Page 38 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
Not in the Spring Court and definitely not in the palace.He runs a hand through his hair and I can feel it snag on a few knots in the coarse strands.Sure, it’s scandalous for a daytime visit to the throne room, but I have seen fae weara lotless to some of the more sensual balls held at court. Not to mention the low fae orgies they have in the forests during their mating seasons. They wear no clothes at all by the end of it, as you can imagine. Many high fae join in.
I don’t want to imagine!I throw up my arms, getting caught in the chains.
What I am trying to tell you is that there is no shame in the way you are dressed. Not in the fae realm. We embrace our bodies and our sexuality. Is it inappropriate? Sure. But it is not damning and you should not be ashamed. Titania has selected it knowing you are human and that it will horrify you. Yes, it makes a powerful symbol to the people, but it will not shock them as much as you think.
My breathing evens out as he caresses a warm hand down my back. It feels like he is here, touching my bare skin. I guess it doesn’t matter that I am wearing this damned gown when he is in my head.
You have two choices. Fight this and refuse to wear the dress, but that will come with consequences. Or own it with your back straight and chin held up high. Turn the messaging around to make yourself not my villainous seducer, but my rightful queen draped in gold. I will fully support you in either.
I look at myself in the mirror a second time and try to remove the biases of my home world. My breasts are covered, except for the generous cleavage, but many of my own ball gowns are no less revealing there. My stomach and legs are clearly visible, but at the same time, they are technically covered. The dress itself is stunning. The gold links shimmer in the light of the fire orbs. The color accentuates the matching notes in my hair and the freckles across my skin.
I may look like a seductress in chains, but I am also radiant. Regal.
“What is taking so long?” Torin pounds on the door. “I can come in there and help you dress if you like,” he purrs.
Aldrin’s mood turns black.I am going to kill him. Choke the breath out of him and tear out his throat with my teeth.
Not before I do,I reply.
A wicked idea comes to me. I make quick work of braiding my hair on top of my head in a crown, allowing loose curls to fall free to my shoulders. Then I glamour a golden circlet across my forehead. It is a thin band with chains falling from it, to match the choker of this dress.
I reveal my true pointed ears and allow the glamour to flicker in and out again, so it looks like someone has done a poor job of making me look human. I will allow Titania’s entire court to see me like this and question her every word. All except the High Chancellor and her inner circle.
I take a final look in the mirror and insecurity fills me.Are you sure I look okay like this?
Am I sure?There is a high note to his voice.Besides the fact that you are absolutely ravishing, you look like a queen. Royalty often sets the fashion trends and you are making a statement with that piece. Don’t cower before Titania. You will determine what message is sent.
I allow his confidence to fill me like liquid fire. I will not allow a single gown to be my undoing.
With a twist of my hand, I remove the cabinet from in front of the door and step out. Torin, clearly about to knock, staggers backward. He frowns as he peers into my eyes, at the lack of tears there.
I give him the sweetest smile. “Thank you for the gift, Torin. It was very generous of you. I love my new gown—is it pure gold?”
He grumbles and scowls, charging off ahead of me. I am surrounded by a cloud of guards as we leave my chambers, but none of them touch me.
We reach an immense throne room of white marble and gold-trimmed opulence, bordered by thick columns with flowering vines curling up them and across the ceiling. A dozen crystal chandeliers hang from the roof, each lit up by fire orbs.
The royal dais is positioned at the far end of the room, with a long carpet leading up to it. The stone platform has multiple steps before it and a wall of gnarled, twisted branches of ancient wisteria at its back. Long, cascading sprays of purple flowers drape from the entire surface of the tree like chains of jewels.
Titania sits on a throne at its center with a cruel smile on her lips. She thinks she has the upper hand.
Torin and his guards all but force me to walk down the entire length of the throne room, through a large audience of fae who are parted on either side of the carpet leading to the dais. The crowd of courtiers turns deadly silent as they scrutinize me, then hushed whispers and gasps break out. So many arepacked into the space, watching this spectacle, that some reach out and almost touch me. I want to recoil, but I cannot show any weakness.
I am here with you, dear heart,Aldrin’s voice rumbles in my head.Do not allow her to degrade you before these people. You have faced worse abusers than her—show them your strength and willpower.
Torin climbs up the steps and stands beside his mother’s throne, slightly behind it. She is so power-hungry, she can’t even have a smaller chair for her son.
Golden light swirls within her eyes as they examine me from head to toe.“Come, little mouse. Sit at my feet, pet,” she croons in a voice loud enough for the entire chamber to hear.
I refuse to move from the foot of the dais. “Get out of my throne, Titania. You are fooling no one.”
Good,Aldrin says.More. Rile her up. Make her look like a fool.
I turn my back to the High Chancellor, facing the audience of courtiers instead. “As King Aldrin’s mate, I am the rightful queen here, and this woman is an imposter.”
Many faces pale, and whispers break out, but I receive no angry backlash from them. Interesting.
Titania’s laughter rings out behind me. “You speak of Aldrin? He is a dead man.”
