Page 186 of The Fallen Fae King

I’m not used to people looking at me like that. I’m not Daire. Ignatius’ gaze reminds me of the one I catch on Lucius’ face sometimes.

“Don’t stop your story,” I order, gruffly. “What happened with Liviana?”

“One summer, she started to cry. She told me that King Tarquin was courting her.” Aquila keeps his face against his Alpha’s neck.

I ball my hands into fists. “My brother wouldn’t force himself onto an Omega.”

“But her mother would force Liviana into a marriage to gain political power, then use her daughter to spy on the King just as she intends to do with you.”

I’d known it, but hearing that the same trick had been planned on my brother, hits me hard.

“Liviana has been playing this game at court for years,” I snarl. “How do you know that she hasn’t been playing you too? Seeing you secretly was a major risk for both of you. Why take it?”

Aquila finally raises his head. “Liviana invited me to her bedroom. She’s alone and frightened. She knows that you love your other mates and don’t want her. Yet she’s been forced into this situation. She’s been playing a role, as I have been.”

“This is Maximinus’ plot backed by the fucking Council.” My eyes become molten gold, as rage roars through me. “Decima and Cato are behind this, and they’re the fuckers who are going to pay. The penalty for spying, treason, or attempted assassination…any one of them…is public execution.”

I tower over the couple, as they stiffen their spines, barely daring to breathe.

I let the moment hang between us.

Then I tap my lip. “I could be merciful and simply exile you…”

Aquila throws himself at my feet, clasping my ankle. “Your Majesty, don’t part me from my Alpha. I would be in agony during my heats, and it wouldn’t be fair to punish Iggy during his ruts. It would be kinder to kill me. Whip me or throw me in the dungeons. But don’t take me away from the only Alpha who has ever seen me as worthy.”

Aquila may have been a spy but he’s not smart. Lucius would never have walked into this trap.

I grab Aquila by his hair, dragging him to his feet. “Then I’ll offer you a third and final choice because I am especially merciful today. Redeem yourself by playing a role for me, as you’re so good at it, one final time. Act like I tell you to, and all will be forgiven. Get dressed. Let’s visit your dear friend, Liviana. I know that it’s bad luck on the wedding morning to see your bride, but I’m prepared to risk it for the chance to capture Decima and Cato for treason. Bael will have never witnessed a ceremony like mine.”

I smile, darkly.

Then finally, I allow Hadrian out to play.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Liviana’s Bedroom, Shadow Court

Hadrian

I slam through the silver arched doors into Liviana’s chambers.

Why did Aurelius allow himself to be matched with this snobbish bitch, even if he never intended to go through with it?

Why has he let us be tormented by being parted from our mates, who should never have left my nest?

I would love them to be tied there, so that they could never leave me.

What’s wrong with that?

How dare Aurelius let our mates be sent away, disgraced as consorts?

They’re mine.

I should simply burn down this palace and steal back my mates.

This plan of Aurelius’, on the other hand, does have its merits. It will end in my being crowned Emperor once again, which is my rightful title.

Then my reincarnated Omega and Alpha, confusingly different as they both are, as well as needing retraining on the proper way to respect me, will stand alongside me forever.