Fiancée.
I didn’t bear a ring, and Bane had never truly proposed to me, but...
I wore his mark.He’d claimed me, and was actively courting me and going through the motions to become my official consort, so I supposed one could say we were engaged, even if it wasn’t in a typical sense.
I preened at the word.
Fiancée!
“It’s been awhile, okay?”Norman bit, crossing his arms.“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Surely there must be someone you can leech some lust from,” Delaney said sarcastically.
I did not miss the way Wanda looked away or the way she said, “I was told there would bedinner.”
“Ah, yes...”I blinked, clearing my throat.“Right...right this way, please...”I slid my hand into Bane’s and guided us through the Great Hall into the actual dining hall, where my mother and some other individuals I did not recognize sat.
The closer I got, the more my blood chilled.
Next to my mother sat a man who I could only describe as regal.He looked every bit a King, what with his expensive suit and perfectly slicked dark hair.Next to him, sat a woman who looked equally as gothic, yet strikingly beautiful.Her delicate features were accentuated by her dark hair and makeup.She looked like a bloody vampire, but something inside of me recognized her for what she was.
Fae.
But not just any fae...
Dark Fae.
“Is that?—”
“King Sirus and Queen Lithia,” Wanda cooed.“The current monarchy that presides over the Dark Fae Kingdom.”
“Dark Fae, as in...the people who tried to snuff out the Kingdom of Lir?”
“The very same,” Delaney said, as Norman said, “Looks like they brought their pride and joy with them, too.”
It was then that I locked eyes with the stunning man who sat next to his mother.Even from afar, the resemblance was more than noticeable.His sharp features against his pale skin were a strange mix of masculine and feminine.He bore the same jawline and shiny black hair as his father, but his bright purple eyes were like his mother’s.
“Prince Desmond O’Neil.”Delaney’s voice was barely a whisper, and my mother and her guests turned to see us.
“Violet!Oh, look at you, you look stunning, sweetheart,” my mother said as she rose and met me just before the table.She took my hands in hers and smiled kindly as she appraised my friends.“Bane, you clean up rather nice,” she said, her voice sweet and tinged with humor.
My mother and my boyfriend had not spent much time together, to my knowledge, but she could not deny the sacrifice and the lengths she’d witnessed.He saved more than just my life that day.He saved both of ours.
But being beholden to the ceremonial requirements and royal trainings left little room for bonding when it came to Bane and my mother.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”Bane spoke politely, but I knew he detested such formalities.Still, it seemed the night had only just begun.
“There are some people I would like you to meet,” she said as she tugged my hand and I let her lead me.The King and Queen rose, along with their son.
“Violet, this is King Sirus and his wife, Queen Lithia, and their son, Prince Desmond.They come to us from the Dark Fae lands.”
I tried my hardest to quell the fear.The Dark Fae was known to oppose my kingdom.They’d squandered my mother out of her castle, forced her into hiding.They’d kidnapped us, fully intent to sacrifice us in order to preserve their reign.
And now they werehere?
In my mother’s castle?
Dining with us?
