“I’ll be looking forward to it, Prince Cyrus.” Princess Zerlina replied with a coy smile, before she stepped back to join PrincessSybella. Princess Danique remained next to their brother; twin looks of boredom painting their faces.
Court thankfully came to a close for the day, and while some filed out, others hung around to gossip, politick, or scheme. Cyrus made a beeline over to Lord Visita, the two making for an unfairly attractive pairing next to one another, and I flushed as my eyes couldn’t help roving over them and the picture they painted. Until Lord Visita caught me, winking at me with a smirk before turning back to Cyrus. Cyrus immediately whipped his head to look at me, and I averted my eyes away—though I feared it was too late. I couldn’t imagine Cyrus would be very happy with my eyes straying to his friend, especially not after what happened with Tavarius. I swallowed hard, needing the reminder of why Cyrus shouldn’t be admired. No matter how pretty the outside, the inside was rotten to the core.
The Old Gods must have been smiling down on me, as they granted me a distraction at just the right moment. One of Cyrus’s spies who currently reported to me, a Fae named Garridan, was meandering his way over. He was one of the rare Fae who didn’t have any land or titles, living in an apartment in the city paid for by Cyrus, and paid to attend court so he could uncover secrets and plots by the nobility and the lesser Fae alike. His blonde hair swayed around his shoulders as he walked the room, his green eyes alight with secrets.
He casually walked by me and leaned against the wall next to me. He had a talent for going unseen, even appearing physically smaller when he wanted to. It made him an excellent spy.
“Asteria.” Garridan drew out my name, smiling playfully as his head tilted toward me, not even lifting it from the wall he was leaning back against. “You may want to keep an eye on Weylin and the visiting Princesses.” My eyes met his as his playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious scowl. “He’s planningto essentially poison them against the betrothal, all in an effort to get one of them to marryhiminstead.”
“Thank you, Garridan.” I replied, while my mind spun with what this meant—how I might be able to use the information. “You’ve proven helpful as always. If you get any more intel on this, let me know.”
“Of course.” Garridan tipped his head in a nod. “I’ll be around, but it’ll be better to have multiple sets of eyes on the situation.”
I nodded my agreement. Garridan couldn’t be everywhere, so I would need to set a few others to the task of watching Prince Weylin and Aphra. We already had several watching the visiting royals.
“Anything you catch on the people from Dawn, bring it to me as soon as possible.” I commanded, knowing it would sound like it was for Cyrus, when in reality it was to hopefully aid in my own plan. Unsuspecting, he nodded his confirmation before disappearing off into the crowd like a ghost, no one noticing his comings or goings.
I desperately wanted to keep this information to myself. Cyrus deserved to watch all his schemes crash and burn. I had to be smart about this, however, and holding back such vital information would lead to him inevitably finding out elsewhere. He would never trust me if that happened, and I needed as much of Cyrus’s trust as possible if I was going to succeed in finding a way out of here.
Chapter 16
I
ttook hours for Cyrus to finish socializing and collect me so we could return to his rooms. I was exhausted by that point, but it was quickly forgotten when I realized Lord Visita was joining us. On the walk back to our chambers, my nerves were fraying as I tried to figure out what this was about. After the past week, I couldn’t help the dread sinking in my stomach as we walked into the solar.
Cyrus walked up to me with a gleeful smile, a giant sign that warned “danger ahead”. His hands grasped my hips as he directed me toward the sofa.
“Asteria, allow me to introduce you to Lord Visita Umbra.” Cyrus rumbled, waving the man over. Lord Visita prowled forward, flashing a disarming smile at me. I couldn’t help the way my arousal sparked at his movements, but I could certainly resent it.
When the nostrils of both the Fae men in front of me flared, I was reminded that they could smell all sorts of things humans couldn’t…including arousal.
Fuck.
“It’s so very nice to meet you, Asteria.” Lord Visita said, reaching over to grab my hand, surprising me with the kiss he laid on the back of it. I looked at Cyrus in confusion. He’d literally had Tavarius killed for flirting with me, how would he react to his friend doing the same?
“Since you seemed to like Vissy so much,” Cyrus explained, a wicked smirk growing. “I thought I’d bring him here for you.”
“For…me?” I asked nervously, my hands beginning to shake as I moved them into the folds of my dress to hide it. There was no way he meant what it sounded like.
“Oh, yes.” Cyrus crooned. “I know it’s been a difficult few days for you, my dear.”
I nearly snorted at the severe understatement, but my nerves were too great to think of making a sound.
“I thought you deserved a reward.” Cyrus continued, reaching up and skating his hands over my shoulders. I forced myself to stand still and endure his touch. “Vissy and I grew up together, we’re closer than brothers, really.”
I jolted in bewilderment. Cyrus didn’t have many he considered friends, let alone brothers. When your own brothers were trying to kill you, however, I supposed one needed to outsource.
Cyrus’s hands left my shoulders, only for him to join me on the sofa, sitting on the left, while Lord Visita—Vissy apparently—sat down to my right. The foreboding I felt only increased, bubbling up my throat it was so thick. The two males sat too close, their legs brushing mine where they made themselves comfortable.
“You see, Asteria, Vissy and I have shared many things during the years we’ve been friends.” Cyrus lifted his hand and began torun his fingers over my skin—from my neck, over my collarbone, down my chest.
My breath caught at the action, the sensation rocking through me. I may hate Cyrus, may want to get as far away from him as possible, but my body didn’t quite get the message. It saw an attractive man paying me attention. One whose cock I felt just a few days ago—his sizable cock. I’d heard Fae typically had bigger ones than humans, but I had thought it ridiculous rumor and propaganda. I was positive that Soren’s size was more than enough for me.
Until the moment I realized those rumors were anything but fake, and a part of me had ached to feel the stretch of that kind of size inside, filling me up and thrusting into me until I lost sight of every single reason I didn’t want Cyrus touching me.
. “And though I do prefer to keep you jealously to myself—Vissy is a special case.” Cyrus’s fingers continued their journey, caressing my skin and leaving goosebumps behind. Lord Visita dared to reach out and grip my thigh, startling me as I swung my gaze back and forth between him and Cyrus. “It’s been a while since we’ve shared a woman.”
My eyes widened in astounded alarm, but before I could hoist myself off the sofa and away from them, Cyrus threw his arm around my waist, laughing as he held me down. The bastard had the audacity to laugh at my reaction after that? I pinned him with a fierce glare, causing him to roll his eyes.
