Page 21 of A Blaze of Fire
I nudged Alec and motioned to Ansel, silently telling him to do something. Alec furrowed his brows, irritated, but stepped forward valiantly and plastered a wide smile on his face.
“Your Highness, it’s been so long since I’ve seen my brother and I would love to spend some time with him. Would that be allowed?” Alec asked, putting all his charm into the request.
The King considered for a moment and then nodded. Bored with our presence, he dismissed us with a wave of his hand, gesturing for us to leave his throne room.
The minute we stepped out into the hallway and the double doors closed behind us, Ansel rushed toward me and gripped my face. His face was worried.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Alec yanked him away from me. “Are youinsane?” he growled. “You can’t do that here! The minute someone sees you, they’ll report it to the King.”
“I don’t care!” Ansel took a step toward me, but Alec stood in his way.
“Do you care about Violet at all? Because it’sherlife you’re putting at risk,” Alec warned.
“No,” Ansel growled. “You’rethe one who put her life at risk! She was fine in the human realm.”
Alec rolled his eyes. “Give me a break, brother. She was never safe there and you know it. The Ancient Order of Leviathans found out about her, which meant that soon, the fae would have, too. It was only a matter of time. Coming here was her safest bet.”
“With theUnseelie?” Ansel whisper-shouted.
Alec pushed him. “Yes, Ansel, with theUnseelie, because unlike your people, we’ve given her the benefit of the doubt.”
“No,” Ansel pushed back. “You’ll use her.”
Alec shrugged. “Maybe so, but she’ll be alive. That’s more than you can say if you’d have brought her to the Seelie Court.”
Ansel growled and gritted his teeth, and I was certain they were about to throw down right there in the castle hallway. Rosemary and Rook stood off to the side awkwardly, pretending not to pay attention, but it was obvious what was happening.
I pushed between the brothers, placed a hand on their well sculpted chests, and shoved them away from each other. “Enough, you two!” I whispered. “You’re making a scene.” I gave Ansel a pitying look. He’d done so much for me, the last thing I wanted was for him to risk his life. Saving him was the whole reason I was here. To protect him. “Ansel, you can’t place the blame on Alec. I make my own decisions. I decided to come here on my own.”
“You don’t know this world, Violet,” Ansel pleaded. “That kind of decision—”
“Was still mine to make,” I interrupted. “I might not know this world, but I know when to fold. And after what went down with the Ancient Order of Leviathans, I knew it was just a matter of time before I was discovered again. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life running and I couldn’t let you get caught up in my mess, Ansel.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” he demanded.
I softened my tone, feeling the hurt coming off him in desperate waves. “Yes, it was, but none of this matters because what’s done is done. Now you’ll have to play by our rules.” I motioned to me and Alec. “You’re in the Unseelie Court now.”
Ansel’s mouth fell open slightly as he watched Alec step up behind me, wordlessly backing me up. “What has he done to you?” Betrayal sliced across his features.
I sighed. “Nothing, Ansel. You don’t get it. This is about survival and the three of us doing what we need to do to escape unscathed.”
Ansel straightened. “So now it’s the three of us?”
Before, it was just me and Ansel. But now all three of us had factored into my plan. When had that happened?
“Yeah … I guess so.”
11
ALEC
Isent Rosemary and Rook to escort Violet to the dining hall for dinner. I knew she must be hungry after a full day of training. I also needed to put well-needed space between her and Ansel. The fact of the matter was that I didn’t trust my brother around her. He was unpredictable right now, at a time when it was more important than ever to be careful. I was just glad Violet had her head on straight.
“You’ve brainwashed her,” Ansel accused as we sat on the sand, looking out onto the ocean. The sun was just beginning to settle in the horizon, bathing the world with a soothing orange and pink glow.
“I haven’t brainwashed her, you idiot. You’re just not thinking straight. You’re so damn in love, you’re not thinking clearly,” I grunted.
