“I slipped and fell.”
“Do not lie to me, brat,” he warned, every word laced with dark promise.
I shifted in my seat but didn’t dare break eye contact. Was it part of the betrothal bite that compelled me not to lie to him?
“I got into a spirited debate last night over the merits of the fae army versus the elvish with a visiting stonemason, and he decided to make his point with his fist,” I said sourly.
Vasil’s dark eyes flared like hot embers as he swallowed tightly. I glimpsed that simmering passion that flowed like lava just beneath the surface of his skin, and it fed my own.
“This,” he said while stroking the freshly shaven edge of my jaw, “is unacceptable.”
“And what are you going to do about it,LordVasil? Spank me like when I was a lad?” The taunt was meant to provoke him. I didn’t think he’d actually follow through. His eagle-eyed gaze veered from the now-faded bite mark on my neck to the bulge in my trousers, which had expanded mightily since the start of this conversation.
He drew in a deep breath, and the coldness in his eyes returned. He said with complete composure, as if pure ice ran through his veins, “As for your first offense, Your Highness, I’ve informed your mother already. We’re traveling to the Dragonback Mountains today so that we may remedy this situation forthwith. And with regard to the second, my headstrong princeling brat, your misbehavior moving forward will havedireconsequences, a lesson I look forward to teaching you sooner rather than later.”
A coil of lust snaked through my loins and struck me like a viper. Goddess above, was I shivering from a chill or burning up with a fever? I hardly knew.
But I craved more of it.
Chapter 3
Lord Vasil
The matter with the shifters was resolved rather quickly. The minotaur refused my offer of compensation for the damages to his bar, and the commoner, Cedrych’s ex, demanded an apology–not from the prince but from the queen herself. Something about Queen Gwyneth calling the lad a guildless, unremarkable bit of fae trash. That had been an interesting exchange to say the least. The spirit of the commoner was admirable, and I could clearly see the attraction.
After the queen delivered a biting apology, the commoner demanded she renounce all claims to him or his offspring, which seemed unnecessary unless the fae was with child, something I intended to follow up with Cedrych about promptly.
It had occurred to me that Cedrych could bear children, for all fae had wombs, regardless of gender, an evolutionary adaptation to prevent their kind from going extinct. If we were to marry, officially, I wouldn’t have to enter into an arrangement with another royal for the sole purpose of heirs. But convenience was a poor criteria for choosing consorts, and the romantic in me wanted what my parents had–a loving partnership founded on mutual admiration, loyalty, and respect.
The queen and her retinue, along with Cedrych and myself, were now on our way back to Emrallt Valley, and the two of us would depart for my lands as soon as the sun dipped behind the mountains. I’d instructed Cedrych’s valet to pack his trunks in our absence since the prince had done nothing to prepare for this journey. In fact, Cedrych was still sulking, slouched across from me in the palanquin and staring out through a gap in the curtains while our fae attendants ferried us back to the castle. As we were alone for the time being, I decided to address the matter at hand.
“So, the commoner,” I began.
“Skylar. What about him?” he said crossly. His eyes were red from rubbing his face or perhaps trying not to cry.
“First off, did you impregnate him?” I asked.
“No. He had a neutralizer implant, and it’s been too many moons since we…” He waved one hand for me to draw my own mathematical conclusion. “If he’s with child, it’s the minotaur’s. I’d bet my father’s lands on it.”
I nodded. From the sound of it, Cedrych had been in the role of giver at least some of the time. I wondered if he preferred that pleasure or if he’d simply defaulted to it, due to his higher station and more masculine physique. Perhaps there was some shame surrounding receiving? Such prejudices still existed, even amongst the gender-fluid fae. Would Cedrych be receptive to a man such as myself? That was the question burning a hole through my brain, though I did not pursue it. If we ever reached that level of intimacy, I’d discover the root of his desires myself.
“He’s very attractive,” I said, giving the fae commoner his due.
“He’s a good person too.”
I studied him closer. Not what I’d expected him to say. “And he ended it with you?” I probed.
Cedrych dragged one hand through his already tousled curls. “I messed up. I didn’t tell him about our betrothal. And he read the announcement in the daily scrolls. We fought about it, and he took off.”
“And you chased him down?” I asked, admiring the prince’s tenacity.
“I didn’t like the way we’d ended things, but then when I saw him, I just wanted him back.”
I was trying to remain open-minded. The prince and I were little more than strangers, even if I had laid claim to him. My betrothal bite had meant something to me, but the same could not be said for the prince. Regardless, this was my chance to gain insight into Cedrych’s innermost thoughts, and he seemed to be in the mood to share. “What did you like about him, other than the obvious?” I asked.
Cedrych picked at the sword calluses on one hand and seemed to consider it. “He was just… mine. I found him and I pursued him, and he wasn’t part of my mother’s backstabbing court or the gossiping guard. Even my retinue couldn’t influence him, and because of that, my mother couldn’t manipulate me through him. That was her main gripe, really. She said it was because he was guildless, but the real reason was because she couldn’t control him. I tried to keep him separate from palace politics, but he ended up resenting me for it. I knew our relationship had an expiration date, but I didn’t want to give him up. And he was good to me. He–”
Cedrych stopped there, forcing me to ask, “He what?”
