Page 2 of A Bond in Blood (Blood Bound Duet #1)

Chapter 2

“ Y ou’re late,” Olen growled as my foot hit the dock.

I glared up at him, coiling back with disgust at the returning smile I received.

“I’m a princess, I arrive when I wish.”

Olen laughed loudly; his silky fur shook with the movement. “I’m sure my king will appreciate your attitude.”

“Usually, I’m told I’m a rather pleasant person. But that changes when I’m being kidnapped ,” I replied, glaring into its black eyes.

“Your father never told you?” Olen asked, his eyes darted to where my father stood at the edge of the dock.

Betrayal and anger burned on my tongue while my shoulders slumped with defeat. “Can we please go? If I’m forced to leave my home, I’d rather not elongate my goodbyes.”

Olen stared back at me, one canine protruding from his lips before he nodded.

Turning my back, I made my way across the dock, heading straight for the gangplank. I couldn’t have forced myself to look back if I had wanted to. Not when I knew what was behind me: A tearful grandmother and my handmaids, holding each other; people of our kingdom staring in shock at their princess leaving with an Unseelie monster, and my father with a blank expression to mask his shame and guilt.

I climbed over the threshold of the massive vessel, still in too much shock to process that I was truly leaving for a year. Every plan I’d thought I’d made was now a whisp in the breeze, heading toward the cruel amusement of the Gods. It mocked me with every step that Leif’s arrival had only produced a feigned hope of control over my life.

But there was still that small kindling of fire deep inside of me, burning with hope at what awaited me at the end of this insane journey.

A year—and then I was free.

I would get to travel the world. See the courts freely on the Northern Seelie island. Possibly even explore the fellow small mortal islands littering our seas. I could travel to the West island, the main mortal island, and meet family I’d never had the chance to know.

The ability to put my long half-fae lifespan to use.

Yes, a year. It was nothing for a woman who had lived nearly one hundred and fifty years. If I could survive that long on my tiny island home, then I could survive a year in the depths of the Unseelie court.

Perhaps even less if I were able to complete the plan now circling in my mind.

I walked through the deck, avoiding the inquiring eyes surrounding me until my foot hit something wet. Glancing down, I bit back my cry when I spotted the sack from before, cast aside as if it were meager everyday trash. Like Leif’s life had meant nothing.

My heart lurched while I tried to push aside the image of his dull gray eyes staring up at me when I’d pried that bag open. Of the stench of rot, evident the king had removed my betrothed’s head at least several days before. Of the blood, now stained forever on the dress I’d left on my bedroom floor.

My stomach turned and I pulled my eyes away, staring off toward the fjord as the ship rocked forward.

If I were going to go to the Unseelie court, then I would go. It didn’t mean I had to be there the full year.

Not when I planned to remove the king’s head with my own bare hands.

My head pounded as the ship rocked beneath me. I hated sea travel. Ironic, considering my home was surrounded by water and I have always had a desire to travel my world.

It drove me mad of course, the contradictory circumstance I regularly found myself in. Most especially in our yearly travels to the Seelie lands to Oberon’s court. Several days of agony on the ocean, locked away in a cabin cursing my body’s negative reaction to the swaying waters.

I turned on the cot I laid on, staring out at the cabin I’d been given. Or more so locked in forcefully by the beast Olen and only after I’d emptied the contents of my stomach right onto the deck, in front of every beastly Unseelie on the crew.

Olen had laughed brashly before whisking me away to my traveling prison.

I just hadn’t expected him to lead me to the Captains quarters. Or for him to claim his king wasn’t on board and how much of a shame it was. Because, according to the monster, the king would have loved a body to warm his bed.

I swung for his face.

An action I instantly regretted when the beast had shoved me back and the clang of the door locking on the other side echoed down to my bones.

I wasn’t sure how many days I’d been in there, swaying in that cot. Barely able to accept the meals shoved through the open door twice a day.

I don’t know if it really mattered though. Every day the sun set and the red of the blood moon casted its light through the cabin’s small window. I prayed to the Gods this journey would be a quick one. Even when my island had disappeared into the distance, I only wanted to complete whatever service my ancestor had assigned me to so I could begin my life the way I deemed fit.

My body rocked in the cot, and I turned my head back to the window, admiring the way the red moon lit the dark sea beneath it. I knew the Unseelie lands were south of my island, but given the several days the sun and moon had cycled, I began to wonder why the Unseelie island was kept so secretive.

My tutors had never divulged much—never saying how many days it would take to get to the island. Most teachings usually consisted of warnings to never make a deal with the king ruling the land.

If only my tutors were here to see the irony of their teachings.

Then there were the two pieces of information I knew of its landscape. One—it was large, very large. Two—it was surrounded by a thick mist.

Many said these islands were misted by Oberon as a way to protect the world from the evils of the Unseelie Court. Others said it was the Unseelie King himself, protecting his people from the world.

Whatever it was, few knew what lay beyond the mist and those who did, rarely spoke of it.

I had always wondered why the Seelie and Unseelie resided on different continents. A whole ocean lay between their lands with my and many other small islands scattered between them.

