“This needs to go back on.” Holding the collar up, I motioned for her to turn around.
“Is that really necessary?” Her shoulders tensed, and she took a step back.
“Yes.”
“Why?” Her voice rose, her brows furrowing. “What is the point of all this if I am treated like your pet instead of a future queen?”
Dragging a hand across my face, I groaned. “Because you will try to escape, and I don’t feel like chasing you.”
She laughed and shook her head.
Whatever moment I thought we were having in the grove disappeared as her stubbornness roared in defiance.
Chin held high, she folded her arms, waiting for me to respond.
Tossing the collar to the ground, I called the shadows to my fingers. “Do you want to fight me? It will not go the way you think.”
Ivy crawled up my legs, but I didn’t flinch. I invited her magic in.
Shadows slithered around her magic, choking the vines that dared to trap me. Stepping forward, I shot my shadows around her, encasing her in a dark cocoon.
“Listen well, little thorn.” As I moved closer, I kept my shadows tight, ensuring she would have no room to maneuver. “Prove to me you can be trusted, and after the wedding, I won’tmake you a collared queen. You will have your magic. I am not your enemy, but I can be.”
One tear slid down her cheek.
My fingers twitched to brush it away, but I fisted my hand and took a steadying breath.
Releasing my shadows, I sent them over to one of the rose bushes and grabbed a bundle. The flowers floated in the air in front of her. As I recalled the dark cocoon encasing her, I brought the roses to her hands.
“Walk out of this grove, head held high, and show my court that not only are you ready to be Queen of the Fae, but destiny has deemed it so.”
Taking the roses, her mouth parted, her chest rising and falling with quick breaths. She gripped the flowers, ignoring how the thorns pierced her hands and drew blood.
Without a word, she turned and pushed the hair off the back of her neck, allowing me to clasp the collar back on.
My fingers brushed her skin, and she shivered.
Was it cruel of me to dampen her magic? Yes, but I didn’t trust her to stay, and now that the unicorn had deemed her queen, there was no turning back for either of us.
I knew the human was powerful, but to bond with the unicorn that way… Racing through memories, I searched for stories of similar instances, trying to decipher the meaning of this. Anna and Ella would certainly be thrilled, among other members of my court, my cousin in particular, who seemed to have an interest in my human bride.
Gideon wouldn't dare cross me, but his friendship with the human did not sit well with me either.
I walked ahead of Deirdre, deciding that I needed to focus on anything else but her. It was odd to be thankful she survived and yet the thought of wedding her… I shook my head. It should have infuriated me. Instead, a flicker of curiosity entered my thoughts.
Anna and Ella fluttered in the air around Liora, all three of them waiting.
When their gazes landed on Deirdre, the pixies clapped their little hands in glee and buzzed around.
I walked past them and my cousin.
Gideon looked up, not making any movement in either direction. “So the human passed the test.”
He glanced over at Deirdre, a sly smile on his devious face. “And there's the new Queen of the Fae.”
Olivia flew by my ear. “You don't have to marry her.”
Word would spread like fickle vines through my court. There would be no talking my way out of this and though I pretended not to care about my court's opinion, it mattered. “See that she is put back where she belongs, for now.”
