Page 34 of Blood of the Fairest

"Of the two of us, you're the emotional one right now," I point out calmly. "If you're done throwing your fit, pack your things and get lost. I already have a new chamberlain, and they'll need your rooms."

That last part is a lie. I still need to find Merrick and beg him to come back. If he's not interested, I'll still thank him for his help the other day, then look for someone else who can do the job without talking down to me.

Schultz sputters with rage. "But⁠—"

"No buts. We're done here."

"Your Majesty, I⁠—"

"I don't care. Leave."

"How dare you?" he seethes, crab red. "After everything I've endured for you! The Privy Council will not accept⁠—"

My temper finally spikes, turning my voice so sharp that others in this courtyard duck their heads.

"Get the fuck out of my castle."

We've become such a spectacle, everyone watching with bated breath, that no one—not even me—is prepared for how fast Schultz loses it. He snarls and lunges forward, his hands going for my throat.

Before he can wring my neck, the flat of an axe-blade gleams in front of my veiled face. There's a sickening schlick before blood splatters on my veil.

A scent like fermenting pomegranate juice fills the air as one of Schultz's arms flops to the ground.

Several people scream.

Schultz screams, too, clutching his gushing elbow stump. I recoil so fast from the sudden blood and the scent that I nearly fall on my ass.

But the Huntsman steps in front of me. Calm as the clear sky overhead, he reaches back to steady me while holding his bloodied axe ready in his other hand.

Meanwhile, I'm the furthest thing from calm as the chamberlain's blood drips down the front of my veil. I close my eyes for a second, fighting the bile rising up my throat along with this…urge.

My stomach twists hard, but it's not only with disgust.

There's overwhelming thirst, too. My teeth ache, feeling strange again.

Knock it off. You're just hungry.

"That's the Huntsman of the North," someone gasps.

I already thought this guy was terrifying, but he must come with one hell of a reputation, because now the onlookers are in a serious tizzy.

"What are you standing around for?" Schultz chokes. "Guards! Arrest the Huntsman at once!"

The fact that he's overstepping and making orders again snaps me out of this horrible push and pull I'm having with the queen's disturbing appetite.

I move out from behind the Huntsman, speaking loudly. "No. Arrest Schultz."

Look at that, my voice is barely shaking. That's pretty good for someone who's doing her damned best to keep her eyes off the bloody mess.

Not that it helps much when I'm practically wearing it on my fucking face.

I'm not sure if the real queen gave a lot of orders inside her own castle. Luckily, the many guards who have gathered seem taken aback by my assertiveness for only a moment before they quickly surround Schultz.

As he's dragged away, the former chamberlain thrashes and screams like a madman.

"How dare you! You vain, insolent, conniving whore! You are a disgrace to this kingdom—all of Isenmere spits upon your name! May Ayna curse you! May she disfigure your face and crack your mirrors and⁠—"

His voice fades into an echo as he's dragged down a corridor. I'm dying to get out of here, rip off the bloody veil, and breathe in air that doesn't smell like disgusting pomegranate.