Page 113 of The Fallen Fae King

I nod.

Aurelius studies me thoughtfully, then he bares his neck. “Bite me.”

I rear back from him in shock.

The beat of his pulse, in my starved, near feral state is overwhelming.

I claw at my stomach, shoving down the deep ache inside. I force myself to focus on the pain, rather than the hunger.

“Don’t do that,” I snarl. “Stop it. Don’t you know how dangerous that is around me?”

“But I mean it. Stop being a fucking fool. I’m trying to save your life, Lan.”

I back away to the corner at the back of the cell, which I have come to see as mine.

I drop to my knees and begin to rock.

I turn my forehead to rest against the stone and close my eyes. “Get out. My fangs are loyal to my Blood Lover and bonded Omega alone.”

“Don’t be such a stubborn fucker,” Aurelius says, impatiently. “I’m also bonded to them. We’re all connected by fate.”

“But you’re not bonded to me.”

Silence.

Then I listen to the footfalls, as Aurelius marches out of the cell, followed by the slam of the door closing.

“You devotion will be the death of you,” Aurelius growls from outside the cell.

I press over the Ankh mark, before I raise it to my lips, gently biting on it. “Then I shall die loyal.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Shadow Court

Freya

I smooth down the housekeeper uniform, which is too long and sweeps the stone floor of the narrow corridor that runs behind the palace kitchens. Muffled clangs of bronze pots, the scrape of knives on wooden boards, and the clipped shouts from the cooks drift through the wall.

I wrinkle my nose. “Moon save me, who did I steal this outfit from? It stinks of cheese.”

“Rose cheese. You could invent a new flavor, love.” Daire glances at me through half-hooded eyes.

“What are you doing?” I peer down at him.

Daire is dressed in a silk ivory tunic and breeches.

I was relieved that Aurelius had left on my bed the woolen lavender cloak, which is now draped over Daire’s tunic between his wings to keep him warm.

It felt like an apology.

Possibly, a reset.

Aurelius will need far more than that cloak to make things up with Daire, however, after what happened to his melted crown.

Daire also picked up the golden dragon brooch, however, which marked him as belonging to Aurelius’ inner court. He turned it over in his elegant fingers thoughtfully, feeling the weight of it, before he pinned it on like a commitment and a promise.

Aurelius himself has been keeping his distance, and if I’m honest, we have been keeping ours from him.