Page 70 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
“Nice performance you put on in there. I almost believed it myself.” He puts a light hand on my arm to lead me. “I will give them the names we agreed on. Leave it up to me from here. Those senators will be ours by the end of the week.”
The following evening, guards lead me from my private chambers toward the ballroom. The closest two have their grubby hands on me, their gauntlets digging into my arms. My stomach sinks, because it means Titania intends to make a display of me at this event and doesn’t want anyone to intervene.
Iwill notallow her to win.
She has no idea of the cards I hold.
The High Chancellor called for an elaborate ball to be organized after Drake returned to her with the names of my falsified collaborators. It is so painfully obvious that she intends to exact her wrath on them publicly, before the nobility and Senate of this court, to show them what happens at even a whisper of disloyalty. The woman loves her dramatics.
The fabric of my gown swishes around my legs with every agitated step I take. This dress is the most revealing yet. There are thick gold-plated cuffs around my throat, waist and wrists that tell me I will be chained by them. The rest is a completelysheer fine thread, so every line and curve of my body is visible through the tan fabric.
I own stockings that are less transparent.
Scattered across the gown are gold beads in long lines, inches apart, reaching over my breasts and down my hips. Between the gaps, my nipples, mound and bottom would have been on full display, no different than if I were walking around naked.
That was before I glamoured it.
I added finer beads between all the gaps, covering the essential areas but leaving my entire legs exposed and a gaping space between my breasts. If I cover up as much as I would like, Titania will become suspicious and might even cut the dress off me in front of the crowd. This way, she will think her seamstress incompetent at following instructions.
The mass of glittering courtiers funneling into the ballroom splits around me, many stopping to gawk. Whispers about my clothing filter through to me, and I straighten my back and raise my chin defensively, until I register so many words of…admiration. There isn’t a single fae who calls me a whore or ridicules this gown that can hardly be considered clothing.
Then I take notice of whattheyare wearing.
One woman with olive skin struts in a dress made to mimic the exact chain linkages of the first outfit Titania forced me into for humiliation, except the metal is copper instead. The floor-length skirt sparkles as it drapes to one side, revealing the entirety of one leg through a split. It comes to a point at the center of her belly, exposing all of her waist, connected by a ring to a tiny top. Her large, dark nipples are clearly visible beneath and she wears the tiniest panties that completely disappear into the cleft of her well-sculpted ass, visible as she turns around.
Another fae with long pink hair in many tiny braids is in a colorful gown as transparent as mine, with elaborate lace and bead embellishments over her nipples and front.
A third doesn’t even pretend to wear something flowing and floor-length to pass as a ballgown. Hers is a tiny tube, barely covering her ass, the neckline just fitting over her breasts. If she lifts her arms, she will be revealed completely. There are splits of translucent fabric from the top of her thighs all the way up her ribs, and a similar plunging neckline. Surely magic keeps it together.
Some men wear tunics that are completely see-through, and others are topless. Some have dinner jackets over bare chests or leather pants laced at the sides with such generous space between the two halves that the curves of their asses are visible.
I swallow hard at the show of so much skin on display. I have not just started a fashion trend, but a subtle hint of solidarity. The problem is, it is hard to tell which fae are supporting me in this attempted humiliation and which have jumped mindlessly onto a new fad.
None, absolutely none wear gold, as though they respect the color is my signature and right alone.
Gods, Keira, what have you done to my court?Aldrin laughs in my head.I have never seen such daring outfits that leave so little to the imagination.
I thought you said I shouldn’t be ashamed of my gown? That it wasn’t outlandish or scandalous,I say with indignation.
That was your first dress. Many of these here tonight are more revealing than what you wear.Aldrin chuckles as a woman walks past in heels and not much else. I think glitter has been applied to her skin, along with a few scraps of lace.Not at a ball where it isn’t the theme, and not so early in the night.
Maybe a quarter of the fae are dressed as outrageously as I, and the rest are in full-length gowns of heavy velvets and silks. They still boast splits high in their skirts and extreme plunging necklines that reveal enough to make any human blush. Eventhe men in more conservative suits pair them with open shirts that display much of their chests.
My guard doesn’t allow me to interact with any of the guests, despite the ripple that travels through them as I pass. All eyes are dragged away from me when we enter the ballroom.
It is completely bare.
There are no musicians performing, nor are there tables with food or drinks. The walls bear no ornamental banners or flowers. There isn’t even any furniture.Just an empty room with a golden throne on a dais at the far end.
Titania sits upon it, wearing tight-fitting black velvet pants, ridiculously high heels and a long, tailored coat that hugs her bony figure and is embroidered with silver. She leans forward in her seat with her elbows on her thighs and a wide, cruel smile on her black lips.
She is enjoying this: the confusion on her guests’ faces as they look around, swiftly replaced by wide-eyed fear as realization dawns.
The High Chancellor curls her fingers at us, beckoning my guards, and they jolt forward, dragging me between them. I am pulled up onto the dais and multiple sets of hands thrust me down by the arms and shoulders, forcing me to crash to my knees.
I try to fight them. To remain standing and keep my dignity.
There are too many men holding me down. I grind my teeth as I resist the urge to blast them away from me with a whirlwind of fire and air. These fae are going to get the shock of their lives when I stop playing the damsel in distress.
