“Wishing my knife…” He blinks. “I stabbed Lief because he did something wrong.”
“But he didn’t yell until after you stabbed him.” I know a good brownie never yells, but I’m pretty certain you’re not supposed to punish people until after they break a rule.
“It wasn’t for that.”
“Then why –”
“Do you trust me?” he asks softly.
“Of course.”
“Can you trust that I’ve done the right thing even though I cannot tell you why?”
I study his face, knowing there’s a deeper question under that one. Reminded of the pain I put in his eyes, the trust I broke last night when I accidentally got Fabia to kill him, I cup his face and nod.
“I trust you,” I say. Even if I can still hear Lief’s scream in my ears, so terrible and cold, I know my king is a good man.
He presses into my palm as he closes his eyes. Then he kisses me again, a light brushing of our lips. “Do you want to continue seeing our people, or would you like Jace to take you to our rooms?” he asks as he steps back.
I jerk back in horror. “You want me toflywithout you?”
He smirks, damn well knowing how he gets me to calm down when he takes to the air.
“Though I guess Jace could fin–”
I yelp as he picks me up, but my noises are smothered by his mouth. With a spread of his softly glowing, translucent wings, he flies us up the dais. I close my eyes as his tongue distracts mefrom the fact that I could have walked up the bloody stairs. But I know this is a punishment for teasing him about Jace.
When he sets me down on the ground, I stumble towards my throne. It’s a powerful piece of art – thorn-covered vines interlocking to create a towering back and thick base. But gods, is it awful to sit in. What it is though, is solidly on the floor, so that ticks all the boxes I need right now.
Perching on the edge of my seat, I smile as Richard takes his place beside me. His chair isn’t as outlandishly carved as mine, but it doesn’t look the slightest bit comfortable either. Yet, still he sits fully on it, letting the thorns dig into his ass. His wings are spread out to the sides, resting lightly on the arms of his throne.
Swallowing, I wriggle back a little bit, trying to play the part of his queen.
Jace walks over to the double doors leading to outside. A thick line of people snakes on the branch of the tree in front of us. Taking a deep breath, I reach across for the hand of my king. He threads his fingers through mine and gives it a small squeeze. Then the first person steps forwards, and I relax at how friendly she looks.
Pastels cover her from head to toe. Baggy, autumn leaf-patterned trousers fall over soft brown leather boots. Her sleeveless shirt, a collage of buckles and belts, consist of every pale colour of the rainbow. Slivers of rich brown skin covered in emerald runes peek beneath the bands. Even her piercings are colourful – soft blues and pinks and purples. They hang from her ears, are embedded in her nose, pinch her brows, and curve around her lip. Painted orange, they match her left eye. Her right eye, however, is green, a solid likeness to the emerald ink scrawled across her entire body.
As she passes Jace, she runs a hand across his chest. He grins at her, and she winks back. Turning her attention to us, she strolls in as if she’s walking to her own throne.
Smiling broadly, feeling completely at ease with her, I lift my free hand and wave. She flicks me a two finger wave back before rolling that hand in front of her as she bows at the waist. Her other arm stretches out sideways. She keeps her different coloured eyes on mine even as she greets the both of us.
Only then does she look at Richard. Her eyes, hot and tempting, she straightens. “Jace and I missed you the other night,” she purrs.
My lips part on a silent gasp as I think about what she means. So many scenarios run through my head, making my pussy wet.
Jace fucking her from behind, his hands cupping her breasts for Richard to suck on...
Him thrusting inside her as Jace’s head lowers between her legs...
Her on all fours as Richard guides her head onto his cock and Jace holds down her hips…
And then she shifts into me in my fantasies because if my king is up for a threesome, then godsdamn am I going to be at the centre of the next one.
The woman looks at me as if she can read my thoughts. Her gaze licks me from head to toe. Richard’s hand feels even hotter against my skin. Pressing my lips together, I try not to make a sound.
“Though I can see why you didn’t join us,” the woman purrs. “She looks a lot more entertaining than a game of throwing knives. You should bring her next time.”
I deflate a little. That doesn’t sound anywhere near as fun as a threesome. “Throwing knives?” I ask politely.
