Page 14 of Brutal Fae King (Dark Faevea King #1)

I stare out the window at her. My wife. What an awful, gargantuan sentiment…

I’d never imagined what it would have been like to have been married, but… my parents and Bruamin always gave me the impression that it was supposed to be some grand affair. A legal union, a magnificent event to be marveled at by the peasantry and spoken about for years. Not to mention, it was supposed to make me… feel something. At least, not so empty.

I watch her pottering around in the castle gardens—Bruamin’s pride and joy—speaking with the guards accompanying her and touching upon the roses with delicate fingers.

She’s here. With me. The one who could have defeated me is now bound to me in such a way that it’ll never happen. I’ve spent my entire reign—perhaps even my entire life in some way—worrying about that possibility. Now, it’ll never happen as long as the spell holds; Dralis can’t take her like this, and through him, neither would Mischevil.

Things are finally on the path to Faevea being safe. I should be elated.

Why do I feel so hollow instead?

She keeps walking around in the gardens below me. At least she looks some kind of happy down there…

“Sire?”

“Come in, Bruamin.”

My lord-in-waiting walks in, a tray of tea in his hands. He puts it down on the desk with a light chink .

“I took the liberty of bringing you a drink, Sire, seeing as you didn’t come down to breakfast this morning.”

“Much obliged, Bruamin.”

I keep staring out the window. I can hear him fiddling with the utensils on the tray, and when he walks over with a steaming mug, I ask:

“Bruamin, what does she speak about with the castle staff?”

My elderly lord-in-waiting looks out the window, down at her.

“She has been speaking with them constantly,” I growl. “I must know if she is conspiring against me with the staff.”

“Excuse me if this is ignorant, but would that not exacerbate her curse, Sire?” he asks, perhaps a disapproving tone eking in. “The one that will kill her should she break her marriage vows, including betraying you?”

“It would,” I answer, eyes affixed on her.

“And she knows this, yes?”

“I made it aware to her,” I say. “But perhaps she didn’t understand the depths of the spell. Or she considers killing herself alongside me to be a worthy sacrifice.”

I hear a quiet sigh from Bruamin.

“No, Sire,” he tells me. “I do not know what she says. Do you want me to speak with her and find out?”

“Yes,” I say. “But be subtle about it. We do not want her to know that we’re suspicious of her conspiracy.”

Bruamin sighs again. I glare at him.

“You have something to say?” I growl.

“Nothing, Sire,” he answers.

“I know you better than that, old man. Out with it!” I order.

Bruamin shakes his head before he answers me:

“Sire, do you consider, even for a moment, that this might all be unnecessary?”

“Unnecessary?”

“Yes,” he replies. “This young lady would never have left the castle because the witch told her that Faevea would fall if she did. The marriage was not necessary—she wasn’t threatening your rule. On top of that, you sacrifice years of your own life to curse her like this, as if those other measures did not exist.” He lowers his head. “Speaking personally, I worry for you, Sire. This behavior encroaches on the paranoid, and that is no state for a king.”

I know in my heart he’s right; the kind of vigilance paranoia brings ironically leaves one open to attack.

But I can tell in my turning stomach that something’s wrong. I’m still in danger. I have to be. If Dralis can’t get to her anymore, then she has to be the danger.

“Sire, your parents—”

“It is now that you forget yourself,” I answer grimly. “My parents were killed by someone they loved. They let their guard down around just the closest of their friends and family, and paid for it with their lives. I won’t be killed in the same way. Even if she seems harmless, I’m not letting my guard down.”

“Of course,” Bruamin replies. “But must this guard be so high? That curse you cast on her cost you three years of your life, and I worry it’s for no reason.”

“It isn’t a curse,” I snap. “Any more than being married to me is a curse! It is a deal she agreed upon, and she has transformed overnight from a peasant to a queen! That is not a curse!”

I turn and glare at him.

“Now, go see what she’s talking about with the staff!”

Bruamin shakes his head softly at me before he catches himself and bows his head.

“At once, Sire.”

As he turns to walk out, my stomach gives another churn.

I shouldn’t talk that way to Bruamin. My incredibly dulled conscious whispers.

“Bruamin!”

The old man looks at me lightly.

“I… thank you. For the tea,” I say. “I probably needed something.”

He just bows his head at me, but his eyes are a little softer.

***

Bruamin isn’t back with his report by the time dinner is made. I suppose there’s nothing for it—she needs to trust him to speak freely in front of him, and that may take some time.

But damn it all—I need to know what she’s planning!

What is she capable of? I must know! I need to put her to the test sooner rather than later to know what I’m contending with—can she handle a blade? Other types of magic? I must know, but I’m waiting on Bruamin to return and report first.

