“Why are you here? And why have you broughthumans?” a male fae yelled across the space to us—no, to Soren.
I flinched back.
Behind the king’s back, Alaric quietly urged everyone on toward the castle, and Lore hurried after them.
They disappeared behind the doors.
My heart rate ratcheted up at the sight of them leaving after I’d only just found them.
But I’d lost my chance to go with, or say anything at all, really, pinned under the glare of the Shadow Court king.
Soren reached out and tugged me back into his chest, wrapping a protective arm around me. “That’s my father, King Roth,” he told me quietly as they reached us. “And my mother, directly behind him, along with my three elder brothers and sister.”
The king wore the tallest crown on his head of long blond hair, along with a cruel expression on his face. His gaze had caught on Soren’s arm around me. He strode closer, ignoring the others completely, as he repeated sternly, “There arehumansin my court.”
“I’m aware,” Soren said dryly. “I’m the one who brought them.”
“Are you trying to embarrass us?” he hissed at his son. “Bringing this race of mortals into our home? Why have you returned?”
His tone made me want to shrink back.Come on, Brynn, I chastised myself.Enough caring what someone else thinks.I straightened my shoulders and stood tall.
“Brynn and her family are my personal guests,” Soren said in a sharp tone, clearly setting some sort of boundary.
Through the cold reception as no one else spoke, Soren’s sister subtly smiled and wiggled a few fingers at me in greeting.
The king strode closer, stopping less than a foot from me and Soren. He gave me a cursory glance before turning his irritated gaze on his youngest son. “You do not live here. Therefore, you cannot have guests. Go back to the Hollow Court before everyone hears you tucked tail and left.” He turned as if the conversation was over. No hugs or “stay for dinner” or “good to see you.” Just “leave.”
“I’m not going back,” Soren told him flatly. The lack of inflection made me glance at his face. The words “diplomatic hostage” came back to me as I looked between him and the glaring king. He’d said his father had sent him. This was the fae who’d let him lose his wings without a second thought.
I couldn’t stand seeing Soren treated that way.
He didn’t deserve it.
Not after everything he’d done for me.
I straightened my spine, knowing I’d probably regret this, and stepped out of Soren’s arms to speak into the tense silence. “Why would you want him to live there?” Sure enough, all eyes swung to me. I swallowed my nerves and pushed on. “If you cared about him at all, you wouldn’t even ask. They’re horrible to him.”
Soren stiffened beside me, and I worried that I’d overstepped.
When I risked a glance at him, his expression was awestruck, as if no one had ever spoken up for him before.
In the long drawn-out silence that followed my proclamation, it occurred to me that I probably should’ve bowed or addressed the king as “Your Highness” or something.
Oops.
But the king returned his attention to Soren, not deigning to speak to me directly. It seemed my words had absolutely no impact. “I expect you to return immediately.”
A muscle feathered in Soren’s jaw, but his voice remained calm. “I ended my contract with the Hollow Court. There’s no going back.”
The queen reached out to place a hand on the king’s tense shoulder. “He spent years there, Rothwart. We received many of the benefits we’d hoped for during that time.”
The king shrugged her hand off, spitting out the words, “It could’ve lasted a century. He’s ruined all my plans.” Turning away, he added over his shoulder, “Now I’ll have to find a new task to keep him occupied.”
“I’m done with doing whatever you want,” Soren called out, stopping the king and everyone around them in their tracks. Before his father could lose it, the way his rising color said he was about to, Soren added, “I discovered a misuse of the veil crossing during my time in the Hollow Court that I wish to address.”
Briefly, the king seemed intrigued. “Misuse?”
“Humans are entering contracts in ignorance. For life.”
