Page 54 of The Beast King's Bride

“Yeah. Now go.”

“And what about the ball?”

“Oh, rats. I had forgotten all about that. Tomorrow, all right? We’ll talk about that tomorrow.”

“Right.” He starts to bow but catches himself, grins again. “Good night, Talen.”

“Night, Jas.”

At least Jassin is distracted enough to stop asking how long we have left. Let at least one of us keep up hope.

Maybe I shouldn’t have sent Jassin away so soon. Undressing gives me some trouble, but I’m determined to do it on my own. These wounds will heal. They have to. With the time I have left, I’d better be able to fight to the end.

No matter what I told Jassin, if the monsters are now awake during the daytime, too, then we’re done for. The end is nigh. But nobody can know that, not yet. If we have any chance with Ash, any chance at all…

The fire is burning in the hearth. I find myself drawn to it. The poison in my veins makes me feel cold. At least not going out to pour magic into the land today has given me a much-needed respite.

Selfish, I think. I’m so selfish as I close my eyes and call my magic forth to heal the worst of the wounds—but if I let myself die now, then there’s no hope for my people at all. Is that selfish? Am I more worried about myself? Am I more concerned about Ash and what she’ll think and do? Am I thinking with my dick, as Jassin says?

Blowing out a long breath, I pass my hands over my face, over my hair, over those accursed horns.

She said she liked them. Why is she mocking me?

Her kiss didn’t lie.

Is there any hope? I wonder. Any hope of her wanting me, needing me? And is that enough? Of all Fae, I’m the worst judge when it comes to matters of the heart. After all, I haven’t had one in a long time. A heart, I mean.

It was easy for the Empress to pluck us, the kings, one by one, and curse us because we had nothing to fight with. No emotions. No affections. We forgot how to feel. We became the animals the humans accused us of being, lost in revels and endless orgies, cruel pranks and wicked games. We never saw her for what she was because we lost the ability to see underneath the surface, the pretty veneer.

And how is now different? I ask myself. You want this girl. Your body demands it. But that’s not what the curse is about. Jassin is right.

I have to rein in my urges, try to find that well of emotions I filled up so long ago.

I think of my family.

I think of my brothers.

What I didn’t tell Ash is that they tried to kill me because I deserved it, and I’m not sure that much has changed.

---