous male. There are many handsome fae here in the palace, but none could match the beauty of my sister. It made me wonder if you disliked the way they looked at her.”
“You specified a wine servant. Why?”
I lift my shoulder in a casual shrug. “They seem to me more beautiful than the rest, that’s all. If I were a jealous male, I might feel inadequate around them, king or no. And clearly,” I wave my hand toward the servants around us, “they have you riled up indeed.”
His knuckles go white as his fingers curl into fists. Perhaps I went too far. “Guards,” he growls. Fae guards enter the room from the hall, bronze armor glistening in the light of the morning sun. “Take these servants to the dungeon. Execute them.”
The guards surge forward to obey, and I leap to my feet. “What? Why?”
Cobalt stands as well. “This is absurd, brother. What did they do wrong?”
He says nothing as the servants are taken hold by the guards.
The horror on the servants’ faces makes my stomach churn, heart racing as I watch their arms wrenched behind their backs as the guards shove them forward. I don’t know why I should care. These fae are nothing to me. Yet, for some reason, Idocare. The servants are likely innocent and are only being condemned because of something I said.
Before I have time to consider my actions, I’m rounding the table to approach the king. I place my hands on the tabletop as I lean toward him, lowering my voice to a furious whisper. “I’ll admit, I suspected Amelie was in love with someone. I hoped it was you, but part of me wondered if she had feelings for someone else. Now that she’s gone, we may never know. However, the truth remains that I was never worried one of these men would do her harm, but thatyouwould. If you execute them all, it proves you have something to hide.”
His lips return to their twisted smirk. “You want me to show them mercy, do you?”
“Yes,” I say through my teeth.
He holds my gaze a moment longer. “Did you hear that?” His voice echoes through the room, stopping the guards in their tracks, freezing their attempts to funnel their prisoners into the hall. “Miss Fairfield requests mercy.”
Silence answers. No one moves.
He returns his eyes to meet mine. “Fine. I’ll heed your advice. I’ll show them mercy. Considering you’ll soon be their queen, I’ll allow this choice to be yours.”
His words send a wave of confusion through me. Theirqueen? Me?
He addresses the guards. “Take them to the dungeon for questioning only. At sunset tonight, release them and allow them to return to their stations.”
Sighs of relief escape the prisoners, and the guards leave with them. The tension eases out of the room, yet I remain in place next to Aspen. Finally, I discover my words. “What did you mean about me becoming their queen?”
He smiles a devious grin, making my stomach drop. I know what he’s going to say. “You’re going to be my wife.”
Chapter Twenty-One
