Page 18 of Hellish Fae
“Don’t get in my head again,” he warns.
I give him a bored look, and then shake my head rapidly back and forth until the pretty silver locks turn crimson red. My feathers ruffle hard, and as if I’m shaking out the inky color, they fade into a deep color like blood staining my wings. It takes time. A few blinks of my eyes to turn them from gray to emerald. A hand slips down my face to morph the features into a look of serene wisdom. A stretch of my limbs to turn the curves of my body into a slender, willowy frame.
And then I look at him, almost at eye level, as a completely different person.
As my mother.
“What. The. Fuck.” His wide eyes dance along my flesh, and I feel like myself. Sort of. I’m myself in different skin. Not a big deal.
“What part of ‘Don’t fuck with my mind,’ don’t you understand?” he says.
“You know what I am? Do you understand what a dark fae is? I’m cruel, Ryke. I can make you believe you’re eating the finest food you’ve ever tasted, all the while starving you for days on end until you rot away to skin and bones. I can make you believe no one sees you, no one loves you, and no one wants you. I can!”
He stomps right up to me until his big chest is brushing mine. Blazing green eyes stare me down.
“Do you ever pause to think that I already believe that, Pretty Crow?” He spits that terrible sentence out, but his jaw clenches tightly before he speaks once more in that low harsh tone. “Do not ever fuck with my head, fae.”
I thought I understood him.
I don’t understand this man at all.
And he certainly doesn’t understand me.
“Don’t get in my way, and I won’t.” With a swift step, I turn from him.
Big green shrubs tickle my arm as I sweep past them with that flawless confidence my mother always had. I carry myself as if I’m gliding through the endless rose garden where I used to play hide-and-seek with my brother and sister so long ago.
Because there was a time Corva, Nathiale, and I were best friends. We were inseparable. I was the youngest, but they never made me feel too little. We were a tribe in a way. My father made sure the only friends we had were each other so we wouldn’t be misguided by our peers.
What he meant was, so we would only know his truth. His word. His laws.
Corva realized that first. I understood it the moment she was sent away. My brother’s anger became darker and darker over the years.
But I was better at hiding my hatred.
Just ask my brother. The man I hate more than anything and the reason why I was exiled in the first place.
He was always more deadly than my father. And if things keeping going as they are, he’ll be this kingdom’s future ruler.
I gaze at my past that’s currently clouding my present. Blood and cruelty taints this rose garden. Years of sharp knives and bloody games are what coat these petals now.
I push the memories away as I grip the big metal handle and pull the back door open without a sound. But it’s swept out of my grasp as someone hold it open for me with a small bow.
“My Queen, please allow me,” a dark rasping voice says with the smallest hint of snark.
My entire body tenses, and I glare at the stupid demon by my side. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Your Majesty, please correct me if I’m wrong, but ladies of the crown do not use the fuck word outside of the bedroom.” He cocks his head at me.
Oh. My. God.
I slam the door shut, and as much as I hope it’ll catch his fingers and smash his hand for good measure, it closes without incident.
“You are going to get yourself killed. My father kills men like you.”
“He also enslaves them. It wouldn’t be an odd sight for the Queen of Roses to have a demon escort, would it?” He searches my blazing eyes, and I have to unhinge my jaw to speak in the slowest way to make sure he understands me perfectly.
“If they suspect you, I won’t jeopardize myself to save you, demon.”
