A part of me wanted to laugh wryly—Verin was right after all. My beauty finally proved fatal, and I ended up right where she said I would: under a cruel master who would take what he wanted from me.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you when a lady says no, she means no?” A growling voice came from the doorway and Cyrus’s head whipped around to see who had spoken. His jaw dropped, but a sneer quickly took over.
In a blur of movement, Cyrus was ripped off me and thrown into the wall. So fast, I barely registered it happening. But it gave me what I needed, and I gasped in a desperate breath. I reached under the mattress, grabbing my iron dagger. I wished it had been in my hand when I’d truly needed it, but I sent a silent thanks to my father for having its protection now.
I hurried to scurry off the bed and moved to the corner of the room where I could protect myself better. I grabbed my ripped dress and held it in front of me to cover myself.
I wiped the tears from my eyes so I could see clearly and found a tall Fae male standing between Cyrus and me. I nearly did a double take. This wasn’t just any Fae, but the most beautiful one I’d ever seen. One who’d pressed me against an alley wall just yesterday. My jaw dropped as I realized it washim.
“Calix.” Cyrus growled, and I jolted back—hard—against the wall.
KingCalix? The King of Night Kingdom?No. It couldn’t be. Nothim. I’d spoken to him. Fought him. He’d let melive. He flirted with me, for Tartarus’s sake! No one hated humans more than King Calix. I was so confused, but I couldn’t focus on that—on him. Not with Cyrus still in the room.
But…by the Otherworld, could this day get any worse?!
“Cyrus.” King Calix growled, a hard smirk aimed at the prince. “I would say it’s good to see you again, but I’d be lying. Now, Asteria is coming with me.”
Cyrus laughed incredulously, but the Fae with moonglow hair and the aurora in his amethyst eyes, the one I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about—King Calixapparently—wasn’t done.
“Or I could unman you for putting your unwanted hands on her? Which do you prefer?” Calix asked in a flippant tone, but his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword, now aimed at the manhood in question.
I blinked in surprise. What was happening? Why would he do this? It was one thing to not kill me before, but it was another to actively protect me now—and yet another to threaten a fellow Fae over a human. I shook my head, my hair falling in my face.
Why is he defending me?
“She’s mine!” Cyrus yelled, his face contorting in fury as his sharp canines were revealed with his snarl. “I won’t let you take her.”
Cyrus sent a burst of magic at the king, but the lightning fizzled out as King Calix sent his own magic, dark as night and absolutely enthralling, shooting back at him. Cyrus went flying into the wall, the windows rattling with the force of it. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.
I breathed a sigh of relief, at least until I looked back and jumped, finding King Calix right in front of me. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his face was creased in concern.
“Are you okay?” Calix asked softly. I swallowed roughly, my mouth opening to respond when a groan from Cyrus cut me off. I looked over, wide eyed and fearful he was getting up, but his head merely slumped over.
A very soft touch to my shoulder had me frantically bringing my hands up to defend myself. Willing to burn whoever it was with the iron dagger if I must. But the Fae king took his hand away, holding both hands up as if in surrender.
“Sorry.” I rasped, my voice hoarser than I’d ever heard it.
“You’ve been through a lot, it’s quite understandable.” Calix smiled gently, my confusion over his behavior rising each time he spoke. “But we need to get you out of here while he’s still out. Unfortunately, killing him as I’m sure we both wish would start a war too early, so that will need to wait.”
Calix looked truly apologetic about that, and I shook my head again, trying to clear it and gather my thoughts. I felt numb. The fear and anger and helplessness I’d felt while Cyrus was on top of me all freezing me in place. I tried shaking myself out of it.
I was strong.
Cyrus didn’t break me.
He didn’t succeed.
He failed.
I kept repeating those words in my head until I felt able to finally take a deep breath.
I looked up at the man in front of me, more gorgeous than I could handle in this moment. I was a mess of emotions no matter how much I tried to push them down—when I succeeded with one, another rose up. They kept churning until I finally swallowed and dared to ask him the questions burning in my mind.
“Why? Why protect me?” I asked quietly, my hoarse voice lessening with each word. “And why would I go with you? You kill humans, don’t you? Cyrus is a monster,absolutely, but you aren’t any better. And what do you mean start a war—aren’t you already at war?”
My voice rose to higher and higher pitches as questions spilled out of me. Shock was hitting me hard in the aftermath and I felt more frazzled and unsure than I ever had. I didn’t know what to do, what to think.
“I promise, things aren’t what they seem.” King Calix began, hesitantly taking my hand in his. “I’ll explain everything later, Asteria. But the attack yesterday was just to get us into Dusk, theone today was to cover our tracks as we got you, your friends, and my cousin and her husband out.”
