Page 4 of King

Unfortunately, for the same reason, he also won’t cast me out. But what worse can he do than he was already planning?

He’s made his decision. At least now, someone has finally voiced what a foul piece of shit he is.

Chapter 2

Durin

I’ve just finished my breakfast, and I’m itching to get out of the castle. As much as I try not to think about it, the new season is almost here. I want to be close when the queen steps out to connect with the realm. I plan to follow her and see what takes place during these visits.

I burst through my door, hoping to get away without being stopped by anyone. But waiting for me, like a wound that refuses to heal, is Folas’s ugly face.

“The queen will be holding a celebration for you in three days,” he says, his smirk spreading wider with each word. “You’re to remain on castle grounds until the event. It hasn’t escaped notice how little time you spend in the castle. You’re not to leave until the celebration is over and you’ve been presented as Consort.”

I’m tempted to just go ahead and kill him and tell the queen he was too annoying to bear. It wouldn’t be a lie.

“A celebration in my honor?” I ask with a wicked grin of my own. “Does that mean I get to strangle the messenger?”

His smugness falls away. His body tenses as he searches my face to see whether I’m serious. I reach for his throat, and he bolts down the corridor toward the common areas. His ratty green hair bounces behind him, and his robes become tangledbetween his legs. I laugh loudly at him until he disappears from view.

While I like this new method of getting Folas out of my sight, I need some fresh air to process what he just told me. As I make my way to the courtyard, I try to calm myself and accept that I’m a prisoner here for the next few days.

Really, I’ve been a prisoner all along. My confines are just smaller now.

Folas never said it, but it was implied that I’d be watched. I won’t be able to spy on the queen during her trip out into the forest.

I also won’t be able to check on Rue. I can’t even find Farris and ask him to watch over her for me. She’s so close to delivering our pup. I’m stuck here with the scum of the realm while my son could arrive at any moment.

A cold wind whips at my face, a chilling reminder of the nightmare that looms ahead. The Still Season is here. The queen will summon me to her bed again. I have three long days to worry about Rue and dread the new scars I’m about to add to my collection.

As I brace myself against another icy gust, I can’t shake the feeling that this time, the wounds will cut even deeper.

***

“Why didn’t she hold this celebration sooner?” I ask aloud, not really expecting Sarra or Leah to answer.

I’m lying back in the tub while they bathe me for myspecialday.

“She always holds them during the Still Season,” Sarra says softly, pouring her calming magic into my skin.

“Why’s that?” I scoff. “Because it matches her cold, dead heart?”

“Maybe,” Leah says, squirting some oil into her hand. “Youknow how dead the ground looks around the castle? It’s colder here. And darker in a different way. All color and warmth just get sucked away.”

“Sucked away, or sent away?” I ask.

“I’m not sure,” Sarra says, rubbing her fingertips into my scalp. “Anything bound to the castle slowly loses its hue. The walls, the drapes, tables… even the servants who never leave. Anything you see with color hasn’t been here long.”

“Your hair…” I say, thinking of all the silver-haired servants I assumed were glamoured to match the castle.

Sarra nods. “She doesn’t allow us to glamour ourselves. So, our hair remains this way once the color is gone.”

“What about Folas?” I ask. “His hair isn’t white, but he’s no noble. Who the fuckishe?” I snap, slamming my hand into the water and splashing it across the floor.

Leah gasps and shields her face against the sudden spray. Sarra blinks at me as a drop of water slides down her neck.

“Sorry,” I tell them, immediately regretting my outburst. I wave my hand over the wet spots, using my heat to dry them. “I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

“It’s okay,” Sarra says. “No one really knows much about Folas. Only that he’s always been here, and no one is allowed to touch him.”

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