She giggles loudly this time, one hand slapping at her knee. “Andhe didn’t think I could handle a bit of blood, but let me tellyou –” She breaks off, raising her hands to her mouth as another giggle escapes. “There is alotof it. Like a lot, a lot. You go into the room and you think, oh my gods, a hundred people have died, but no. Just these twelve.”
Her hands gesture wildly at the heads on the table. “And honestly, one of these might actually be a butt or something. It’s really hard to tell given the squish is so bad. Ha. The squish.” She turns to look at me, panic behind a mask of madness, making my skin feel tight across my body. She’s going into shock, and the urge to protect her from herself is only kept in check by her earlier plea for me to trust her, to let her prove she can be queen.
“Is that how you say it?” she asks.
“It’s squished,” I say strongly, keeping my concern for her hidden so she won’t break.
She turns back again. “Given the squished is so bad.”
I start to correct her, but she’s rambling so fast again, I think it would be better to just let her get it all out.
“Like bad. Really, really bad squished. But I did pick up one of the eyes to hopefully make up for that.” She snorts this time. Then reaching across the table, she picks up a wayward eye and tosses it to Coo.
Coo does not catch it.
None of the twelve members move.
No one behind me does either.
“So yeah,” Arienna says as she steps back. “That’s the deal done. I will be taking my husband home now.”
Turning on her heels, she walks towards me. She holds out her arm as she reaches me, and I take her hand in mine.
I half expect someone to call out as we leave, to claim the deal hasn’t been upheld, but there’s nothing but silence.
Squeezing my wife’s hand, I look at her. She’s starting to shake, and when she glances at me, her eyes are so wild, I want to cry for her.
Lifting her hand to my lips, ignoring the blood crusted there, I kiss it. She is not a monster.
Despite the doubt in her eyes, I want her to know that.
A small smile cracks her lips, and she nods. Her mouth moves in a silent, “Thank you,” and seeing her trust my opinion makes my chest ache.
“I love you.”
Tears burn her eyes at my words. She stops at the door to the hall, staring at me for a moment. A calm slowly washes over her, glazing over the mad panic in her eyes. Turning to look at Petre still sitting frozen at the table, my queen smiles sweetly. A brilliance lights her pale-pink eyes. “Don’t youeverthreaten my family again,” she says.
Holding the dragon’s gaze without flinching, she waits for her to say something.
She doesn’t.
No one does.
Widening her smile, my queen inclines her head. “Thank you for your time, everyone. I hope you have a lovely night.”
Her fingers tight on mine, she leads me from the hall.
“Holy fucking shit,” Fabia says as we landed on the balcony to the royal chambers. Nicholas sets her down, but I keep Arienna in my arms. She started to shake as soon as we took flight, and she hasn’t yet stopped. Cradling her against my chest, I press a kiss to the top of her head as our group strides down the hall.
“You should’ve seen that room. She –”
“Not now, Fabia,” I say, my eyes on my queen. With the rush of adrenaline having left her system, she merely looks exhausted and horrified.
Jace and Irin hurry ahead to clear our room. The door is opened for me when we reach it, and I head straight for the bathroom to put Arienna in the shower. Skirting in front of me, Jace opens the door so I won’t have to put her down.
I start to nod my thanks at him, but then I catch sight of a bound and gagged fairy passed out on the toilet. The lid is closed underneath him, but his trousers and boxers have been yanked down to his ankles. I don’t need to try to move him to know he’s stuck there with magic.
But although Evangeline has fixed the state of Redric’s massive balls, lifting the curse she put on them two decades ago, he now has an angry erection that I suspect has been there for days. If I’d been sleeping in this room, I could’ve freed him ages ago, but it’s felt too empty without Arienna in it, so I’ve been crashing in my study.
