Page 64 of A Blaze of Fire
Honestly, I didn’t care if Violet didn’t view me as anything other than the Unseelie with whom she’d made a deal to secure her survival. Given enough time, thoughts could change. But what sent me spiraling was Ansel’s damnable superiority complex.
Growing up, he’d never once thought he was better than me—not until I became Unseelie.
26
ALEC
FLASHBACK
“See you on the other side, brother,” Ansel said as we shook hands. The memory filtered into my mind as I anxiously waited for the ceremony to begin. I was in a room in the Queen’s impenetrable glass castle. I sat on a wooden stool with my elbows on my knees, bouncing my right knee nervously.
Everything about me was pure perfection. The dress coat I wore was tailored specifically to my body. My hair was neatly styled, and like my father, I had mastered my element. Everything should have been smooth sailing from there on out, but something felt off. Mainly because I’d been stuck in this closet of a room without a word. Typically, I would have entered the throne room with my family, but at the last minute they’d separated us. It worried me.
The door to the room suddenly burst open and I shot to my feet, spinning around to see who it was.
Never in a million years would I have guessed it.
Before me stood the Unseelie King with a guard at his side. But it wasn’t just any guard. It was his top general—Kazimir. Everyone from all corners of the fae realm feared him, and with good reason. There was nothing he was unwilling to do for his king. Nothing.
“Your Highness!” I bowed before the silver haired fae with the steely gray eyes.
“Alec, correct?” he asked, knowing full well what my name was.
I nodded.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, young Alec. I’ve heard such wonderful things about you,” the King said.
“Likewise,” I muttered.
“You’ve heard wonderful things about me?” he laughed. “Shocking.”
I gulped when I realized I’d inadvertently lied. I’d meant it was a pleasure to meet him, not that I’d heard wonderful things about him.
“You must be wondering why you’re here, am I right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He nodded. “Well, it’s fairly simple. I want you to join me, Alec. Come to the Unseelie Court.” He smiled brightly.
My eyes widened and I couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped my mouth. “I-I can’t!”
True, I was a fire elemental, and many of them were Unseelie, but I’d been raised in the Seelie Court. My allegiance was here. I couldn’t abandon my family. I would be branded a traitor.
The King grinned. “I figured you’d say that,” he sighed, “which is why I’m here to convince you otherwise. May I sit?” He pointed to the stool I’d just vacated.
I quickly shifted out of his way and let him sit down. He crossed one leg over the other and struck a picturesque pose with Kazimir standing slightly behind him to his right.
“You see, Alec, I know something about your family that could potentially … how should I say it? Well, destroy them.” The King shrugged like it was no big deal.
I froze. A secret? My family didn’t have secrets. But … fae couldn’t lie. So whatever the Unseelie King claimed to know, he thought to be true. Or … maybe itwastrue. I had no way of knowing.
He grinned. “You’re intrigued, aren’t you?”
I furrowed my brows. “What is it that you know?”
The King glanced down at his nails and blew on them before looking at me again. “Your brother is a bastard,” he said without preamble.
I frowned. “Excuse me?”