Once, when I was young and foolish, I had almost asked Oberon at our yearly visit. That was until my grandmother realized the question on my tongue and I’d been whisked away before I could embarrass our family .

Every mortal and fae knew of Oberon’s distaste for the Unseelie King. So much so that to know or utter his name in Oberon’s presence was considered treason. Why Oberon allowed this king to live and enact chaos on behalf of the entirety of the fae court, never ceased to amaze me.

Perhaps it would be another secret that I would learn. Perhaps this would be my new life. Learning secrets of others. Keeping them locked up inside to use to my advantage.

Eventually the boat stopped its rocking, waking me from the sleep I had fallen into. Hesitantly, I pulled myself from the bunk and the room spun around me.

I really hate the sea .

The door slammed open, and an unfamiliar man ducked under the frame, standing before me. He offered me an unsettling grin with teeth bright and menacing, and moved forward to approach.

I scrambled back to the cot. “Get away!” I screeched.

The man stopped, cocking his head to the side. “Excuse me?”

His voice was thick, heavy, and completely without the airy accent the fae were known to have.

“I don’t know who you are sir, please leave,” I replied, voice shaking.

The man’s eyes gleamed and he glanced down at himself. “Don’t recognize me?”

I focused my gaze, observing him from head to toe.

He was large, alarmingly so in both height and stature. His bronzed skin had a glow to it that matched the golden flecks in the braids of his long hair. His defined jaw tightened while my eyes took in his body, taking note of the light scar across his cheek. He was dressed in black leathers and matching long boots stopping at his knees.

He was attractive, yes, but I had no idea who he was.

“I’m sorry,” I replied, allowing my royal formality to sneak through. “I do not know you.”

A bright light filled the room in an instant, blinding me. I raised my hand to my eyes in a panic, trying to focus my vision once more. Then it was gone and the monster from the docks was before me. Now on all fours, grinning wildly with the same elongated canines peeking out from its black lips. The silk black fur glistened once more.

It was Olen.

I was blinded by bright light again and I watched in shock as Olen shifted from the beastly form back to the man who had entered moments before. Only, I realized he wasn’t just a man—he was fae. Of course he was fae, at least Unseelie, with the abilities I’d just seen. It was evident now with his long ears I finally noticed poking out from his braids and the bright golden earrings that ran down only his right ear.

My hands instinctively went to my own pointed ears, though only slightly from my family’s half-fae lineage.

Olen laughed at my shock. “Get up, princess. The king is waiting.”

“I’m not going to that monster,” I refused.

Olen’s amused grin shifted to a tight expression of authority. “You will do as I say and go to your king—now.”

I stared at the man before me, crossing my arms over my chest. Every tutoring of royal manners and respect fought against the stubbornness controlling me. I didn’t have to follow the commands of this shifting monster. The king he referenced was not my king. I was a princess of another land, and I expected to be treated as such.

A foolish expectation considering these beasts were known for their debauchery and lack of manners. That was made even more evident when Olen crossed the cabin and threw me over his shoulders. As though I were nothing but a sack of flour.

“Let me go, you beast!” I yelled out, slamming my hands with all my strength against his back.

His responding laugh rumbled against my chest as my body bobbed against his. I was enraged, while also amazed by the strength of the man. He’d picked me up so effortlessly and there had been nothing I could have done to stop it.

He ducked under the doorframe and the light of the moon shone above, illuminating our path in blood.

“Welcome to the Unseelie Court, princess,” Olen said.

My mouth hung open while he walked across the deck of the ship and onto the gangplank where an assortment of Unseelie fae kept their heads down while he passed. I stared at them, bewildered by their strange physical appearances.

I'd never seen anything like them. I'd of course heard the stories—but to see them with my own eyes?

The scales. The teeth. The wings.

Terrifying monsters that could easily sneak up to torture and terrifying you n the dark. Brutish creatures one would run from. They were awful.

And beautiful.

My head whipped back and forth, taking them all in while Olen continued walking. My desire to fight his hold on me was a distraction from the creatures that lined the dock of this strange king’s land. Olen began to climb and as I looked down, finding stone steps, the reality of my future settled over me.

I didn’t know what was waiting for me at the top of these steps. What cruelty I would be subjected to. What service was expected of me.

Would I even return to my home in a year as the same person I was when I left?

The creaking of a door told me Olen had reached the entrance to whatever building he’d been carrying me to, but I kept my eyes down. I didn’t want to admire the king’s home. I didn’t want to know what the halls of his palace were.

So, I made myself familiar with the dark stone floors until Olen suddenly stopped and dropped me right onto the solid surface.

I exclaimed in shock, jumping to my feet while Olen pointed to the wood door before me.

“Get in there,” he demanded.

“No,” I replied, crossing my arms.

“Now, princess,” Olen said with a wink.

“I’m going to request you stop calling me that.”

Olen grinned. “Why? That’s what you are. Your father is the king of that quaint little island. Making you a princess.”

I glanced back at the door. “Then treat me like one.”

