Page 88 of Owned By the Fae
I pluck the flower from him and put it in my hand carefully. ‘I wondered if that’s why you liked to bring me them.’
He caresses my cheek. ‘For some reason, they’ve always just reminded me of you.’
He kisses me again and then pulls away with a groan, leaning his forehead against mine.
‘I have to go,’ he murmurs, ‘but I don’t want to. When this is over, I’m going to keep you in bed with me for a sennight at least.’
I smile at him and give him a final peck.
‘Did you try to search Varrik’s study today?’ I ask, trying to prolong the goodbye.
He shakes his head. ‘Because Fiana has returned finally, Varrik has stayed put, which means we haven't been able to get anywhere near any of his favored rooms.’
I nod in understanding, grinning at the way he spits Fiana’s name like she’s a hair stuck on his tongue.
‘I'll come back again after the banquet tonight,’ he says, giving me a final look as he disappears.
I sit in my chair and begin to look through the books he’s brought. They’re dry, historical volumes that I assume he’s pilfered from Varrik’s library, but they at least ease the monotony.
When I hear the door a bit later, I look up expecting a servant or Dane, but a gasp falls from my lips when Fiana saunters into my room again. She’s wearing a pink gown of velvet and her light blond hair is elegantly coifed.
I blink, wondering why she’s here as I slowly put my book down and get to my feet. I try not to scramble or make it obvious that I’m on edge in her presence. Though from the smirk she gives me, she knows.
I don't make the mistake of speaking to her. I can tell just by the look in her eyes tonight that she’s angry, and I'll get a hard crack across the cheek with the back of her hand if I do, at the very least.
She comes closer, looking me over, her eyes taking in the book, and she sniffs.
‘I didn’t know you could read, little piggy.’
I watch her, not saying a word.
‘I was surprised when I learned you were here,’ she says almost conversationally. ‘Even more so when I was told that not only has Varrik decided to breed you,but Dane asked to be the one to do it.’
Her tone is soft. Deceptive. It’s not lost on me that my kind are considered to be liars and cheats when she’s much better than me at deceit.
Though I remember that Rikoth said something similar, I have no idea why Dane would do that, and it doesn’t bode well for me if Fiana thinks it’s true. She’s invidious at the best of times and she’ll certainly make me pay for it.
‘That’s not so. Varrik ordered it,’ I murmur.
She gives me a look I can’t discern.
‘Interesting,’ she says quietly. ‘Tell me, Thalia, why did you come back here? Were the Dark Realms just too much for a weak little human these days, or is there some grander plan in that feeble little mind of yours?’
I frown in confusion. ‘I was captured.’
‘After so long?’ She tuts. ‘Do you know what I think?’ She steps closer, and I step back, feeling the wall behind me. ‘I thinkyou came back here with a purpose. Varrik might not see it, but I do. I think you let yourself be caught and brought back.’
She grabs me by the hair and knocks the back of my head against the stone hard, clearly relishing my pained cry as the Harbinger tries to rise from the binding to kill her. But, of course, it fails.
‘You don’t fool me,’ she continues. ‘You’re still the pathetic swine from years ago. But you think you’re better than that now, don’t you?’
She leans in closer, her eyes bright and almost fevered. ‘You’re not. You’re still just a pathetic little human trying to play at games you don’t understand.’
She lets go of my hair and taps the side of my head hard, her sharp nail digging into my scalp. ‘You’d better remember that, or I might have to show you your place again.’
She steps back with a sigh, standing up straight and composing herself.
‘Dane is mine,’ she mutters, and I realize that she is angry about Dane.
