Page 46 of A Kiss From a Faerie King

My body relaxes. I should’ve known he’d understand. No longer do I have to apologize for my feelings or feel burdened by them. My feelings are normal—natural. What’s unnatural is disregarding them in order to appease someone else. I did so for my father and was preparing to do so for my future husband.

No more. I will never apologize for what I want again.

“Marriage is important to me. I want us to be united in that way.”

Emrys nods, a small smile on his lip.

“Then, as king of this realm, I pronounce us married. Our subjects as our witnesses.”

Raising his hand, I watch as he pinches the air and brings his fingers in front of my face. There, sitting between his thumb and forefinger is a delicate gold band decorated with a series of colored gemstones. It sparkles in the bright sun. My hand trembles as he takes it in his own.

“You are my everything. Wife, queen, lover. The other half of my soul,” he says, sliding the ring onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit. Tears rush to my eyes. “You are my heart. My mate. The one I took intoThe Great Oakto fulfill the prophecy. You are the only thing that truly matters to me.”

“Quite romantic, husband.” My giggle is watery. Emrys presses his lips to my forehead as the sprites around us cheer. Tucking my hand in his again, I admire my new ring as we walk the last few steps into the meadow’s clearing.

The ring is perfect—just like everything else here. Nothing could ruin life here.

Until I see the humans clustered in the center of the meadow.

My stomach clenches, and my head feels strange. There’s a handful of men, all dressed in the regalia of royal guards. Bile rises in my throat as I take in their discarded banner. It’s the royal seal of Prince Carysen’s family.

The breath is ripped from my lungs as I fully take in the scene. A pair of royal guards are swinging their sharp swords at a swarm of faeries. Their bodies are barely two feet tall, yet they have these grown men shaking with fear. I might have found the whole thing funny if I wasn't so shocked.

Especially as I watch the three sisters bang against the guards’ helmets, causing them to stumble.

My heart twists as I see the pathetic figure cowering behind the four royal guards. Prince Carysen—my intended—covers his ears as a handful of sprites pull at his sandy brown hair. He waves a gloved hand at them. His clothes are gaudy, yet clearly, they are showing signs of the fall he took to get down here. Grass stains mar the silk of his overcoat, and mud is caked on the fingers of his riding gloves.

His eyes finally open and meet mine. The cruelty there steals my breath, and I take a step back. Emrys is immediately at my side.

“My blossom, what’s wrong?”

I open my mouth to answer, my eyes whipping between him and the prince. I don’t get a chance to explain before a voice dripping in condemnation rips through the meadow.

“There she is,” calls Prince Carysen, pushing from between his guards. “Of course,you’dmanage to end up in a place like this.”

He pays for that little show of courage when a pair of female faeries hiss at him, swiping at his pants with their claws. The guards manage to shove them back. Both the sprites and faeries retreat even as their muscles stay coiled.

I can feel their anger as if it is my own. It hums through me, as does the unease of these latest arrivals. They don’t belong here—they can’t stay. If Emrys feels it too, he makes no indication as he gathers me to his side, and we face the wrath of my betrothed.

“What a great fucking mess this,” Prince Carysen exclaims. “A month at least, we’ve been searching for you. A month without the dowry I was counting on your father providing me.”

Emrys’s grip on me tightens, his rage hot against my side.

Prince Carysen tracks the movement. His sneer misses nothing as the king holds me, our connection clear—especially as his ring glows on my finger.

“Why am I not surprised to find you here? Whoring yourself out to these foul creatures. No doubt you’ve let them take turns with you. How ashamed your family will be when they learn what’s become of you.”

One of the sisters—Pond—buzzes in front of his face and uses her hand to smack him in the eye. He howls and doubles over. Despite his cruel words, I can’t help my smile at watching him in pain.

“You fucking bitch!” he roars. Whether it’s at me or Pond, I’m not sure.

Wiping at his eyes, they blaze with blue fury.

“You could’ve just married me. Let me put some heirs in your belly and be done with it. Now, we’re trapped in this fucking forsaken land with a bunch of?—”

“Enough.”

Emrys’s voice cuts through the clearing with authority. Even the breeze stops blowing.

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