Page 5 of Monster’s Consort (Blackthorn Academy for Supernaturals #18)

Violet

There was obviously a reason the Great Hall was referred to as the Great Hall. Even after being in the castle for nearly three weeks, I still found myself getting lost in its labyrinthian hallways and I swore every corridor and atrium looked nearly identical.

But the Great Hall was on the ground floor and could not be missed by even a blind Cyclops.

“You look like a fortune teller’s dream,” Delaney said with a grin as she entered from the right, from the courtyard.

She was one to talk. Though I knew my friends had packed light, it appeared that my mother had settled them in quarters with closets packed to the brim with ample clothing. A part of my heart swelled at that knowledge, while other parts of me felt on edge.

I knew I shouldn’t have felt anything except excitement for my mother—my real biological Fae mother—but still, beneath the excitement and the newness, there was fear.

Fear she wouldn’t like me now that I was grown up.

Fear that she would somehow leave or be taken from me again.

Fear that I was not cut out to rule a kingdom someday, even with Bane by my side.

But I pushed my fears aside and smiled at Delaney instead.

I twirled my finger, motioning for her to give me a spin.

Her bright pink lips turned up into a grin and she did just as I wanted, spinning like a ballerina, which made the skirt of her dress poof out a bit.

The deep, rich emerald tones accentuated her pale skin beautifully, and her half-up-half-down red hair falling over her exposed, freckled shoulders made her look like the second coming of Brigid herself.

She was absolutely stunning.

“You look like a princess yourself, Delaney,” I said as she sidled up to me and wrapped her long, pale arms around me. She even smelled good. Like rain and moss and cedar.

Her warm embrace was enough to settle my insecurities for the moment. If there was one thing I truly appreciated about my best friend, it was her warmth. How she always had the power to make me feel at ease, and it had nothing to do with the magic she possessed. It was just her.

“Hey, Vi!” I heard the unmistakable cheerfulness of the Kraken behind me and I turned to see he also looked well put together in a plum suit that accentuated his teal tentacles nicely.

It took focus to keep my eyes trained on Norman’s wide grin and expressive dark eyes, but after spending a semester with him, it seemed to be getting easier.

Though I dared not get too close to Norman, for as Bane loved to remind me, he was a creature who fed on lust, and being with Bane stirred a healthy amount of lust on a daily basis.

I’d tried to tell Bane, I didn’t think Norman would cross that boundary again, as he had the first time we’d met.

Something told me Norm wasn’t as touchy as Bane or everyone else believed him to be.

In fact, I hadn’t heard or seen anything about him so much as flirting with anyone since that day he and Wanda showed up with Bane and Delaney to save me.

And the way he looked at Wanda—or the way I’d always caught him looking at Wanda when she was oblivious—told me everything I needed to know about how he felt.

I reached out to hug him, a smile forming on my face. He started at my gesture, his tentacles skittering along my back, but I did not feel one sucker grace my skin.

“It’s good to see you,” I said genuinely and he squeezed me with his hands.

“Quite the place you got here,” he said as I let go, and then his jaw went slack along with his eyes, and I just... knew.

I turned around, Delaney with me, and my heart caught in my throat.

There stood the siren in all her beauty, dressed in a slip of a dark teal velvet dress. The cut was slim and drew much attention to her long legs and the swell of her breasts.

Her bronze skin practically glistened with specks of gold, her plum lips pouty and so perfect, I think anyone would have felt mediocre in her presence.

“Wanda,” Delaney murmured, her voice tinged with that tone of annoyance again. “You look?—”

“Like a cuttlefish,” Norman breathed, and it was then I noticed the longing in his gaze.

She sauntered over to us slowly, her gaze only flashing to Norman once. She smiled as she crossed her arms. “It isn’t my usual style, but—” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, giving me a rueful smile. “I suppose it will do.”

Delaney huffed in exasperation but did not say anything else to acknowledge her.

I blinked, wondering when she’d gotten so rude. I’d never seen Delaney be anything less than friendly with people. But it seemed like lately the siren’s very presence unnerved her. I made a mental note to ask about that.

If my friends truly were going to spend the summer with me, the last thing I wanted to deal with was drama. Especially girl drama.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

The voice that pulled my attention made my blood rush and my smile was inevitable.

