Frost (Frost and Nectar #1)(47)

The blood drained from my head as I started to wonder if I’d allowed the petty kingdoms too much leeway in developing their own laws.

“But the culture here is so lovely,” she said. “There’s art and music and books. It’s not only about who you can slaughter.”

I cocked my head. “Only during the duels.”

She touched my arm, her eyes shining. “I have loved you since the moment I saw your portrait hanging in our castle. And when you saved me in the Karnon forest, I had no question. We are meant to be together. I’d never in my life felt so safe. And you slaughtered them so quickly, so expertly.”

I motioned for the servant to bring back the bottle of wine that Moria had brought me, and he poured me another tall glass. “Well, let’s hope the tournaments help me decide who is the best queen for all the Seelie. Because she will not just be my wife, but queen of the six clans.”

She drummed her long fingernails on the table. “But you must see there is something wrong with Ava, don’t you?”

Now this surprised me. “Ava?”

“More than just being around the humans. It’s the way she moves…as a Redcap, we are hunters.

We are in tune with movement. And she doesn’t move like humans, or like us. She stands too still, sometimes. Like a statue. It’s unnerving.”

My changeling…

I wondered if these were merely the desperate words of a princess who craved nothing more than escape from her sad world.

I have loved you since the moment I saw your portrait.

But I knew she hadn’t. She saw me as her ticket out of a grim fortress where her sister’s corpse had hung from the walls.

By the time Eliza, princess of the Selkies, entered the chamber, I’d finished more than half of Moria’s bottle of wine, and I was in danger of defying Moria’s prediction that she’d never witness any grotesque or public displays of public inebriation from me.

Eliza wore a blue-green ballgown, excessively ornate, that trailed over the floor as she walked in. Her green hair was swept up on her head, decorated with pearls and seashells, and the firelight wavered over her bronze skin. She walked with a determined frown, her lips pressed into a line. She did not look any more thrilled to be here than I was.

She carried a pie with grim determination.

I pulled out her chair, and she sat next to me. Without making eye contact, she began cutting into the pie. “I have been told that you have an exemplary sense of taste. And for my part, it has been many years since I have tasted a berry as fine as these, without the vulgarity of too much sweetness.”

A servant quickly dropped two porcelain plates onto the table, then dodged out of view. Eliza used the knife to slide a piece of pie onto my plate, then frowned as it fell apart.

“It looks amazing.”

At last, she met my gaze. “I have studied your interests, Your Majesty. I have been working through a list of your favorite books, though poetry is not something I understand, but I will strive to appreciate it.”

I poured myself another glass of wine, letting my mind drift again. Where would anyone find a list of my interests?

“I do note that your eyes wander as I speak,” she said hurriedly. “But I am also of the opinion that a king cannot appear too eager, for fear of showing weakness. I commend you in your strength and wise decision-making.”

I’d never in my life felt as relieved as I was when the bell rang once more and Ava strode into the room. She wore a delicate dress the color of pewter. The material was sheer but layered just enough that I felt desperate to see her body underneath…in fact, I wanted to order everyone out of the room, tear right through that delicate fabric, spread her thighs wide, and explore every inch of her beautiful body. Somehow, I thought I knew what she’d like. And I wanted to teach her what it meant to be fae, to submit to a king’s power and lose herself in ecstasy…

No, if I weren’t cursed, I’d make her forget whoever it was who’d taught her that there was something wrong with being fae. Ava had the air of heartbreak about her, and I could make her body pulse with a sensual thrill until she completely forgot the human idiot responsible and only my own name filled her thoughts. If I weren’t cursed, I’d fuck her until she forgot his name— Oh, gods. I must stop. Fucking focus. I was losing it. Because the fact was, I was cursed.

But surely this was only lust running out of control. And a king’s impulse to conquer, to tame, to make my subjects worship me, body and soul.

Wasn’t it?





20

A VA

I strode into a great hall, one of carved oak walls and an enormous table shaped like an angular U.

My gaze moved to a gruesome tapestry, a demonic creature decapitated in the forest.

The camera crew stood in the center, the lights and camera aimed at King Torin. He stood when I entered, giving me a slight nod, his pale eyes lingering on me.

Dimly, I heard the TV host introduce me, and to my absolute horror, he reminded viewers of my messy, drunken outburst.

I slid down into the free chair, wishing I could disappear.

“And surely none of us expected to see Ava here. After all, she declared herself a fae who plays by human rules and the trials themselves embarrassing. If anyone knows what’s embarrassing, it’s Ava Jones. Her slurred outburst went viral, earning her scorn and mockery from all corners of the world.”