Page 90 of To Wake a Kingdom

Chapter Thirty-Four

Cruellaughterfloatedfromthe doorway. From where I kneeled on the bed, I spun around to find Maida and Alban. The pewter-haired Fae leaned on the frame, his muscled arms folded and one ankle crossed behind the other. Dropping his stance, Maida’s gaze scraped over me as he crossed the room and crouched over Erick’s body. He tipped an appreciative nod, as if impressed with himself.

“What have you done?” I asked, pulling my robe tight and backing toward the headboard. The door ricocheted open, and Ronan’s towering form filled the doorway, sword out, all fury and brimstone.

“I heard you scream,” he said, confusion in his expression as he took in the two Fae in the room.

Alban had plonked himself on the bed, leaning against the headboard, legs crossed and arms bent behind his head. He rolled his eyes at Ronan.“Your princess is fine,” he drawled. “That one, on the other hand…” He flicked a wrist at Erick’s prostrate body and, at that moment, eight more figures of varying heights and ages appeared. The heads of the noble houses filed into the room like a row of petulant ducklings.

“What is the meaning of this?” one nobleman demanded, eyes darting around the room. He wasn’t much older than I was, and there was an uncertain tilt to his shoulders. A new head of household, unused to the bloody affairs of kings and kingdoms.

This certainly wasn’t the wedding night I’d envisioned, though I couldn’t be sorry that Erick’s plans had been interrupted.

I was now trapped between Erick’s dead body, Alban lounging on the bed, Maida with his vicious sneer, and a gaggle of nobles all eyeing me with mounting suspicion.

Cinching my robe tight, I stood and leaped to the floor, positioning myself next to Ronan—the only person I trusted in this room. He took my hand, pulling me close.

“Is there a problem?” Maida asked, leaning against the bedpost, loose and lithe as a jaguar.

“I don’t understand,” Ronan said, sword pointed with his free hand. “What did you do to my brother?”

“Arrest him!” a nobleman shouted. This one gray and lined. “These Fae have terrorized the castle and the city, and now they’ve murdered the king. Commander, call for the army!”

Maida raised a hand. “I wouldn’t be so hasty,” he said, turning on the fuming nobleman. “Do that, and I will call down a legion of Fae to wipe out every man, woman, and child in this castle.”

Uncertain silence collapsed in the room.

“What is going on?” Ronan demanded. “Explain yourself, Fae, or I’ll kill you myself.”

“It has been the desire of King Nictis to see a Fae placed on the throne of Estria for many years. Well, all human kingdoms, but he’s had his sights set on the largest of them for a while. Andhe,” Maida said, pointing to the dead king on the floor, “is not Fae.”

“If you presume to place yourself on the throne, we will meet you with the force of all of Estria’s army!” Another nobleman stepped forward, eyes blazing.

“Not me.” Maida’s face split into a slow, menacing grin. “Him.”

“Me?” Ronan asked, his brow furrowed.

“Haven’t you ever wondered why you’re a bit faster? A bit stronger? Why you heal so much quicker than others?”

It was true. The cut on his cheek that had stood bright red during the ceremony earlier today was nearly healed. I thought of how quickly he’d recovered from Mare’s attack. The way Ronan moved and fought had always bordered on preternatural. I had always put it down to training, but perhaps it was more than that.

“A dampening can only suppress so much. It’s enough that one might never suspect the truth, but some of one’s true Fae nature always slips through.”

“A dampening?”

“The Fae place them on children they want to hide amongst humans. A glamour to conceal your Fae appearance, and a dampening to restrict your power and access to magic.”

A question flickered in Ronan’s expression. Uncertainty, but something else, too. “You’re lying. This makes no sense.”

“Someone find the queen dowager,” Alban said, snapping his fingers. He pointed to the young nobleman who’d spoken first. “You, go get her. And be quick about it.”

The man opened his mouth to object, but Alban hissed, his sharp Fae teeth snapping. The nobleman blanched and scurried from the room. We all watched him leave, and Maida’s gaze shifted to where Ronan held my hand. With a jerk of his chin, he indicated I should look at Ronan.

I gasped when I took him in. It seemed impossible, but he’d become even more beautiful. The glamour was gone, revealing delicate, pointed ears and glowing skin so bright it almost hurt to look.

“How do we know this isn’t a trick?” I asked, narrowing my gaze on Maida.

Ronan was shaking his head, and my breath disintegrated in my chest.“I can feel it,” he said with no small bit of wonder.

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