Page 118 of Bride of the Fae Prince

Princess Listhra’s brow puckers slightly, but one of the women chuckles. I giggle back, delighted at her reaction.

“Do you have any other questions?” I ask eagerly. “I wouldloveto answer them!”

“Should we just kill her then?” asks the lady at the far end. “Now that we know she’s truly just a pawn, no matter what Trenian wants us to believe.”

“Kill whom?” I ask, leaning forward. Maybe if they like me enough, they’ll invite me into their secret. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I could belong in a group for once!

“It’s too early,” says Princess Listhra. “There’s too much time before Lulythinar to kill her now. He’ll just go get another one. We must wait until it’s closer to the deadline, and he doesn’t have time.”

“How do we know we’ll even get another opportunity? She’s been here for days, and no one has been able to touch her until now. Trenian guards her too carefully.”

“We’ll just have to be on high alert. I’m telling you, if we kill her now, he’ll go get another human wife, and he won’t come back until five minutes before the deadline. It’ll be impossible to kill his second wife then. We can’t be sloppy about this. No mistakes. Whoever makes mistakes willnotbe who the High King chooses for Trenian’s wife and the future Queen of Valehaven.”

“So, what do we do with her? Just drop her back off where we found her?”

A glint enters Princess Listhra’s irises as she regards me. My heart swells at her attention. She’ssobeautiful. I can only dream of being so glorious as her. I shouldn’t be sitting near her—I should be on my knees, bowing down to her.

“We can have a little fun with her while we wait for Trenian to come searching for his pet.”

Chapter 41

The Prince

Rahk comes to astop before a door. The private chambers of Princess Listhra. He holds up his hand, halting me from barreling into the chamber. He walks up to the door, silent as a forest dryad, and leans his ear against it. His gaze shoots to me, and he nods once. Five paces, and he’s back at my side.

“She’s in there. Alive,” he says under his breath. “I smell faerie fruit.”

I don’t stop to hear anything else, rushing forward and barely remembering to wipe the panic from my face before I throw open the door.

There’s Stella. Not a dozen paces from me. Wearing a brilliant grin . . . and not much else. It’s something of a long tunic that reaches mid-thigh, but instead of fabric, it’s made of leaves poorly woven together. As though a child was practicing—and mostly failing—to spin ornala petals into cloth. It’s probably glamoured, so she thinks she wears a beautiful gown. She dances, her feet bare, on a pile of glass shards, utterly oblivious to her own blood staining the floor.

Beyond her are four sets of wicked smiles. They all chime, “Prince Trenian.”

My boiling rage slows to a lethal simmer.

“Ash!” Stella gasps. “It’s you! You’re so handsome! Come dance with me!” Her ankle rolls, but she doesn’t stop moving, twirling, dancing. She won’t stop until I pull her out of that cursed dance. Or she dies of exhaustion.

I cross the distance between us, scoop her up into my arms. She breathes hard, blood dripping from her feet. I tighten my grip on her bare knees.

“Princess Listhra. Lady Iluna. Lady Shalar. Princess Brolnyr.” Then I smile. My coldest, deadliest smile. “Don’t tempt me toward vengeance, ladies. You don’t want me as your enemy.”

Three of them turn pale at the threat. The fourth—Listhra—only smiles back. “If I cannot have your love, I’ll settle for your hatred.”

Well, she has it.

Cradling my wife to my chest, I spin on my heel and storm out of the room. She hasn’t stopped gasping, as though she’s been dancing for some time now. I grind my teeth, wanting some outlet for my fury. If I hadn’t left, if I had stayed for even one more minute, I would have slaughtered all those women right there.

Rahk slips to my side but doesn’t glance a single time toward Stella. I’d glamour her if that wouldn’t take time. But I need to get her back to my quartersnow.

Before something worse happens to her.

I could have lost her.

She could be dead right now. A couple of bloody feet, exhaustion, and humiliation are so much better than I could have hoped for. I’ll still never forgive myself for letting this happen.

When we reach my quarters, Rahk steps back. “It’s best if I keep my distance. Where I can.”

I give a tight nod. “Thank you, brother.”

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