His eyes burn into mine, flickering with danger. “Kill her.”
10
The two fae charge forth, and before I can react, they have my arms wrenched behind my back. Biting back a squeal, I struggle in their grasp, but they’re both so strong, even the elderly female. There’s no masking my fear anymore as all my feigned confidence has drained to nothing. “Let me go!”
The alpha does nothing but stand there with his crooked grin, as if my plight amuses him. Behind him, shadows stir in the hall, and curious faces peek inside the door. I catch a glimpse of Micah, eyes wide as he clutches the side of the doorframe.
“What should we do with her?” the gray-haired female asks from beside me.
The alpha looks from me to the bedraggled group gathering outside the door. “Well, let’s see. Are you hungry?”
“I could eat,” Blackbeard says, and the other fae erupt with excited cheers.
“No!” I shout. “You don’t want to do this. Please don’t do this.”
Ignoring me, my two captors push me toward the crowd, which begins to spill inside the room. Only Micah hangs back, still clinging to the doorframe, his face pale. The hungry fae leer at me, exchanging bets on how my bones will splinter, how warm my flesh will taste.
My head spins, my limbs going numb. The carousing whispers and jests are amplified in my mind, echoing another instance not long ago. That time, it wasn’t wild, vicious fae that surrounded me, but friends. Friends whose tongues had turned cruel, laced with venom as they circled me, leering, hurling insults like knives.
No longer here nor there, my vision darkens at the edges and sweat beads at my brow. Every muscle convulses, and only the grip of my captors keeps me upright as the fae close in tighter.
“Let’s not eat her!” comes a small, quavering voice. Using it as an anchor back to the present, I seek out the source—Micah. He pushes his way between two fae and stares up at the alpha, who still stands directly before me. “We do not need to. Our stores are full. We hunted yesterday!”
Paying him no heed, the alpha gives him a gentle push back, and his small form is swallowed by the bodies of the larger fae.
Micah’s outburst, however, has snapped me out of my stupor, and I’m able to find my voice again, my strength. “Please don’t do this. I’m not expendable! We can make a deal.”
The crowd continues to cackle and jest, licking their hungry lips, but the alpha’s face turns steely and he holds up a hand. The room goes quiet. “I could show you mercy,” he says.
I try to stand tall, but the angle of my arms wrenched behind my back makes it nearly impossible. “It’s illegal for the fae to attack humans.”
He looks down his nose at me. “I’m the Unseelie King of Winter. I enforce the laws. And it looks to me like you’ve trespassed on private royal property. One would even think you were sent to infiltrate my home and harm me.”
Hearing him affirm in his own words that he is, in fact, the king chills me to the bone. If fae can’t lie, then it’s either true or he and this pack of wild creatures are delusional. Whatever the case, thiskingbelieves he has every right to do whatever he wishes to me. Which means no fear of the law will stop him. But I’ve already discovered one weakness. “That’s a lie! It’s a lie and you know it.”
I expect him to grimace, to writhe in pain at my accusation. But he does no such thing. “Not a lie,” he says in his low, gravelly voice. The fae around us snicker. “Only a matter of perspective. So don’t think for a moment I owe you mercy. It is mine freely to give, understood?”
Gritting my teeth, I force myself to nod.
“Good. Then you should understand that if I grant you freedom to return to your town unscathed, you will be in my debt.”
I swallow hard, my chest heaving. “Please, just let me go. I’ll tell no one what happened.”
“Yes, you would like freedom, wouldn’t you? Tell me how much you would like it.”
“I would like it very much.” My words come out dry, bitter.
“And how grateful would you be if I told my pack to stand down and release you right now so you can be safely on your way?”
“I would be ever grateful.”
A corner of his mouth quirks and he takes a step closer. “So grateful that you’d realize you owe me your life?”
My rage and terror freeze, and in their place creeps a chilling suspicion.
The king’s expression turns ponderous. “In fact, perhaps you’d suddenly want to bargain something away to demonstrate just how strong your gratitude is. Maybe…that which you most cherish? Of your own free will and volition, that is.”
My eyes go wide, and I catch several fae stifling their laughter, while others watch with quiet anticipation. Hope, even. When my gaze returns to the king, my anger reignites like a blaze, boiling my blood. With all my strength, I launch forward, catching my captors off guard. Having loosened their grip during the king’s speech, they stumble back, allowing me to wrench my arms free. I use the momentum to shove my hands hard into the king’s chest. “You son of a…you tricked me! Again!”
