House of Lies and Sorrow (Fae of Rewyth #1)(26)

I had slept in an empty bedroom across the hall the past couple of nights, but it didn’t stop my mind from wandering to Jade’s wet hair from the shower, the way she looked at me when I showed her my wings.

Saints help me.

I walked down the empty hallway to my father’s quarters. I had spent hours debating on whether or not to trust him with the incident, and my mind was still shouting warnings at me.

My father wasn’t going to help me.

He didn’t help me with any of my other wives. Not even Laura. So, there was no way he was going to help me now.

Laugh in my face? Maybe. Help me? Not a chance.

But this castle was a snake pit. At the end of the day, my father was the King. If I wanted to stay alive, I had to play by their rules.

“Malachi!” A female voice echoed through the empty hallway. “Wait up!”

I turned around and found Kara running toward me.

A sigh escaped me. “Not now, Kara,” I said, turning around and continuing toward my father’s quarters.

“Your wife seems like a nice girl,” she continued. “I’d love to get to know her more one day.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “You talked to Jade?”

She caught up with me, her blonde hair bouncing as she jogged the last few feet.

“At your wedding, yeah,” she said. Another breath escaped me, but my heart was still pounding. “She’s pretty, too. Although for a human she’s awfully…”

“If I were you, I would be very careful about what you say next, Kara.”

She looked at me in awe, then scoffed. “I can’t believe this,” she said. “You’re really going to drop everything we have for another human. I thought you were done with that. After what happened with Laura, I figured you had learned your lesson.”

Kara was stupid, but not that stupid. She was trying to get me angry.

I turned and continued walking, but she grabbed my arm. It took every ounce of my strength to resist throwing her small body to the ground.

“What lesson is that, exactly?” I growled.

Kara smiled, but it was calculated. “That what you need is right here, Malachi. You don’t have to keep doing this.”

“Doing what, Kara?” I ripped my arm from her grip. “I’m not the one deciding I should get married to a human again and again. I’m not the one making those decisions.”

Anger flashed across her face. If I had learned one thing about Kara, it was that she couldn’t hide her emotions. That type of flaw was deadly in Rewyth.

“You’re more powerful than them. You know you are. If you decided what to do with your own life, they would have no choice but to listen.”

I shook my head. Kara, just like everyone else, had no idea what they were talking about. They didn’t know the power my father had over me.

Of course I was stronger than him. I was stronger than everyone. I could kill any one of them with my power, but then what?

My mother needed me.

My father was my only link to her.

“Leave me alone,” I mumbled to her. “You have no clue what you’re talking about.”

She didn’t follow me as I stormed away, but that didn’t stop her from yelling, “She’ll never belong here, Malachi!”

My vision darkened and my fists clenched.

Jade belonged wherever I said she belonged.

I pushed my father’s door open before my anger forced me to turn back around.

He sat alone, drinking from a golden mug in his massive study. “Malachi!” he cheered. “What a nice surprise!”

I shut the door behind me and continued inside the room. His guards didn’t move an inch.

They were smarter than him.

“I haven’t seen you in a few days,” I started. “Anything new I should be aware of?”

He stood from the long wooden table

“Nothing comes to mind.”

“Really? Anything regarding my mother, perhaps?” I leaned against the wooden frame of the door.

My father shook his head. “You know the deal, Malachi.”

“The deal was that I do what you ask. Well, I married the human–again. So I think it’s about time you hold up your side of this bargain. Where is my mother?”

“Patience, boy,” he said, standing from his chair. “Marrying the girl is not the end of the road. You should know that more than anyone.”

Anger rumbled in my chest. I urged my power back to its core, reigning it in.

“How long are we going to play this game?” I asked.

My father just laughed. “It’s no game, son. I’m running a kingdom here. You’ll understand one day. You’ll understand all the sacrifices I’ve made for you. And you’ll come back to thank me.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Thank you?” I repeated. “For what, exactly?”

“For protecting you. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who will enslave you and use your power for their own will. Are you not aware of the war happening across the sea?”

“They’d have to catch me first.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

He took a step closer to me and shook his head. “You’re just like her. Defiant. Arrogant.”

My mother. I couldn’t even remember what she looked like. It had been that long since he hid her away, claiming to protect her.