Page 16 of The Iron Fae
“It’s appalling that your nasty shoes are resting where we eat.” Kai retorts. Slipping his arm from mine, he grips a sleek metal chair and pulls it away from the table for me. “Please, sit.”
“I see the outfit is holding up well.” Violet grins.
I try not to give myself a once over to make sure I really am put together. After that high-speed chase through the woods I feel like the dress should be in shreds. Kai’s jacket does well enough to keep me covered.
“I’m mildly annoyed,” she continues, “that my brother hasn’t tried to take it off yet.”
Kai sighs loudly, retreating to the seat next to mine. “If I remember correctly, Briar is exclusive.”
Rowan snorts.
Violet’s lip curls and she leans forward. “What?”
Right. Collin. No, that’s not a thing anymore.
“Actually, I’m not anymore.” I clear my throat.
“It never mattered to me anyway.” Rowan shrugs.
“That’s interesting.” Violet looks between me and Kai, who folds his hands delicately in his lap holding her gaze unphased.
“Is it?” Kai finally responds.
“Yes.”
I look between the three siblings who exchange gazes with one another in silent communication. Not one of them meets my eyes.
“So, er, has anyone heard what’s happening in the Shadow Court? Surely, Cordelia will have shit a brick by now?” Anything to pull the awkward attention from me.
“Oh, she’s pissed. As far as I’ve been told she nearly set half her ballroom on fire when she realized. Though, I think Lincoln jumped the gun—that’s a human phrase, right? —on escorting you out of the court because word is that the seer she found has a lot of travelling to do before they make it to her court to do her dirty work,” Kai answers.
The kitchen doors we entered swing open and servants wander in with steaming plates, setting the meals down in front of each of us. I do my best to smile at the servant who watches me with blatant curiosity. With my mumble of ‘thank you’, they retreat back to the stoves.
“I’m surprised Lincoln hasn’t told you.” Violet picks up her fork, spearing a few vegetables on the end.
Kai and Rowan also dig into their meals. Though my stomach rumbles, I stare down at the food for a minute thinking.
“No, he’s been… busy, I guess.”
“Can’t you just look into his thoughts? Didn’t he open his mind to you? Why else did Kai get the ever-loving shit beat out of him when he took Linc’s punishment?” she continues.
He what now?
The air between us feels fragile. I’m certain if I take too deep of a breath or move too quickly I’ll be ignored or my questions will be shot down. Still, I rotate to give Kai my full attention. His cheeks heat but he faces his plate without acknowledging how heavily my attention burns into him.
“You took Lincoln’s punishment for protecting my thoughts?” I whisper.
His fork clatters against his plate as he drops it and frowns at Violet. She smiles sweetly back at him.
“Lincoln needed to be with you. There wasn’t time for him to be punished and heal and be back doing what he needed to. Plus, I’m the heir. My punishments are swifter and less public. It was a quick lashing and I was fine. I’m fine.” His eyes shine like the fiery stars above.
“Wow, I’m just surprised.” I turn back, finally grabbing my silverware. “I thought you all thought so little of Lincoln you’d let him fight on his own.”
“Oh, we love Linc, but he is, undoubtedly, less than. Kai didn’t do it for Lincoln’s sake. He did it for yours.” Rowan chews as he talks, pointing his fork at me. “If Lincoln was beat bad enough, he wouldn’t be able to protect you.”
“I liked it better when I thought you were doing it for your brother.” I sigh.
Some things, like this realm’s view on Shadow Fae, cannot be changed in a day. It would take work, years of trying to shift their societal norms, for it to be understood that they were all equal. I’ve learned enough from the human world to know that if you value one race, one religion, one sexuality, one…whatever that makes someone different than you, less than your own, it makes the world sticky with hate. Humans hating humans only brings war and heartache. Such as, Fae hating Fae will one day prove to have a breaking point here.