Olen stared back at me, his smile unfaltering.

“That’s the thing, princess.” He stalked closer, forcing me to step back toward the door. “You aren’t my fucking princess.”

His hand moved and I jumped, expecting him to hit me but instead I fell onto the floor again as he flung the door open behind me.

“Get in there,” he said again.

I refused to look back. “What’s in there?”

“Attire appropriate for your king,” he replied.

I huffed out my chest, pulling myself to my feet. “He’s not my king.”

“Yet.” Olen grinned wider. “Go. Now.”

He shoved against my shoulders, forcing me to turn into the room. I stumbled, my eyes bulging while I took in the grand space before me.

Bright candles lit the room, creating a semi-sensual glow cascading up the walls, turning into a path of light toward the middle of the room. There, the largest bed I’d ever seen sat covered in black sheets and a velvet blanket folded at the foot. It called to me, telling me to climb into its tempting comfort.

My eyes moved from the bed to the floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the room with additional red light from the blood moon.

It was a room that—for all intents and purposes—exuded sex.

I ignored the sensual design and walked forward, taking note of the two exits. The one I’d been rudely shoved through, and two double doors leading out to where I assumed was the rest of the king’s palace.

“Is this my room?” I asked, trying not to sound too enamored.

Olen chuckled. “Yes. It’s yours.”

My eyes caught the sheer red dress hanging on the dressing screen across from me and I turned back to Olen.

“I am not wearing that,” I exclaimed, pointing.

“You’re wearing what the king demanded. Get dressed,” he replied, setting himself in a chair near the window and folding his arms.

We held our gazes, and I realized he wasn’t moving until I did as he said. For a moment I considered arguing, but relented, too tired to fight someone so godsdamn stubborn.

Scuffling to the screen, I slipped around it and shucked off my dress. I was suddenly disgusted that I hadn’t once asked for my trunks on our journey. My own stench made me wince and I cursed myself.

“I stink!” I yelled over the screen.

“Welcome to sea travel. The king has smelled worse,” Olen replied bluntly. “There’s soap and a wash basin beside you. Hurry up.”

I scoffed, taking note of the basin and soap. Unwilling to meet the wrath of the fae who shifted into a monster, I wiped myself as clean as I could before sliding the gown over my head.

How the king had known my exact size was beyond me, but the dress was a perfect fit.

I turned, finding a mirror behind me. I hadn’t stared at my own reflection since the day in my bedroom and the woman staring back at me was alarming. The dark circles were evidence of my disdain for ships. The unruly waves of my hair, like the sea itself had whipped it into a frenzy atop my head.

I flipped my head back and quickly ran my fingers through the knots, wincing at the pain.

When I lifted myself again, I found I looked as wild as I felt.

Perhaps it was fitting if I were to meet a wild, unrelenting king.

My gaze caught the dress, and my eyes widened. The fabric was thin, so thin I was shocked every crevice and curve of my body wasn’t on display. My eyes ran up my reflection and I realized, the outer fabric was sheer, with a lower layer covering my most private parts. I wasn’t sure whether to be mad or amazed.

One thing was for certain: these fae dressed differently than the mortals.

Nervously, I came out from the dressing screen, scanning the room for my captor. A low whistle came from the double doors and I turned.

“Well, Gods, princess, you know how to clean up,” Olen said.

“I’m not going out there dressed like some whore,” I bit back.

Olen stepped forward, with one hand behind his back. “I can promise our whores show quite a bit more skin than that.”

“Your king can come to me.”

Olen shook his head. “No. He won't. Take this.” His hand extended and I stared down at a dark red mask.

I shifted my gaze back to his, finding him adjusting a mask on the bridge of his nose. Only his was gold, matching his piercings and the gold braided into his hair.

“A mask?” I asked.

“The Unseelie Court,” Olen smiled, “wears only masks when in the presence of the king. Haven’t you heard the stories?”

“I’ve heard of the debauchery,” I replied.

“Oh, we have that too.” Olen opened the door, pointing out to the hallway. “After you, princess.”

I tracked our movements while Olen led the way. I took note of which exits were closest to the double doors. Which stairways appeared to lead outside, or what hallways looked too dark to venture down.

Finally, Olen stopped grinning ear to ear.

“Ready?” he asked.

I stared at the white doors before me, gulping down my fear.

Olen’s hand shoved me forward and deafening music flew at me, blocking any other sound. Just not blocking out the creatures before me.

Some appeared as the fae I was used to. But most were similar to the monsters on the ship and the dock. Half were dancing.

Half were—occupied.

My cheeks burned with the realization that these Unseelie indulged in their most carnal pleasures out in the open. As if they had no care in the world that everyone around them could see them lost in their lust and passion.

I forced my attention away from the moving bodies right as Olen shoved me forward. The movement caused me to stumble on the long hem of my gown.

The sound of my feet clashing against each other echoed around me. I glanced up, finding the room silent and the bodies unmoving. My eyes continued their observations, pausing when they connected with the gaze of a man seated on the throne across the room.

The Unseelie King.