Ambrosia (Frost and Nectar, #2)(26)

My fingers tightened into fists. “Let him go.”

“Ava,” Torin said quietly, like he was trying to calm a wild beast.

A thorny silence spread between us until Queen Mab lifted a finger to her lips. “I think she really cares for him.” Her voice was an icy gale that sent a shiver up my spine. “A truly lost Unseelie, so sweet and sad at the same time.” Her gaze slid down Torin’s body. “I can see why she likes him. I may be twice your age, but I’m not blind.”

Torin stepped closer to her, and despite his brutalized state, his movements were fluid and graceful. “My dear queen. You really are lonely.”

Was he flirting with her?

Despite the blood running down his chest, he was still so beautiful that it made my heart stop. Maybe he could charm his way out of this?

She put a finger to her lips. “It is lonely at the top, as they say. Are you offering yourself up to me? I’ve never been with Seelie, nor have I been with a male as beautiful as you are.”

Oh, gods. The food in my stomach was starting to curdle.

“Your Highness,” Morgant started. “There are security— ”

Mab lifted her hand. “When I want to hear from you, I will ask. But I could use your strength, Morgant.” She turned to me. “I am still thinking of throwing this wretch off the tower to see if she can fly. Do we think she can?”

“I’d advise you not to do that.” Torin’s deep, smooth voice cut through the night air, a sharp blade of warning in his tone.

“And once she is out of the way, Torin, what would happen if I took you to my bedroom to see if you could prove yourself to a queen?”

Torin’s jaw tightened. “If you go anywhere near Ava,” he said smoothly, his tone laced with violence, “I will rip out your spine, Your Highness.”

My gaze flicked back to the archers circling overhead, their white wings pounding the air. One more arrow in the right place, and he’d be dead.

The queen’s eyes widened. “So you do care for her after all. How interesting. A Seelie king cares for his little Unseelie friend.” She folded her arms. “Well, if you’re going to make threats, you won’t be able to stay in my bedroom unchained. Don’t you think it would be better if your hands were free?”

What the fuck was she playing at? I bit my lip. She seemed to phrase a lot of things as questions, which had me wondering if she really couldn’t lie, and the questions were some sort of workaround.

She sashayed closer to him and traced a finger over his collarbone. “Torin, darling. When you first arrived, I thought I knew how I wanted to kill you.” Her finger brushed down his chest. “I thought I’d beat you unconscious and seal you up inside a tree so that when you woke, you’d find yourself entombed in oak, and you’d slowly starve to death over a few weeks, feasted on by bugs. Here, we give back to the forest.”

Bony fingers of dread wrapped around my heart.

“What is wrong with you?” I whispered to myself, no longer able to restrain myself.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Her finger was moving down over his abs. “That was before.” She whirled to look at me. “But you know what? I have never wanted to be with a weak man. Don’t you think a corpse-eater should prove his worth? Should we see his skill on the battlefield?” Her cheeks glowed with a radiant silver light. “Here is my magnanimous offer. I will let one of you leave the kingdom.” She fluttered her long, black eyelashes. “But only after a duel between the two of you. Torin, darling.” She slipped behind him, stroking a hand down his muscular shoulders. “Tomorrow, your job is to fight this Lost One before a crowd of my subjects and run your sword through her. If you prove yourself to me in the way that I require, I will let you return to your sad, withering kingdom.”

My chest tightened. “You need him to kill me?”

“Don’t worry, my little wretch,’” she said soothingly. “If you should stab him, I will allow you to leave. If you want. And I don’t even need any extra favors from you. Really, you are a lucky girl.” Her amber gaze slid between Torin and me. “Do you know what? My subjects have been bored lately, and I’d love to entertain them. They will be thrilled. They don’t have all the frost and starvation to contend with that you do in Faerie, and their lives are so comfortable, it gets tedious.” She smiled. “They need bloodshed. So, tomorrow, you will both fight. And one of you must skewer the other for it to end.”

She bit her lip coquettishly and fluttered her eyelashes at Torin. “But I have never liked to share. When I see something I want, I don’t like anyone else to have it. Torin, darling, if I catch you going anywhere near the Lost Unseelie, there will be consequences. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be castrated? To be ripped apart by horses pulling your limbs in every direction? Would you like to find out?”

Torin wasn’t responding anymore. He just stared at her, his eyes darkening to a midnight blue.

The queen gingerly stepped away from him and drummed her fingertips together. She turned to Morgant. “Before you bring them to their quarters, heal the Seelie king. I want him to be healthy before they fight. And since someone will be impaled tomorrow, let them stay in a tower room this evening. Separately, of course.” She cut Torin a sharp look. “I have made myself very clear on that point, haven’t I? I am commanding you not to go anywhere near each other.”