I turned to look to the left and bit my lip in appreciation.

Bane stood there in a suit not much different than Norman’s, only it was charcoal grey.

It reminded me of his marbled skin when he shifted into his true gancanagh form.

“Bane...” His name left my lips in a soft whisper and I made no move to hide the way in which I took in the sight of him.

He was sexy as all hell in that perfectly tailored suit, every muscle and curve on display and making my heart beat faster.

The things I wanted to do to him made me blush from the thought, but there was no time to steal away.

But the look in his gaze and the smirk on his lips told me he knew. Told me he felt the same.

He sauntered over to our little group and slid his hand around my waist, yanking me closer to him with such a force I yelped.

The heat that crept into my cheeks was welcome as he kissed the top of my nose and then my lips, settling everything within me.

I lost myself for a moment in that kiss.

In the softness of his lips, the warmth of his tongue.

I groaned without thinking, forgetting we had an audience until I felt the faintest tickle of a sucker and then Bane broke away, grabbing said tentacle in his grasp and squeezing until Norman yelped.

“Hands off, asshole,” Bane growled, his voice carrying a threat that I’d never quite heard before.

“Sorry,” Norman said as he pulled his tentacle back and rubbed it with his own hand. “Sometimes I can’t keep track of them,” he murmured. “They have a mind of their own.”

When he said the words, I could hear the embarrassment. The disdain.

Wanda appraised him with a skeptical gaze. “When was the last time you fed, Norm?”

I watched as he rubbed his pink sucker gingerly, noting the way his eyebrows furrowed.

Bane held me closer.

“Does it matter?” Norman asked, letting go of his tentacle.

“It does if you’re going to be staying on the same grounds as my fiancée,” Bane said solidly.

Fiancée.

I didn’t bear a ring, and Bane had never truly proposed to me, but...

I wore his mark. He’d claimed me, and was actively courting me and going through the motions to become my official consort, so I supposed one could say we were engaged, even if it wasn’t in a typical sense.

I preened at the word.

Fiancée!

“It’s been awhile, okay?” Norman bit, crossing his arms. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Surely there must be someone you can leech some lust from,” Delaney said sarcastically.

I did not miss the way Wanda looked away or the way she said, “I was told there would be dinner .”

“Ah, yes...” I blinked, clearing my throat. “Right... right this way, please...” I slid my hand into Bane’s and guided us through the Great Hall into the actual dining hall, where my mother and some other individuals I did not recognize sat.

The closer I got, the more my blood chilled.

Next to my mother sat a man who I could only describe as regal.

He looked every bit a King, what with his expensive suit and perfectly slicked dark hair.

Next to him, sat a woman who looked equally as gothic, yet strikingly beautiful.

Her delicate features were accentuated by her dark hair and makeup.

She looked like a bloody vampire, but something inside of me recognized her for what she was.

Fae.

But not just any fae...

Dark Fae.

“Is that?—”

“King Sirus and Queen Lithia,” Wanda cooed. “The current monarchy that presides over the Dark Fae Kingdom.”

“Dark Fae, as in... the people who tried to snuff out the Kingdom of Lir?”

“The very same,” Delaney said, as Norman said, “Looks like they brought their pride and joy with them, too.”

It was then that I locked eyes with the stunning man who sat next to his mother.

Even from afar, the resemblance was more than noticeable.

His sharp features against his pale skin were a strange mix of masculine and feminine.

He bore the same jawline and shiny black hair as his father, but his bright purple eyes were like his mother’s.

“Prince Desmond O’Neil.” Delaney’s voice was barely a whisper, and my mother and her guests turned to see us.

“Violet! Oh, look at you, you look stunning, sweetheart,” my mother said as she rose and met me just before the table. She took my hands in hers and smiled kindly as she appraised my friends. “Bane, you clean up rather nice,” she said, her voice sweet and tinged with humor.

My mother and my boyfriend had not spent much time together, to my knowledge, but she could not deny the sacrifice and the lengths she’d witnessed. He saved more than just my life that day. He saved both of ours.

But being beholden to the ceremonial requirements and royal trainings left little room for bonding when it came to Bane and my mother.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Bane spoke politely, but I knew he detested such formalities. Still, it seemed the night had only just begun.