Well, the one upside is that I’m not a virgin, so he can’t drink my blood.
10
My mother’s words soak into me and I frown. “You’re fae? You don’t look fae.”
Ovie scoffs, which makes me guess that’s not the most important detail in this conversation.
As if to prove it, Feylin doesn’t reply to my statement. Instead he says, “When I said that we were engaged, an ancient fae spell was ignited.Accidentally.” Ovie starts to protest, and he shoots her a look so dark that it could scorch the hair right off her head. “That spell hasn’t been triggered in generations. So you understand I didn’t think it would be cast now.”
Thick tension fills the room. It’s charged with magic that’s leaking from my family. They’re upset about this, so upset that magic is literally spilling from them and landing in small golden drops onto the floor.
“We’ll break the spell,” Ovie declares. “Tell us how.”
He gives a slight shake of his head. “There’s no way to break it. It must be seen through.”
“Seen through? As in, I’ll marry you?”
His jaw flexes and his dark eyes flash on me, but his wordsare directed to my family. “May I have a word with Addison alone?”
“No,” Ovie snaps.
He tips his head slightly toward her. It’s a small movement, but in his eyes there’spower—magic that he’s restraining. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. Maybe he was keeping a tighter leash on it, but in this room it’s obvious that he could snap his fingers and an inferno would leap from the floor. The magic inside of him is, for lack of a better word, intimidating.
And he knows it.
Mom squeezes Ovie’s shoulder. “We’ll let you talk.”
They don’t bother marching from the room. Instead my mother nods and they disappear one by one in spirals of smoke.
As soon as they’re gone, I whirl on him. “There’s no way that I’m marrying you. First of all, I don’t even know you, and what I do know, I don’t like.”
Shadows jump on his jaw. “This is less than ideal.”
“Astute observation.”
“But we can both benefit.”
I throw up my hands in frustration. “From being married?”
“No, from beingjoined.”
He shifts his weight to one hip, which doesn’t seem very fae-like. I always think of them as standing upright, never moving, sort of like vampires. Though with my limited knowledge of their kind, I’m pretty much making up any and all details about them.
I fold my arms. “How can this be beneficial?”
“Your family needs the line to continue, and let’s just say there are those who want to see me joined as well.”
“Yes, but my family’s magic relies on the line of succession toactuallycontinue. It relies on the bonding of two lives.”
“And is that what you want for yourself?” When I don’t answer, he continues. “You were escaping tonight. Don’targue. You’re a terrible liar. You don’t want to marry any more than I do. This could be your way out—at least until your sister finds a mate. Which, from the line of suitors tonight, will likely happen sooner rather than later. You have a choice—play pretend with me, or jump back into that ballroom and face a hundred men looking to marry you. Some possibly with sincerity, while others are only interested in gaining advantage from your family’s position.”
I gape at him. He knows so much about my family, about me, about what I think about those men. How is it possible?
Ugh. It’s probably some stupid fae mind-reading talent.
But still he has a point. Being with him would free me from endless balls and being forced into marriage, an idea that makes my heart throb with pain. It would also force Ovie to focus on Blair.
Blair—who actually wants to marry.
