Page 51 of The Lost Fae
"Get off me!" She pushes him away, stumbling backward on her diamond studded heels. "What the hell are you even talking about?"
"Have you heard from Rowan?" I interject.
"Rowan?"
"He's the only one we don't know if he made it out or not." I say so that Lincoln doesn't have to. His face is downcast, tension riddling his body.
Violet's flush is quickly lost, her skin becoming nearly translucent as she stares back at me. "You're lying," she snaps, "Why would you say something like that to me?"
"It's the truth," Lincoln growls. "Look we can't... we can't keep having this conversation out in the open like this. Let's go to your room and we can explain more."
"No," Her heel digs into the ground. "tell me now. Right now. Is... is Rowanalive?"
Lincoln grabs her shoulders. She looks down at the touch with down turned lips. Ignoring her, Lincoln spins her around and begins wheeling her down the hall even as she presses her feet into the ground leaving large gouges in the checkered tile from her heels.
"We don't know yet, Violet," he whispers.
I jump as they get ahead of me and rush to catch up. The last thing I need right now is to get stuck in the halls by myself and run into King Dravid, or worse, Queen Avaleen. I’m vaguely aware of where I'm heading as he takes the stairs up to the second floor, where the royal bedrooms reside. I'd never come up here, never had the need to during my stay.
Violet shrugs Lincoln off and heads for her room. Annoyance seeps off her in tendrils of black heat. She twists the knob to her room, throwing the door open and waving us in.
In my time at the Iron Court, I'd never been inside of Violet's room. Never even set foot on the second floor. Every inch of her room is as expensive as she looks, and minimalist she is not...
Pops of color bring light to every corner of her room, from velvet chairs studded with sparkling gems to white painted statues and vases filled to the brim with greenery. Large fur rugs cover most of the tile floor, making her room feel softer and more inviting. The large bed with the elaborately carved wooden headboard is paired with a deep purple comforter, the large fluffy kind you'd expect at a fancy hotel. Even her walls can't be spared from the perfectly organized clutter.
Pictures of various shapes and sizes are hanging together in a hodgepodge of a design that makes them look purposeful. Mirrors both big and small are either propped against the walls or hung. Every wall has at least one mirror, except for the one that has about eight. Violet does like to look at herself...
Taking in every aspect of the princess’s room is enough to give my mind the small break it needs from our heavy conversation. When the door closes and Violet turns to us with fury in her gaze, I know my respite is over.
"Tell me everything." Her fingers twitch against the knob as she locks the door.
I wonder why Fae bother with locks. Are they spelled to truly keep intruders out? Or are they just some human sign of safety that they use as an illusion to make it seem as if there isn't strength and spectacular power underneath their own skin. They know as well as I that if anyone of them wanted to, they could burst right through that door. Shatter it like Cordelia had. I force the thought away as quickly as it comes.
"How do we know you aren't working with Cordelia like Kai is?" Lincoln folds his arms over his chest.
"What could Cordelia possibly give me that I could even want? Plus, we all know I'm much more fond of Rowan, no matter how much I complain about sharing a wall, than I have ever been with our traditionalist first born, Kai."
Butdowe know that? And is her saying that even enough?
"I'm not surprised at all by Kai's actions, really." she adds on. "As he's grown older and has yet to be married off, or take the crown from our parents—they’ll live forever just to spite us I swear—he’s become more restless. It makes sense that he'd try to make a grab at the only throne weak enough for him to steal at the moment."
I'm not fond of her calling my throne weak. However, I know what she means. Cordelia and I are in the middle of a goddamn war. I have been her only focus for years upon years. Her obsession knows no end.
"I knew he was eager for power," Lincoln says softly. "I never in a million years would have imagined that he would betray his own family like this. He's betrayed me."
"Yes, but you’re Shadow Fae, we all know that makes you lowest on the totem pole of love."
Comments like this are what Lincoln has had to endure his entire life. Continuous reminders of how he's loved less than everyone else. It's a wonder the man is as confident as he is, instead of a crying cowardly shell of a Fae. Violet's tongue is so sharp, too. I'm not the least bit surprised that she's saying these terrible things as casually as she is.
"Kai was content to watch as Cordelia took our lives. We were only able to escape with Lylix and Zeve's help. And if today is the same day that Lincoln and I left..." I process out loud, "then that means that we can get back to them before anything bad happens."
"We can't just show up there empty handed. Between the guards, whom I've trained rather well I'd like to add, and Cordelia's rage there is no way the two of us could do anything."
"Two of you? What about me? What am I, last season’s ball gowns?" Violet interjects. "And who the hell is Zeve?"
"Remember that seer that Kai and I used to run around with when we were teenagers?" Lincoln props a hand under his chin, watching his sister for a reaction.
"The one with the shark teeth?"
