Page 81 of The Chains You Defy

Eight fae in shiny silver armor, a colorful crest adorning their breastplates, marched in formation toward us, and, out of instinct, I positioned myself half behind Dion. Maybe I was a scared little mouse, but—

No. That picture was painfully accurate.

All the newcomers kept polished swords at the ready, and only as they stopped a few paces in front of us did the males lower their weapons so their tips rested on the ground. In unison, the fae went on bended knee, one hand settling on their pommels, the other behind their back, and bowed their heads to Dion.

This was a surreal sight.

Holy Triad, he indeed was a prince. The crown prince of this foreign world. Of course, I knew that, but witnessing the scene in front of me transformed theory into reality. Gods, what was I doing here?

“Your Royal Highness Dionadair Dorchadas Coroin De’An Scriosta, Scion of High King Galrach Folus Iadrann, Crown Prince of Galanta, Heir to the Eternal Throne of Alaiann, and Field Marshal of the Endless Legions. Welcome back home. Your return to Alaiann has been expected with anticipation.”

“At ease.” Dion paused for a second, inspecting his fingernails instead of meeting anyone’s eyes. “Airioch.”

Fascinated, I watched the guards straighten, and their stance was tense. Apart from the one called Airioch, no one dared to look at their prince directly.

They…oh. They were afraid of Dion. I glanced at the other males in our company, who stood silently behind us. My friends wore serious expressions, even Thain. The only exception was Fig, who grinned at Airioch.

“Your Royal Highness, I’ll immediately send word of your arrival to His Royal Majesty. There are no directives for you to heed at the moment, so if you wish to freshen up, you’ll find that your quarters have been maintained during your absence.”

Dion acknowledged Airioch’s words before giving me a curt nod. “Come.”

Swallowing the impulse to snap at him, I reminded myself of the roles we both had to play. He was supposed to act like an arrogant bastard—and if I were honest, he didn’t have to pretend; he simply was one. The only difference for me was that I couldn’t push back.

As I swallowed my pride, I followed Dion, who sauntered toward the palace. Two of the guards broke formation and fell in step behind us at a respectful distance.

Surely decorum. No one could seriously believe that the one they called Dark God needed such puny protection.

I craned my neck to the rest of the males, but Dion didn’t hesitate. Instead, he muttered under his breath to me, “The others will report to Airioch, who, by the way, is the head of the Royal Guard at the Eternal Palace. If nothing goes sideways, they’ll return to their rooms afterward as well.”

Peeking at Dion secretly out of the corner of my eye—I didn’t dare to study him directly in case the twoguards were monitoring us—I noticed several differences. He held himself tall as usual, but there was even more arrogance and condescension dripping from him, something that shouldn’t have been possible. Moving as if he were disgusted to breathe the same air as everyone around him, he portrayed the dangerous, unfeeling weapon of mass destruction to perfection. The utter boredom layering over everything else was just the final touch.

Glancing behind us, I noticed how the guards still avoided looking at him. Instead, their glowing stares burned into my back with barely veiled disdain. If their behavior were any indication, every warning my friends had given me hadn’t been exaggerated.

Lucky me.

As we approached the palace gates, the doors swung outward, perfectly timed. The moment we crossed the threshold, the wings had just fully opened.

We entered a giant antechamber, and while I couldn’t allow myself to gape around like an idiot, I noticed the alabaster structures, a massive winding marble staircase, and flowers everywhere. It was as if the designer had tried to capture the prompt ‘nature’ and had succeeded triumphantly.

The guards who’d accompanied us stayed back as Dion turned right to an enormous archway without hesitation. Every single fae we passed hastened to bow as deeply as they could, but Dion pretended he didn’tnotice anyone. If I hadn’t believed he was royal and feared before, I would have been convinced in this very moment.

He was a god walking among the ordinary folk, the boot to the ant, the perfect predator, and everyone else less than prey. It was obvious he was used to letting those surrounding him experience how abundantly inferior they were compared to him.

Looking around and taking in my environment would have to wait. I kept my eyes plastered on the lush sapphire carpet as I followed the prince and wished from the bottom of my heart to develop the power of invisibility spontaneously.

“Your Royal Highness, I’m overjoyed to welcome you back home.” A male voice rang out, the cutting tone contradicting his words, and when Dion stopped, I almost crashed into him. Damn. I had to be more alert.

But the dread over my near-blunder was soon replaced by my curiosity. Who’d been crazy enough to address the murderous fae prince?

With as much caution as I could muster, I lifted my gaze slightly.

The male fae in front of us had short, dark blond hair, sparkling ruby eyes, and wore a uniform tailored to perfection from golden silk and green embroidered velvet. Gold jewelry and a leather book dangling from his belt completed the ensemble. He too bowed before his prince but straightened without waiting for permission.

“Steward Fainic.” Dion nodded the tiniest of nods to the steward, his tone full of icy disinterest.

“Welcome home. Can you confirm that Lord Fiantas and General Fiolar returned as well?”

“Hm, did the fact slip my mind that I’m supposed to do your work or that I’m a lackey destined to do your research? Or why are you bothering me with such trivial questions?”