Page 10 of A Song of Air (Fae Elementals #4)

“R eport to me as you’ve been doing.” The voice was cold and arrogant and dismissive.

A stupid combination for a stupid man, Weylyn figured. Those words lived on the tip of his tongue, and he bit down, tasting blood so as to not speak them aloud.

He found himself doing a lot of that lately.

Things had been easier when they all thought the King of Seelie was dead.

He hadn’t needed to hold his tongue then.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” The words tasted like a vile concoction on his lips. It only made his hatred burn deeper, his anger rise faster. For years, he’d been repeating the same words over and over again until they’d become an instinct.

Yes, Your Majesty.

No, Your Majesty.

Go fuck yourself, Your Majesty.

He wished he could say the words. He wished he did not have to hold back or hide what lived deep within him. But he’d been at it so long, what he wanted no longer mattered. He was in the king’s service for a fucking reason.

One that was beginning to bore him to near-death.

“Keep an eye out on my fool of a son,” the king added.

He lounged against a throne in a royal Danarish room made up of ivory and gold, upon plush velvet pillows, wearing a diamond-encrusted crown that did not belong to him, and ruling a kingdom that he himself had not conquered.

Overzealous fool, Weylyn thought. He was acting as though he’d been the one to fight against the slavers of Dana. As if he deserved the right to lounge upon that throne like he’d done anything worthwhile to warrant the robes and jewels adorning his body.

“He’s been too wayward lately,” the king carried on, oblivious to Weylyn’s thoughts.

Probably on account of Weylyn’s expression. Perfectly bored. Perfectly blank so it did not reflect on the thoughts he buried deep inside.

It made the king think he had no thoughts of his own. A fair assumption, considering Weylyn was already overrun with the piercing thoughts of others, but that did not mean he was blank inside.

It just meant there were secrets he collected deep within his own pockets.

Secrets he kept close to his chest because they would be so fun to exploit.

“Fool of a child,” the king continued. “I’d slit his throat myself if I could.”

Weylyn blinked. The animosity between the king and prince was no secret. Though usually, the king tended to keep his murderous thoughts in his own mind. He was too afraid to speak such words aloud out of fear that someone would overhear.

But Weylyn heard everything .

“Alas, the Fae seem taken with him, so I cannot.”

A shame, really. Because wouldn’t all of Weylyn’s problems be solved if he let them kill one another off?

If only...

“You had better send me regular updates. It takes far too long to hear back from you. Let me know if you find the next Elemental and how susceptible they will be to join our cause. These women they keep finding...” He scoffed. “Weak specimens. All of them. Especially this new one. Her only value is that she was a Danarish whore and got us this kingdom.”

Weylyn saw red flash across his vision at the casual degradation of Corvina. The king spoke heavy words, considering he was the one having to beg the Elementals for their help for his own gain.

If it were up to Weylyn, he’d be content to watch the fucking world burn with everyone in it.

But the king liked to shit where he ate, that was something Weylyn had learned about him early on. When he’d been younger, he’d seen it too. It had only gotten more visceral as the years let on.

And if the king was not careful with his words, he was sure to meet an untimely demise.

When Weylyn and the Seelie King finally joined them in the throne room, it was to impart last minute instructions as well as to add additions to their party.

Corvina watched closely while the king gave Valerio quietly whispered instructions, occasionally gesturing in the general direction of the Fae that would be joining them. The man was half-Unseelie half-High Fae. He had purple skin with a shock of white hair pulled back into a knot at the base of his neck. He stood apart from the others, standing elegantly as he cast furtive glances in Weylyn’s direction.

Meanwhile, Weylyn stared at her. The heavy press of his gaze against her sent a shiver down her spine. Though she confessed she liked him, his stare was uncanny and mysterious. Still, she felt a kinship between them, as he too was from the Gold Court and was the first to acknowledge her as a High Lady as if they were in court.

He hadn’t known that it had been the small push she’d needed in moments when she felt she’d disappear. When things had felt too heavy days ago. When she felt like everyone was doomed to die because of her. Because Tobias would have stopped at nothing to get her back.

She’d underestimated how resilient the Resistance could actually be. How far they’d go to protect one of their own. And she’d felt humbled; for the first time in a long time she had felt a sense of family with these people. Like she could actually count on them to go the distance for her. Like she would now go the distance for them.

“You ready to go?” Clay interrupted her thoughts, giving her hand a tight squeeze.

She smiled at her mate, though her heart pounded up to her throat. For the majority of her life, she’d lived in the Gold Court and after that, Dana. She knew nothing of the outside world. Had never even stepped foot out of the kingdom.

Now, she was leaving.

There was something cathartic about that, but also frightening.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied breathlessly. What she didn’t ask was what awaited them out there. She had a feeling even Clay didn’t know, but she was sure that together they would find out.

“Time to go!” Prince Valerio called out. He’d pulled away from his father and was standing beneath the marble archways of the room. Sunlight blazed through the open space, shining down in dark contrasts against the prince. Uric stood beside him, the two bathed in shadows and sunlight, a dark gloom against the brightness.

On a silent command from the Prince, Uric spread his palms wide and a portal was created. It shimmered like the surface of a lake and reflected their own images like a mirror, distorted and blurry.

The prince turned. “Julius,” he commanded. “You first.”

Julius sauntered over to the portal, unsheathing his blade as he went. He took a deep breath and walked through, disappearing within its depths. Next went Iona, following after her mate. The prince gestured at Dawn, Wren, Gale, and Juniper. The four shared weary glances with each other and then Corvina. Though her own fear threatened to dominate her, she tried to appear confident, giving her ladies a nod of approval. After deep breaths, they walked through, disappearing to the other side.

Their party slowly began filing through the portal. Corvina noticed that the longer it was opened, the more Uric’s fingers began to tremble. His skin, which had once been tight and beautiful, wrinkled like crumpled paper. His hair grayed, his eyes drooped, but he held strong. It was the price of his magic, no doubt.

When it was their turn to walk through, Corvina went to pick up Basil. She held him tightly in her arms, more for her comfort than his. Her son did not look scared, but rather excited at the prospect of an adventure. On her other side, Clay wrapped his arm around her waist. She wondered if he could feel her nerves down the bond.

Even without a bite to officially mark them as mates, she could still feel their connection and knew that he could too. His presence was reassuring as he guided her towards the portal. She stared at her distorted reflection and dared a glance backwards at the palace she’d once called home and prison in equal measure.

This would be the last time, she vowed. This would be the last time she ever stepped foot in Dana again. This was a place of the past, a place where she came to be tortured, brutalized, and raped.

It was also the place where she found her son and found her mate.

With a deep breath, she looked forward again.

“Ready?” Clay asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” she replied.

And together they stepped through the portal.