Page 122 of A Song of Air
He held her tightly like he wanted to break her.
He would find that Bryson couldn’t be so easily broken.
“I should go find your brother.”
She started to pull away, but his growl stopped her, his hold on her tightening.
“My brother is occupied at the moment.” He twirled her in a circle and as he did so, she caught a whiff of Weylyn’s scent through her nose, and a flash of gold that could have very well been him, but she couldn’t be sure.
The prince caught her in his arms again, holding her even closer than he had before.
Warning ran through her mind. Of what Weylyn had told her about his brothers. About how dangerous they were. She needed to get away from him, but his grip was fast, the bodies pressed around them, making it almost impossible for her to pull away from him.
She wondered if shoving a prince would be considered a slight. If he would punish her for the audacity of harming him and decided she would rather not risk it. Not in this court. Not with him.
“What was your name again?” she asked, She didn’t want to even have a conversation with him, but she wanted him glaring at her in silence the whole time even less.
“What will you give me in exchange for my name?” he mused.
Bryson’s scarred eyes rolled. “You really don’t think that’s going to work on me, do you?”
He chuckled low and pulled her closer by the waist. His hand slid over her hip, though the act was more clinical and unnerving than outright sexual. “A Fae can make an attempt at trickery.”
Bryson scoffed.
“I am called Rainer.”
“That’s a mouthful.” It wasn’t, but she felt she needed to say something. If only because the power imbalance between them felt all too real, and she already felt entirely too small.
He chuckled and lowered his head so the tips of his hair grazed Bryson’s body. It felt like spiderwebs clinging to her skin. Sticky and creepy. She fought the urge to claw at her skin. “I know of something else that is also a mouthful, if you would be so inclined to try.”
Bryson flicked her gaze disinterestedly over his body then back up to his face. “I may be near blind but even I can see that you are overly compensating.”
Rainer laughed, and the sound was surprisingly... pleasant. Bryson was instantly on alert as he pulled her closer. So close it felt like she’d seep into his very skin. His arms wrapped around her in a hold that she knew she wouldn’t be able to break out of without a great push from her magic.
“You are very humorous, High Fae,” he said against her shoulder. A second later, his tongue darted out to taste her skin and she jerked in his hold, trying to shove away from him. “It is unfortunate you are mated to him.”
The vehemence in that single word made her stop struggling. She had no idea why they hated Weylyn so much, but she felt it like a palpable thing that she could reach out and choke herself with if she’d been so inclined.
“Such a shame to be tethered to him,” he went on, his clawed fingers slipping over her body, tracing along her freckles. “Such a shame a stunning creature like you is now to be caught up in our familial war.”
Bryson swallowed her discomfort. “What do you mean, war?”
Rainer smirked. “I suppose you will see soon enough, will you not? Since you are now a pawn in our game.” His lips caressed the shell of her ear. “And you will be the first to die.”
He shoved her away from him and her feet twirled in the dance, further and further from his arms. Golden dust followed where she went, bathing her in that dizzying sensation.
She nearly tripped but was caught again, this time by four arms that caged her between two bodies.
“Look at what we have caught, Gwyn,” a voice said.
“A sightless High Fae, Glyn!” a second voice exclaimed.
Bryson’s head darted back and forth. Her neck felt heavy, her eyelids even more so. But she managed to make out identical faces in front and over her shoulder. Twins. Princes. Weylyn’s brothers.
She tried to pull out from their hold, but their arms were like iron bars wrapped around her. Suffocating and demanding.
“Our brother’s precious mate,” the one named Glyn said. He whipped her around so she was facing the other brother instead. She wanted to get away, but more of that sparkling dust hit her nose, causing her strength to wane.
