Page 72 of Beneath a Shattered Sky
“No.” Cressida moves to stand directly in front of Gryffin, cutting off his view of… Prae. “Get it undercontrol. Now.”
The fae shakes his head, like he’s clearing it, a flash of horror creasing the lines of his mouth before he nods briskly, bowing at the waist.
“Nicnevin, would you care to introduce your companion?” he chokes out.
“Absolutely not.” Prae cuts in before I can say anything. “Tell your Goddess that one fairy prince wasenough. No way am I dealing with another one.”
She’s backing away, and my gaze seesaws between the two of them. This… can’t be what I think it is. Surely not.
“Naeven, the door.” Cressida’s order is like a whip in the room. “Now.”
Her knight jumps up before she’s even finished speaking, shutting the double doors and locking them.
The moment all seven of us are locked in together, Cressida rounds on her nephew. “Are you certain?”
His grim nod. “I’ll leave.”
“Oh, and spread the danger elsewhere? I don’t think so.”
“She’s not willing.”
“She doesn’t even know what?—”
Prae grabs my shoulder. “You’re Danu. Undo this. Now.”
“What?” I demand, frowning at her grip on me. “What am I undoing? I don’t understand.”
“She’s my mate.” Gryffin’s words are soft, wary. He’s looking at Prae like he can’t figure her out. “I didn’t think Fomorians could be our mates, but it’s there.”
Neither did I. “I thought Caed was the exception because he was half fae.”
“It happens,” Prae whispers. “But it doesn’t matter. Fomorians don’t feel the bond, ergo, we have no mates.” She spits the last at Gryffin. “I’ll tell you exactly what I told Florian: I’m not playing fairy princess.”
You could hear a pin drop in the silence that follows.
“You’re my brother’s mate?” I echo, the pieces falling together with obvious slowness.
Their reactions to one another. How Florian looked at her. Her anger with him. The way they’re like oil and water.
“So he says.” She looks away sharply. “But for obvious reasons, it could never work. Fomorians tend to kill the fae who feel the bond to them.”
“How long…”
She still won’t meet my eyes. “Years. We saw one another on the battlefield, and he said it clicked for him then. So I did what any sane female would and tried to take his head.”
“This is all very romantic,” Cressida interrupts. “But there’s a difference between mates for the seelie and the unseelie. You refuse to complete the bond with a prince whose sole magical ability is finding lost things, that’s fine. Everyone loves when the female leads her male on a merry mating chase, and at worst, a few more knickknacks get found. If you play that game with Gryffin, then someone is going to die horribly. At best, we can expect some minor disfigurement, or perhaps a handful of deaths. There’s no healer in the queendom powerful enough to undo what our magic does.”
She shuffles on the spot as my eyes drift to the plant in the corner. It wasn’t her doing, it was her nephew’s.
Gryffin has withering magic, just like his aunt. My gut sinks as I realise she’s right. If his power gets out of control, it could be deadly.
“My lady,” Gryffin steps forward. “I don’t pretend to be a good candidate for a mate. As far as fairy princes go”—his lips quirk—“I’m probably the worst.”
Prae’s brow quirks. “Really selling it to me.”
He spreads his hands. “At least I’m honest. I’m not going to measure up to the knight commander of the realm.”
“I don’t see why you’d want to. He’s a pompous seelie prick.” Prae scoffs, and it’s my turn to give her an exasperated look. “I’m sorry, but heis. All this talk of ‘Danu chose us for one another’ makes me want to slap him. Danu isn’t my Goddess?—”
