Page 9 of Monster’s Consort (Blackthorn Academy for Supernaturals #18)

“You know, I thought perhaps because you hadn’t grown up with the stain of our shared histories, you wouldn’t be so quick to judge me, Violet.

” He slipped his hands in his pockets and scoffed at Bane, then me.

“I would have expected it from a monster like Bane,” he snarled, then cast his gaze at Wanda.

“Or even you, Wanda.” Then he turned his gaze back at me.

“But I thought for sure a long-lost princess who knew nothing of our strained kingdoms would have given me a chance to prove otherwise.” He straightened his shoulders and turned away from us.

“But perhaps I was wrong to think so highly of you. Good night.”

“Wait!” I called out, his words settling on me.

How had everything gone to hell so fast?

“I’ll take him,” Delaney said, stepping forward.

“But the Queen said?—”

Delaney held her hands up to Bane and I.

“It’s fine, I’ll be fine.” She did not wait for our assurance, our permission. She took off after the Dark Fae Prince, her heels clicking on the stone floor.

When they’d disappeared, Wanda cursed. She hissed at Bane. “Good job, asshole. Did you not pay any attention in Fae History 101?”

Bane growled as Norman stepped between them, two of his tentacles pushing them both apart.

“Easy, Wanda, Bane was only trying to protect Violet.”

“Thank you,” Bane said, glancing at Norman before glaring at Wanda.

“I was not in danger!” I said, turning to face him.

“Oh, please!” Bane bristled, his eyes glowing with jealousy.

He was jealous.

I wasn’t sure how to process such a thing. I’d only just met Desmond, there was nothing to be jealous about!

“I can not believe you right now!” I growled in frustration.

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Like I said. Men are idiots.”

“I would do it again,” Bane said. “Now he knows what’s mine.”

I shook my head. I needed air. Real air. Everything felt like it was far too much to be dealt with at the moment.

“I need space,” I said as I stepped away from Bane. I did not miss the way his eyebrows furrowed or the way his lips turned upside down.

“Violet—”

“No, do not follow me right now, Bane. I need to breathe. I need?—”

“We should go, Bane.” Norman’s voice infiltrated the tense space.

“I’ll walk with you,” Wanda said too quickly.

“Violet, come on, baby...”

“We will discuss this further tomorrow.”

And with that, I headed for my quarters, Wanda flanking me. I wanted to turn around and look at Bane. Wanted to tell him everything would be fine, but the truth was I didn’t know that it would be.

Things were... delicate at best, where the Dark Fae were concerned. Though I didn’t truly know what Desmond’s family was really doing at the castle, I knew enough to know that Bane’s actions could very well start a war.

He could have seriously damaged things all because what?

He was jealous ?

If he could not handle Desmond now, on the premises of the castle, how would he handle being at Blackthorn for a semester with him?

And for worse, if he could not handle a prince being polite with me, how would he handle another male in my presence when I was queen?

Would he strike every diplomat and bang on his heavy, sexy gancanagh chest and declare me his like I was some sort of property?

It all felt too much, and I couldn’t breathe.

Wanda’s lithe form sauntered beside me, a chill emanating from her like a fresh ocean breeze.

It was a stark contrast to my heat.

“I can not believe he did that!” I huffed.

“I can,” she said coolly. “He does have a claim on you, after all.”

“A claim is not an excuse to act like a... a...”

“Monster?” Wanda pressed, her voice apathetic and even.

“Bane is not a monster,” I said. “He is many things, but he is not a monster.”

“We are all monsters, Violet. Some of us are just better at hiding our true colors than others.”

I heard the unwavering truth in her voice and her words cut me deep.

“You are not a monster,” I said. “And Delaney and I certainly aren’t.”

“You see the good in people, Violet. Of course you would say that.”

We turned a corner, ascending the stairs to the second floor where our quarters lay.

“Thank you,” I said.

“That wasn’t a compliment,” Wanda said with a sigh. “You trust people easily. It is how you ended up kidnapped, if I remember correctly.”

I stopped on the landing, just before a large window and she did the same. Beneath the fire-lit torches, she looked like a monster.

A beautiful monster with bright eyes and a judgmental glare that could kill.

“I had just found out my mother?—”

“And because you trusted that letter, because you trusted you would be safe, you were kidnapped.”

There was a tense silence between us before she spoke again.

“Bane was only doing what he vowed to do when he claimed you.” She sighed deeply. “His monster doesn’t understand politics. It only understands that you are in danger.”

“Desmond does not seem so dangerous,” I said, but even as I said the words I wasn’t all that sure I believed them.

“We do not know enough of the Dark Fae Prince to trust him, Violet.”

