The door opens and three people enter, but Cambria stays seated. We follow her lead, and it only takes me a second to catch on that it isn’t a means of disrespect. From this position, they literally get to look down on her, as if she’s beneath them. It makes her seem small and weak.
And she would rather let them than fight.
“Cambria,” a woman I have no doubt in my mind is her mother greets regally.
She’s the very epitome of what I would expect of a fae queen. Her hair is a solid, pale shade of light blue, that sparkles when the light hits it, like she’s coated in diamond dust. Her elegant, silver dress is strapless and hugs her upper body as if it were painted on before loosening at her hips and hanging straight. She has a silver scrap of a shawl wrapped around her lower back and inner elbows, the gossamer fabric so sheer it shouldn’t even be tangible. It’s nearly the same as the fairy wings on her back that appear made of nothing more than muted light. Her eyes though, are colder than any I’ve seen before, including Lucien’s.
“Milady,” Cambria acknowledges formally.Milady, not mother.
Her mother sits at the head of the table on the opposite side, as far away from her daughter as possible. Piper sits at her right hand, a guard at each of their backs behind their chairs, and a man sits opposite Piper.
Cambria tenses as he draws his chair out, but quickly masks it, though not before the three of us notice. We are so hyper attuned to her right now that it’s impossible not to be aware of every tick of her muscles.
I take a second glance at the man with harsher scrutiny than before now that I know she’s afraid of him. His hair is variegated, starting at a deep red at his scalp and ending in golden tips. His face is hard, more masculine than the other fae I’ve seen. There’s nothing dainty about this man beyond his slender build, but more importantly, he absolutely refuses to look at this half of the table. Instead, his gaze is set on the wall behind Piper, his jaw tight and eyes hard.
“I see you were unable to keep out of trouble like you promised,” the Queen purrs, bringing her water to her lips. Unlike the other two, she hasn’t taken her eyes off of Cambria since the second she walked into the room.
Cambria never directly looks over there, keeping her eyes trained either on the empty plate in front of her or the empty space across from her.
“It was an accident,” she whispers, and it damn near breaks my heart.
Food begins being served, drawing out the suspense of the Queen’s answer. Lucien, Atlas, and I keep our mouths shut, despite how difficult it is. After the servers leave the room, the Queen begins eating, waiting several more minutes before speaking just to fuck with her.
“What’s done is done,” she tosses out flippantly, and even though Cambria sits up straighter, she doesn’t whip her head around in shock. Another few bites and the Queen continues. “Now I just need to decide what to do about it.” I bristle, clutching my fork tightly.
“What do you mean, milady?” Cambria asks cautiously.
Piper doesn’t bother to hide her smirk, smiling through each bite of her food while the man hasn’t bothered to so much as touch his plate. The Queen sets her fork down and folds her hands in her lap elegantly.
“Your bleeding heart allowed them to live, so perhaps I should remove them for you since you lack the conviction. You can hardly care for yourself; how do you expect to care for three humans?” she asks.
“She manages just fine,” Atlas states, barely managing to keep his temper in check.
Cambria stiffens beside me and I reach beneath the table to put my hand on her knee, squeezing once in reassurance before removing it. The guards behind Piper and the Queen turn their sole focus on Atlas, but don’t move. They watch and wait like perfectly trained soldiers.
“Bold,” the Queen states. “I’m not so sure that’s a good influence for our daughter. What do you think, Apollo dear?”
The man finally deigns to look at Cambria, his eyes hard and full of loathing. “You know my stance, Elorie,” he replies icily.
She tilts her head to the side, as if studying the room. “Remind me?”
His jaw tightens even further as he spits out, “This should have ended years ago. She murdered a prince in cold blood. Treason should be met without mercy. Put her down rather than playing your games and letting her flit wherever she desires.”
He may finally be looking at her, but Cambria’s eyes still never deviate beyond the wall in front of her.
Lucien’s chair starts to scoot back, but Cambria snakes a hand out and wraps it around his wrist. There’s a tense beat of silence before he slides back to the table, openly glaring at her parents. All the while, Piper grins, like it’s her favorite sight to behold.
“No need to fret, my dear,” Elorie claims, tucking an errant blue lock behind her ear. “She cannot control her pets any better than her abilities. It’s far more satisfying to watch the things she’s sworn to protect be the things to destroy her. A betrayal for a betrayal. Fitting, don’t you agree?”
She takes another sip of her glass, holding it out as she waits for it to be refilled. Another sip, another moment of silence. She gently places her glass on the table as plates are cleared, waiting for the staff to depart once more before continuing.
“Besides,” she purrs, leaning forward to rest her chin on a hand. “Now she has something she cares for, don’t you Cambria? You see what the human realm has to offer; weakness. Three chinks in your already feeble armor that can be used to keep you in line better than anything we’ve ever attempted in the past.”
Why she tolerates this instead of sucking them all dry is beyond me. There’s no way she would mourn their losses, and the world would be better off without any of these assholes. Why can’t she see it?
Cambria bites her tongue and I brush my hand over her mark, but even that does little to ease the tension from the obvious threat. With a snap of Elorie’s fingers, three of the guards posted near the exits reappear directly behind Atlas, Lucien, and I, blades digging into our throats. I don’t struggle, knowing this is all a game for the Queen to get her sick thrills, but that doesn’t keep the promise of murder from my eyes as I shoot daggers at the three fae seated at the far end of the table.
“But I’m not unreasonable, Apollo dear. Let’s test my theory before making any hasty decisions, shall we?” Apollo doesn’t answer, making it clear he’s well accustomed to his mate pulling stunts like this regularly. “Cambria,” Elorie chirps, sounding excited. “How about a song, my little bird? If I enjoy it, the four of you may walk out of here and back to your quaint little shack. If I don’t, I’ll allow Piper to decide which of your pets she wants to play with. Doesn’t that sound like a fair compromise?”
