Eryx squeezed my shoulder, and I nearly jumped, having completely forgotten his presence at the sight of his king.
“I’ll see you later, Asteria. I look forward to actually being able to answer when you speak to me.” He winked and I laughed slightly. It would certainly be much easier than trying to understand a hawk.
I entered the grand tent before me, moving inside to find a table and chairs set up, and a bed off to the side. It was fairly sparse for the luxury the tent represented from the outside. Even if we were only staying here a night, I had thought a Fae king would demand more. King Astraeus certainly would.
I startled when my inspection revealed a large Fae male standing off to the side. His arms were crossed over his massive chest as he stared at me with shockingly bright blue eyes. His head was shaved at the sides, and he had blonde hair on top that was just long enough to flop down and frame his face, hitting high cheekbones. They were sharp in a very different way than Calix’s, which highlighted the beauty of his face, whereas this man’s just made him look harder, more intimidating—more so than his giant size already made him. He practically had tree trunks for arms, for Old God’s sake.
“This is Titan, the general of my armies.” Calix introduced. “Titan, this is Asteria Zagreus.” My head whipped to him at the address.
“How do you know my last name?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. Much like Titan was—the damn general of the monstrous army I’d heard so many horrific stories about.
“Eryx is very good at his job.” Calix smirked, and I glared at him while he chuckled, walking over to Titan and slapping him on the shoulder. “We’re good here. Can you make sure her friends make it back alright?”
A quick nod, “I got ‘em here, didn’t I?” His wry smile caused the king to roll his eyes.
“You did. Now get going.” Calix instructed his General in a surprisingly playful manner. Titan’s eyes shot over to me, and while I might have thought the blue might remind me too much of Cyrus, Titan’s eyes were more—electric—ironic, considering Cyrus’s sparked with actual lightning.
Titan raised a brow at me, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “You’re not going to stab him if I leave, are you?” My mouth dropped open.
“For Nox’s sake, Titan.” Calix muttered, shaking his head.
“I’m not going to stab him unless he gives me a reason to.” I raised my brow right back at him, lifting my chin. That twitching smile on his lips turned into a broad, full one, a sharp bark of laughter following its appearance.
“Good.” Titan nodded, his eyes dancing with humor. “You’ll fit in just fine then.”
Calix sighed as Titan ducked out of the tent, leaving me watching him, completely flabbergasted. Calix’s chuckle was…sensuous—I felt it through my entire body. Why was I having such an intense reaction to this man? A Fae king no less! I’d already learned such men weren’t to be trusted. Even if he had saved me, which still didn’t make any sense.
“Don’t mind, Titan. He’s both protective of meandsupportive of women stabbing men to protect themselves.” He chuckled again. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Before we leave, I’ll explain everything.” He waved a hand to the chairs and took one for himself, sitting down and propping his legs up on the table, crossing one ankle over another. He was so casual, so at odds with what I’d expected.
I cautiously sat down and leveled him with an expectant stare as he smirked back at me.
“I’m sure you’ve heard all kinds of stories about me and my people. Well—I suppose Iknowyou have given what you yelled at me before.” His smirk faded. “I had hoped you would be ready to leave then, but it was clear you weren’t. I should have just taken you anyway, damn the consequences. At least then, Cyrus wouldn’t have—” Calix looked down at the table as I fidgeted, trying not to think of what was left unsaid.
“I apologize for that. I don’t believe in taking people against their will, so I held off, but—” He swallowed, clenching his fists as he worked his strong jaw back and forth. It took a moment before he collected himself, but I couldn’t even speak. Just thethoughtof what had occurred yesterday left me frozen.
“My people aren’t monsters. However, I myself am another story.” Calix said darkly, his countenance growing severe as he continued. “I’ve killed many, as you’ve heard. I’ve drenched the kingdoms in blood in the name of saving the weakest amongst us. I’ve either personally, or through my orders, killed far too many Fae. But when they’re the ones keeping people as slaves—” A loud cacophony outside had Calix shutting his mouth abruptly, his head whipping up. “Fucking Nox!” He swore as he lunged upwards, drawing his sword and charging outside.
I stood up in a rush, nerves cascading through me, but stopped myself before I took a step forward. What exactly was I planning to do here? I shifted from foot to foot, nerves driving me to move but lacking direction. I listened to the sounds of the camp, the noise of people moving and yelling. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Calix stormed back into the tent. I clutched a hand to my chest as I panted, but thankfully, Calix was too distracted to notice.
He began gathering up his weapons and storing them away on his person and as he slid a shining black blade back into its sheath, he turned toward me.
“I’m sorry for the delay, Asteria. We can continue our discussion as we fly, but unfortunately, we need to leave—now. Our scouts have alerted us that Cyrus and his men are gaining on us. The others are breaking down the camp, and your friends will travel with them, but it’s you Cyrus really wants.” His head tilted to the side in thought. “And possibly Siria and Aibeck, but they’re being moved as we speak. You’ll stay with me, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Calix grabbed my hand and pulled me with him before I could even open my mouth. Too much was happening at once, and I hadn’t even had a chance to consider what little he had said about himself, and now Cyrus was coming?Old Gods. I shuddered, but as I stumbled along, his words finally registered.
“Wait, fly? As in, you’re going to fly me back? Why are we flying and no one else is?” I asked, both excited for the chance to fly again and nervous about leaving everyone behind.
“Because we need to get you as far away as possible so that Cyrus can’t get his hands on you again.” Calix growled. I looked over at him, and he looked so far from the playful Fae he’d shown before—this was the more serious, growly version. And those growls…well, I couldn’t deny this version was equally attractive.
No!
No, Asteria. By the Old Gods. Stay away from Fae males. That’s the new rule.
Or at least…stay anything butplatonicallyaway from Fae males. Yes, that. That works.
We skirted through the tents and people quickly, Calix nodding and speaking briefly to a few people as we passed. Everyone gave him a wide berth for the most part, but strangely, it wasn’t based on fear, but respect. They knew their king had important tasks to see to and they were getting themselves out of his path to make it easier. It was a much different relationship than King Astraeus had with his people, that was for sure.
I was so distracted by their dynamics that it took me a bit to realize tents were folding themselves up and trunks were packing themselves. I watched in wide eyed wonder, my mouth hanging open at the use of so much magic. This was what I had initially expected the life of the Fae to be like when I left Sonmathion, not the boring, practically magic-less life they ledin Dusk. I wished I could stop and watch it in action, it was incredible!
