Page 36 of Crown of Briars
Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes burned with hatred. Her breaths came in short spurts as she struggled to think of a response. Her hand tightened around the jeweled dagger, and I chuckled.
“Are you going to fight me with that pathetic weapon? Is that why you’re here? To kill me?”
Her eyes widened, and her face suddenly drained of color. “I’m not—I wouldn’t?—”
My chuckles turned into full-blown laughter as I envisioned her swinging that dagger wildly, like a toddler. The idea that this feeble creature would try to challenge me was simply hilarious.
“Go back to sleep before you injure yourself,” I said, still amused by this. “Or worse,embarrassyourself. I wouldn’t want to damage that fragile ego of yours.”
Once more, I turned away, but she wasn’t finished with me. “You are vile!” she shouted, her voice echoing in the vast space.
I wanted to laugh again, but I was interested to see what she would do next. So I stilled, waiting for her to finish.
“I don’t want to be here any more than you want me here,” she went on. “Neither of us asked for this. The least you could do is be accommodating and forthcoming andkind. Is that so much to ask for? Instead, you mock and insult me, you don’t even bother to show your face to me, and you laugh at the notion that I might fear for my life in this place, when you have given me no reason at all to feel safe.”
Mother of Shade, I had hadenoughof this human. Unable to contain my fury, I dropped my shadow shield,allowing my magic to withdraw completely as it receded into my body. Slowly, I turned to face her, exposing my true form. With my shadows gone, the dying embers cast a glow on my crimson skin, revealing every detail to her.
I waited for her to scream. For her to draw her weapon and fling it at me. For her to run from the room. Perhaps she would cry or beg for mercy, as the previous human brides had.
But once again, this human surprised me. Sybelle did not even flinch. She stared at me with that calculating gaze, with that same look in her eye when she had asked about my shadows. With deliberate slowness, her gaze dipped to my bare feet with black claws, then traveled up my legs, taking in my black kilt and fighting leathers, and the violet tunic that revealed a significant amount of my bare chest. I still hadn’t disrobed from the ceremony, but perhaps that was fitting. She wanted to look upon her husband, so here I was, still dressed in my wedding attire.
Her eyes continued making their way upward, noting my lower set of fangs, my thick, curly black hair, and my ibex horns. My long, barbed tail flicked to my right, and her eyes snagged on that, too.
Not once did terror strike her features like I expected it to. She merely observed me as a scientist would, taking in all the details. Even so, I could feel her pulse thrumming, her heart racing, and her breath hitching. I wasn’t sure what caused it, but it certainly wasn’t fear.
At long last, she spoke. “If that’s supposed to terrify me, you’ll have to try harder.”
I almost laughed again. She was surprising me over and over, and I was honestly finding it quite delightful.
“And what, precisely,wouldterrify you?” I asked, unable to keep the amusement from my voice.
She chewed on her lower lip as she considered this. Then,with a slight smile, she said, “An excessively affectionate husband.”
I couldn’t help it. I threw my head back and roared with laughter, the sound reverberating against the walls and echoing all around us. Sybelle joined in, her giggles lighter and shriller, but no less vibrant. Together, our voices mingled, creating a cacophony of sounds that collided and twisted together until they formed something unique and unrecognizable.
A human and an unseelie fae laughing together. Who would have thought it?
“You are an enigma,Sybelle,” I said when my laughter had finally subsided.
She arched an eyebrow at me. “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.”
“It’s the most you’ll get from me this evening.” I pressed my fist to my heart. “I bid you good night.”
She returned the gesture. “Good night, husband.”
I flinched, and she chuckled again, as if she’d known how much I would despise the word. As I turned away from her, I wondered whether this bold, unexpected creature would continue to amuse me, or frustrate me to no end.
The Wraith King was terrifying.No doubt about it.
But the first thing I noted were his bare, clawed feet. The talons were black, gleaming like onyx in the dying firelight.
It reminded me of Azure. The talons on her tail legs were the same color.
From there, I could only see similarities to my best friend. The claws. The sharpened teeth. His set of fangs along the bottom were so large they protruded from his mouth even when his lips were closed. And every single tooth that showed when he spoke was sharpened like the point of a dagger.
Azure’s teeth were the same. She often mocked me for my dull, rectangular teeth, claiming they couldn’t possibly tear meat properly.
There were, of course, several major differences between King Varius and Azure. For instance, his two rather large black horns that added several inches to his already impressive height. His eyes were jet black. The bare chest visible from his open tunic was firm and muscular, along with his powerful arms. I was certain he could crush my windpipe with one hand.