I’m sizzling in frustration when a knock comes on the door:

“Bruamin?” I call.

“Er, no, Sire,” some non-descript guard replies. “Dinner is served, Sire.”

I growl at the back of my throat and stand from my desk. As I emerge from my quarters, I flinch.

She stands next to the guard, as beautiful and defiant as I saw her on our wedding night, albeit with fewer tears in her eyes.

“I… good evening,” I say.

Her eyes narrow at me. “Good evening.”

“How long were you outside my room?”

“Not long,” she answers. “Dinner had been called, so I was going down to eat.”

“Oh. That makes sense,” I reply.

The guard begins walking us down. There’s no talking for a moment—but if there’s any time to talk, it’d be now.

“I see you are making friends amongst the staff.”

“Are you about to tell me I shouldn’t?” she asks.

She looks at me sharply. I bristle from her gaze alone. I don’t say anything for a moment—what does she have to say for herself, I wonder?

“You trapped me here,” she grumbles. “You can’t stop me from being friends with anyone I want to. In fact…” She looks over and smirks “…you can’t stop me from doing anything.”

She stops walking and turns to me, arms folded.

“Now that I’m queen, you can’t stop me from doing anything,” she says. “You said we share the throne, so things are going to change around here.”

My skin prickles more.

“We may share the throne, but you have yet to do anything with your status as queen other than take advantage,” I growl. “You have yet to perform any duties reminiscent of a queen, so I don’t appreciate any smugness from you. Perform some queenly duties, and then you may have earned some arrogance.”

Her emerald eyes are flinty when she glares at me again.

“What do you mean queenly duties?!”

It takes me a moment to realize what could have been interpreted from that, but I keep strong. Don’t show her any weakness. She scoffs. I sneer back.

“What I mean is that you don’t seem to understand what being queen entails. It doesn’t mean you do anything you want.” I walk closer to her and lean down, close to her face. “It doesn’t mean I can’t do anything to stop you if I have to. This is my kingdom still. And you are my wife.”

She just glares at me.

“I agreed to share the throne,” I growl. “I didn’t agree to your flouncing around, taking advantage of what I’ve already built.”

She folds her arms.

“Then you shouldn’t have kidnapped me,” she grumbles. “ I didn’t want to be here—you forced me to be!”

“I had to in order to keep the kingdom from falling,” I snap back. “That prophecy doesn’t give you permission to run rampant.”

“You do,” she snaps back. “You do whatever you want.”

“No. I do what I have to ,” I growl. “It’s just that no one sees it.”

Then, an idea hits me. I smile slowly at her.

“You want to see what it takes? Why I “run rampant” like I do?” I challenge her. “You come join me on my tasks for a day. You’ll see.”

She snorts, but I can see the glimmer in her eye—she sees the challenge, and it intrigues her. I can use this.

“What say you?” I ask.

“Fine,” she says. “I’ll join you for the day. Let’s see what you do.”

Perfect.

“Very well. You’d better sleep early tonight, then,” I chuckle. “Early on the morrow, we start with sword training.”

She frowns at me, but I keep my expression still.

I need to know how much of a threat she may be. I know she has little to no control over her magic, but how can she fight? Once I have a read on her capabilities, I’ll have a better idea of what to expect from her. Then, when Bruamin comes back with his report, I’d be able to fully know what she can and can’t do.

“I’ve never held a sword in my life!” she insists.

She could be lying. I’d only know once she has a blade in her hand; even if she’s pretending to be an amateur, just the way she’d hold it alone would be an indicator. There will be subtle signs she’s not able to hide.

So, I keep smiling.

“You want to know what I do in a day? Then, you’ll join me, whether you’ve held a sword or not,” I say.

She grumbles again but tosses her glossy hair.

“Fine,” she says again.

I nod at her, still smiling.

“Let us get to dinner, then,” I say. “ Wife.”

She growls for a moment and then snaps. “I know you know my name.”

I laugh, then repeat myself. “Let us get to dinner, then,” I say. “ Ebelor.”

“Queen Ebelor,” she grunts.

“ My queen,” I press.

Ebelor groans a touch, but there’s a touch of a smile on the corner of her lips.

Strangely, a little of the tightness in my stomach eases when I see the smile. It takes off the edge of the hollowness in my heart.

Seeing her smile… I feel… a bit better?

How odd.

I frown a little bit myself, forcing myself to look away.

Why? What’s happening to me?

We keep walking toward the dining room. She doesn’t say anything to me, and I dare to steal another glance at her. She’s smiling fully, but she’s in her own thoughts now.

I don’t say anything to her; I don’t want that smile to disappear, and the fact is, if I speak to her, it probably will.

I just enjoy the sight of the smile as we make our journey to the dining room.