His words were still lodged in my brain. He’d seemed hurt I hadn’t taken his side, hurt that perhaps I blamed him.

Hurt that I called him an adversary.

And then it dawned on me. Perhaps I was the adversary.

Desmond hadn’t done anything to provoke me. He was polite, albeit a little flirtatious, but flirtation was harmless. He was a prince, for goodness sake. Charm was in their blood.

He’d even tried to make small talk and ample conversation with me, and though I knew our history, I let it shape the way I treated him.

I assumed the worst of him when Bane shifted.

I was a fool, and my quick action could have cost me an ally.

A friend.

Memories of my arrival at Blackthorn assaulted me. I had grown up so lonely, so desperate for a friend, I was quick to attach myself to the siren standing before me, and the Kraken in her midst, believing they wanted my best interest when all they wanted was to leech my lust.

Was Desmond desperate for connection, too?

“That may be true, but how can we earn his trust if our first inclination is to be on the offense, Wanda?” I crossed my arms, feeling the chill of the stairwell.

“Violet—”

“I trusted you once,” I said softly. “And even though I should not have, I did because I wanted to be your friend. Perhaps Desmond just wants a friend. ”

Wanda sighed, opening the door for me. She held it still as I walked through. “Desmond O’Neil doesn’t know what he wants,” she said coolly. “He does not have a spine or a brain of his own.”

“Are you saying he is a puppet of the King and Queen, then?”

Wanda shook her head. “Not a puppet. Just a casualty.”

I slowed my stroll beside Wanda. “How do you two know each other?” I asked carefully.

Wanda stopped in front of her room. “We have... history. That’s all,” she said. “And that’s all I’m going to say about the matter, so I suggest you drop it, darling.”

I knew enough of Wanda to know if she wanted you to know something, she would tell you. The fact everyone else had asked and she brushed them off, but gave me the tiniest sliver of information was not lost on me.

Perhaps I was too easy to trust, but something told me Wanda found it too hard to trust people. To let them in.

But lucky for her, I was a patient person. Most of the time.

So, I nodded and bid her goodnight before finding my bedroom.

* * *

I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of whooshing air, and I sat up in bed, frozen with fear, but soon enough all that fear faded when I looked at the foot of my bed and saw a recognizable body standing there, familiar wings on display.

My heart leapt into my throat as I blinked, my gaze fixated on the faint glow of Bane’s infernal tattoos along his forearms.

“Bane... what...” I swallowed harshly. “What are you doing here? It’s two in the morning...”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said, his wings sheathing, but not disappearing completely.

“Did you fly over here?” I asked. I turned my gaze to the window, which I was certain I had locked. “And break in through my window?”

He sauntered closer to me, sitting at the edge of my bed, but he did not look at me. “Yes.”

The way he answered me was almost as if he were ashamed.

Guilt-ridden.

And something about that stirred my heart.

I crawled toward him, out of my sheets. “Bane...”

“I fucked up,” he said, but he did not look at me. “I don’t know what came over me, I just— He sighed, hanging his head. “I just lost control of the situation, I guess.”

I settled myself next to him, my thigh brushing his. I reached out and grasped him by the chin, turning him to face me. His eyes shone with the hint of sparkle I loved, and my magic responded of its own accord. Purple and ochre flames danced and he looked at me wistfully.

I thought about Wanda’s words.

He was only doing what he vowed to do when he claimed you.

“You were only doing what you thought was right,” I said softly.

I traced his jaw with my fingers. “I fucked up, too,” I said, leaning my forehead against his.

“I have been here three weeks, and though I know there is much to learn, the first test of diplomacy my mother gave me, I panicked. I failed.”

“You did not fail,” Bane said, shifting and settling his hand on my neck.

His thumb brushed over my throbbing vein and my insides twisted of their own accord. Sometimes being in his presence was damn near overwhelming.

“But I did,” I whispered. “And now I must find a way to smooth things over. I must ask for his forgiveness. A clean slate.”

“Desmond is a dark fae. He does not deserve?—”

“Everyone deserves a second chance, Bane,” I said, licking my lips. I gazed up at his dark eyes, searching them for the embers, the sparks. “You of all people know that,” I whispered, reminding him it was not all that long ago that he was searching for the same thing.

He let out a heavy sigh as he kissed me. “I do not deserve you,” he whispered. “You are too good for me, my little spark.”

I grinned against his lips as the lust bloomed in my belly. I slid over his lap, straddling his hips as I pulled him closer, kissing him with adamant fervor. His tongue sliding into my mouth was a relief that was as palpable as it was desirable.

“I will be the judge of that, my little bat.”