Page 137 of A Flame of the Phoenix

He loomed over her, and she felt frighteningly trapped in his shadow.

“You don’t trust me,” she accused bluntly.

Mordecai’s half-smile was amused. “What is it you wish to know? How our numbers are so great that even if Rhyenelle, High Farrow, and Olmstone stood strong with their forces, they would still not be enough to contend with us? Do you wish to know that this continent is all but ours?”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

“Timing is everything, my dear.”

“Like the full moon for Transitions.”

His eyes narrowed a fraction. “Yes.”

“I want to be changed.” That request slammed between them like a gauntlet thrown. “Tomorrow night.”

Mordecai contemplated her request with suspicious eyes. His pause for answer tingled over her body with growing suspense.

“What changed your mind? The last we spoke of it, you were adamant it would not be necessary for your allegiance.”

“Because I realize you can’t trust me unless I do this. Maybe I can’t even trust myself. Nikalias will always come for me, and this will get him to see there is no getting me back. For my people, for yours, it is the ultimate declaration of unity and loyalty.”

He closed the distance but hovered behind her as Tauria turned to stare back at the haunting moon. Mordecai’s fingers brushed her bare shoulder, and she stifled a shiver.

“Are you truly ready to be mine?” the huskiness in his tone wasn’t lust—it was a taste of triumph.

“Yes,” she whispered. Tauria played the doe, but she was ready to strike as the stag with sharpened antlers. “I want it to be public.”

“That would bring me great pride.”

“Tomorrow night then?”

“As you wish.” Mordecai’s mouth leaned to her ear, and she stifled a shiver when his warm breath fanned across her skin. “We can make it quite the spectacle, as I received word today about an underground rebel force that has been building against me in this kingdom for some time.”

Tauria’s spine locked in horror.

“What’s left of the survivors after the dozens of savage dark fae have taken their fill to flush them out of their sewers…it will be most ceremonial to have the kingdom bear witness as you end the rest of them in your glorious new dark fae body. It will set the precedent for Fenstead’s new beginning.”

Just like that, everything she’d planned required sudden reassessment.

How had he found out about the rebels who had remained hidden for decades? Tauria could only conclude she had to be the cause somehow despite believing she’d been careful.

Her vision swayed, but she kept her footing steady. She couldn’t lose her composure or give the high lord the impression she cared. This was a test.

“I’m surprised it took you this long to discover them. I imagine they’ve been gathering for some time,” Tauria said coolly.

Inside, her mind raced in turmoil. Was she too late to warn the rebels underground of a possible attack?

Mordecai turned her to face him, and her chest constricted. His fingers grazed her chin, tipping her head back a fraction. The look he held her with was part-desire, part-fascination.

“I’ll admit, I haven’t trusted you. But once you are dark fae, things will change for the better here. You will rule as you always should have.”

Yes, she would.

The door to Mordecai’s room burst open, and he pushed her behind him. Tauria’s fear sharpened to see Tallia and the half-dozen other fae behind her. The rebel’s stance was braced to fight, her expression absolutely lethal, cutting into Tauria as much as the high lord.

“What is this?” Mordecai seethed.

He advanced a step, but Tauria hooked her hand around his elbow.

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