Page 47 of A Kiss From a Faerie King

His claw skims up my back until he reaches my tense shoulders. Gently, he pulls them down and uncoils me. I hadn’t even realized how much Carysen’s words affected me until Emrys helps me right myself. Each vile word made me turn inwards, and the wrath on Emrys’s face tells me they won’t go unpunished.

Tracing a claw over my cheek, I let his power flow into me. I won’t hide, and I won’t cower. I belong only to Emrys, and he will keep me safe from monsters like Carysen.

My king turns his dark eyes onto my former betrothed, and I watch him and his guards pale.

“How dare you insult my queen.” His voice cuts through the clearing like a knife. “You hurl those disgusting words against the woman I love. Saying she is no more than breeding stock and a few bits of gold. She is worth more than any coin. Any jewel. She is worth more than life.”

A shiver of pleasure sings down my spine at his declaration.

With a wave of his claws, the trees around us shake before becoming a riot of snapping twigs and cracking branches. Invisible hands rip the swords from the guards’ hands. Defenseless, they can do nothing as those mighty oak trees reach with their sentient branches and wrap them around their arms and legs. They scream as they are hoisted into the sky. Bucking against their wooden shackles, their fight is futile.

Carysen’s eyes are wide as his fine clothes tear against the branches. He thrashes the most, tears streaming down his ruddy cheeks. Pain and fear dance in his eyes. How many women have felt the same in his presence? All of those former betrothals ending in their disappearances—his sister confirmed to me what happened.

He deserves every moment of this pain.

“Now you will die for your insults,” Emrys commands.

Like whips, branches wrap around their throats and hoist them further into the sky. They thrash and gargle. Carysen’s satin gloves rip against the branch as he tries to dislodge it from around his neck.

For so long, I have been afraid of men like him—of my father and his expectations held up by my mother. Their rigid ideals stole so much from me, and I won’t allow them to take anymore. Why should I hide in front of a coward like Carysen? A vermin who soaks the front of his trousers like a scared little boy.

My shoulders straighten as I feel the power of this realm—of Emrys andThe Great Oak—flow through me.

“Wait,” I command and watch as the trees listen. They stop tightening for a moment.

Emrys turns to me and awaits my command. I smile at him and let my love for him show. He loves me. He told Carysen—told his whole realm. I’ll show him the same devotion in a moment. Right now, I have something important to tell this sniveling prince.

Taking a step forward, I level my gaze at Carysen and let cruelty flood my gaze.

“My father forced me to marry you in order to gain power. Power I never would’ve benefitted from. He did the same with my other siblings, shackling them all to their own loveless unions.” I take another step as snot leaks from Craysen’s red nose. Petulant child. “You would’ve been cruel to me. Your own sister clued me into the depths of your depravity and, with courage—something you could never be accused of having—helped me escape you.”

“Laurelle, please, let me?—”

“Silence.” My voice echoes around the clearing, strong and unwavering. “Here I am safe—important. I have power and get to decide what I am. I have my freedom. My desires are many and indulged in. You may call me a whore, but that word means nothing coming from a monster like you.”

“Please,” Caysen chokes.

I merely incline my head, and the branch wraps tighter around his throat. Glancing behind me, I meet Emrys’s gaze. It’s just the same as it always is. Gentle and loving, clearly, he enjoys me reclaiming my power. His cock presses firmly against the front of his pants. I lick my lips.

Soon.

Turning back towards my prey, I grin.

“Do you know what true power is?” Carysen shakes his head as much as he can. “It’s knowing that you’ll be a forgotten human prince. It’s knowing that I will live here powerful, free, and eternal. And more than anything, It’s knowing that this creature, as you’ve called him, will kill you in an instant. He only waits for my command because he loves me.”

I glance over my shoulder and meet Emrys’s dark eyes as I say clearly, “Just as I love him.”

Emrys growls, taking a step towards me, but I have one final edict as queen to deliver to our prisoner.

“Or he’ll let me kill you, and I’ll live in peace knowing you can never harm another person. And as much as I would love to be the one who ends you.” I feel Emrys at my back as I smirk at Carysen. “I need to give my husband a wedding present. My love, would you please kill this pathetic man? I need you inside of me again.”

Carysen babbles out a plea, but I’m already turning towards my faerie king. He smiles down at me as I wrap my hands around his neck and press our bodies together.

“With pleasure.”

The branches snap together with a wave of his claws. I don’t even watch as I hear the life being choked from Carysen and his guards. The cheers of our loyal subjects swallow up their last breaths. Their deaths aren’t worth my note—Carysen’s legacy has already been erased.

“Take their bodies away,” I command my king.

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