Page 13 of War of Her Heart

“A little after nine,” he said.

“Oh fuck. I forgot to take my medicine.” I stuck my hand in my pocket but couldn’t find the pill. I started to look around where I was standing to see if it had fallen out when I ran into the shadow king, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Your . . . medicine?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, my medicine. Can you tell me the quickest way back to the east wing?” In that moment, the shadow king wrapped his arm around me, and the next moment we were standing in my room.

I’d transferred a million times with Calum. It’s a skill that only Sovereigns can do. Being able to move from one place to another in an instant was the gift Queen Mother blessed all Sovereigns with, along with their individual gifts. I just didn’t expect the shadow king to help a complete stranger like me get to my medicine—let alone know which room was mine.

It didn’t matter right now. I ran over to the nightstand to get my medicine. I’d taken it every night at exactly nine. My father always said that I couldn’t miss a dose, even by a few minutes. It was too dangerous.

“You’re a faerie.”

I spun around, dropping the pill bottle on the floor. I fully expected him to leave after getting me to my room, not standing there watching me with such a puzzled look on his face.

“Yeah, s—” I was reaching down to pick up the bottle when it flew across the room and landed in his hand. “Excuse me. I need to take that now.” I’d never been late with my medicine, and I was starting to freak out. I had no idea what would happen to me.

The shadow king was inspecting the bottle and glancing at me every few seconds with a confused look on his face. “What is this medicine for? Faeries do not take daily medication.”

“Well, I do.” I walked over to him and tried to snatch it out of his hand. “Now give it.”

He jerked his hand back before I could get the bottle from him. He looked me up and down with a hint of amusement on his face.

“I have a heart condition, and if I don’t take that medication, I could die.” I was getting mad. It’s not like me to get angry or have an attitude with someone, let alone someone as deadly as the shadow king. I usually sat back and submitted to anything that was asked of me.

But in that moment, I wanted to rip his beautiful head off, and I wasn’t afraid of him. I was afraid of my heart stopping and then me dying.

“Faeries do not have heart conditions.”

“Okay, well, hi, my name is Violet Ashwood, I am the daughter of the Mountain Realm’s Commander—which, in case you didn’t know, means I am a faerie—and I have afuckingheartcondition. Congratulations, you’ve now met a faerie with a heart condition. Nowpleasegive me my medicine.”

“Violet.” He began to look me up and down. He shook his head and chuckled. “Of course.”

I instantly regretted what I just said to him. In the past, fae had simply looked at him the wrong way and he killed them. But he just handed me the bottle.

I ran to the bathroom to take the pill and get a sip of water from the faucet. As I looked up to the mirror, I swear I saw the faintest golden glow in my eyes. I immediately shut my eyes and slowly opened them again, and they were back to brown—the plain brown eyes I’d always had. I must’ve been hallucinating from forgetting to take my medicine. I was scared to think what would’ve happened if I waited any longer. I started to feel myself cool down, and my heartbeat began to slow.

I walked back into my room to see the shadow king sitting at the end of my bed. “I-I’m sorry I spoke to you like that. I just really needed to take my medicine.”

“You have quite the mouth on you, Violet,” he said, allowing the most perfect smile to come across his face. It was just as sinister as it was entrancing. “It’s alright. We can just pretend like it never happened.”

“Thank you . . . um . . . Your Highness?”

“Your Highness? I’m a Sovereign, not a king,” he said, cocking his head to the side.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just thought that . . .” What if he doesn’t know everyone calls him the shadow king? What if he took it as an insult and decided to end me right now? “Never mind,” I mumbled.

“What?” He stood up and started walking slowly towards me.

I didn’t realize that I was backing away until I hit the wall. I had nowhere to go to get away from the shadow king. I was trapped.

He stopped when there were only a few inches between us and allowed a smirk to form on his face.

“Being ‘the shadow king’ doesn’t make me an actual king. You know that, right?” I was absolutely terrified and completely intrigued all at the same time.

He leaned in until his lips were almost touching my neck. I could feel his breath, and it was just as cool as the black mist and the hand that helped me up. Goosebumps formed all over my body.

“Please, call me Sebastian,” he whispered in my ear.

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