Page 9 of Atop the Faerie Throne
Four
Caed
Ancestors’ hairy fucking ballsacks. Everything hurts.
A raw groan tears free of my throat, and coppery blood floods my mouth a moment later. I can hear my heartbeat as it throbs through my body like a drumbeat. The little queen is sending me her energy, offering me a lifeline that I’m too weak to reject like I ought to, and I fucking whimper as another rush of power sings through my battered organs.
Healing sucks.
“Shut it. I only just got Prae to sleep.”
Gryffin’s grumpy hiss on my left is the last thing I need, and I clamp my hands over the side of my head… or I try to.
Instant, agonising pain assaults me. It arcs down my spine, stealing my breath so quickly that I can’t even scream—not that my vocal cords are in any mood to entertain producing sound.
What the fuck happened?
Like it’s been waiting for me to ask, my memory returns like a slap to my face.
Visiting my cousin in their love nest because I was bored.
The redcap blinking in to tell us that Elfhame had fallen.
Crumpling inside because I stupidly thought I had moretimeto figure that shit out.
StabbingPrae. Watching in horror as she fell.
Grabbing a healer and forcing him in her direction as my body dragged me on to the next part of my task.
Stroking Rose’s silky soft hair, praying to the Goddess that I’d delayed long enough to get caught and then?—
A nathair’s bite. That explains a lot. Fuck.
The moisture slipping free of the corner of my eyes burns my too-sensitive skin as it falls. Gryffin scoffs quietly at the sight, and I would give him the finger, but my damned arms still aren’t cooperating.
This is it. I fucked up. I tried to stay away from her, but my father ordered me to earn their trust. Not that I ever could. Now it’ll never happen.
At least my cousin is alive, by some miracle.
Wait…
If Gryffin is here, stuck in whatever dungeon they’ve chucked me in, then I can only assume that the rest of the Guard has decided they’re my accomplices.
They’ll die with me. She survived for nothing.
“Tell them you both had nothing to do with it.” I hate the way my voice crackles and breaks, like I’ve not had a drink in months. “You’re a fucking fairy prince. They have to believe you.”
“Oh, don’t worry, you’re the only one taking the blame for this particular shitstorm,” Gryffin promises. “And keep your voice down.”
The asshole is completely unsympathetic, and I wish I could stab him for it.
Goddess, I’ve got to get myself up and try to explain before he and my cousin are executed for my mistakes. Still, I may as wellbe trying to lift a boulder with each eyelid. The most I manage is a blur of piercing light that hurts more than talking, so I quickly give up. Fuck, this is exhausting.
“I think I’m gonna sleep some more,” I slur.
I’m not actually sure if I even manage to finish the sentence, because the blackness takes hold midway through.
Danu isn’t so merciful as to let me linger in dreamless sleep. Instead, I dream of my downfall.
