Page 48 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
“What?” I ask, bristling at the awe in his eyes.
“I’m waiting for you to dismiss me. Sir.”
I give an approving grunt. Good start. “Tell me what’s in the drink, and then you are dismissed.”
“Cait said it’s a Cosmo.”
What the fuck?
Willow chuckles and mentions something about her aunty and cocks and tails—which makes me even angrier at the youth—but then she takes a sip, and her pink tongue drags slowly along her plump bottom lip. A moan of satisfaction slips out of her.
I shoo Colin away.
Emrys could have a point about our memories. I’m unsure if I want them at all if they’re full of images of her with other cocks and tails.
Six cocks in our hive is enough. Two tails are already too much. They knock things over all the time, cause a mess, and . . . the thought of her with other . . . Violence. That’s the only response I’ll have. I blink away the concern and glare at our surroundings, checking for signs of any other lurking eyes that need plucking out.
A ginger-haired mortal watches us from a few yards away. The Court of Dreams Shadow must be drinking the palace water to believe he has the right to look this way. A sliver of shadow peels away from mine and starts snaking its way across the grass toward him. The sound of her voice stops my assault in my tracks.
“How many do you think I subjected to this fate?”
I call the shadow back. “Subjected?” I ask.
She’s swirling the cherry-colored drink with her finger, that sadness back in her eyes. “Some would say I kidnapped them from their families.”
“The mortals?”
“Geraldine, Max, Peggy . . . they had family in the old world. A family that, for some reason, never woke. Or maybe they did and were tossed down below before they could reunite. How much suffering have I caused without even knowing it?”
“You did not kidnap them.” My hand covers hers, stopping its next smear across the glass. “Nor did you knowingly cause their suffering. The gods have a lot to answer for. Not you.”
Her eyes search mine. “But maybe I want to have an answer.”
“Then that makes you . . .”
“What?” she asks and licks her finger.
“Good.”
“Ooh yum.” She smacks her lips, distracted by the taste. All thoughts empty from my mind. “I’ll have to tell Cait she nailed this one. My Aunt Laurel would be impressed.”
“This is the Aunt who enjoys multiple cocks and tails?” My brow raises, and she bursts out laughing, then pats my cheek with affection.
“What they say about you is so wrong.”
“Hm?” How does she do that? Smile crookedly and pout at once? Wait. My gaze flicks up to hers. “What do they say about me?”
She lobs a berry into her mouth and crunches. Juice squirts, and she covers her mouth awkwardly. The liquid runs down her chin.
“What do they say?” I growl, snatching her second helping of berry.
“That you’re a villain.” She rolls her eyes. “That you eat babies—what a lot ofkaturi-shit. Maybe you were bad once, but you’re not now. You’re all a bunch of softies.”
“Katuri?”
“Elphyne flying bird-beast? You really don’t remember?”
Red spatters on yellow feathers.
