House of Lies and Sorrow (Fae of Rewyth #1)(28)

“I suppose we’ll have to learn to share,” Kara said quietly.

Jade ignored Serefin’s ongoing warnings and snapped her head to Kara.

“It’s really a shame that my husband chose a human over a fae. That must be really hard for you, Kara. I sympathize with you, truly.”

Kara growled, but my stomach flipped.

Jade was jealous.

And I liked it.

“Have your fun while it lasts, princess. It doesn’t matter how deep you pierce your claws into him. He’ll always be one of us.”

Serefin was whispering to Jade again, and I saw him motioning to leave.

As if my wife had to go back to her room and hide from all of this.

I took a deep breath. Like I said, I was tired of people touching my things.

My feet didn’t make a sound as I approached. In fact, nobody noticed me until I was standing directly behind Jade.

“I see I’ve been missing out on all the fun,” I announced.

Kara stiffened, but my brothers didn’t move an inch.

“Prince Malachi,” Serefin greeted. “We were just leaving.” He stood from his chair and moved to help Jade to the same.

“No need,” I replied. “Jade has hardly eaten. I’m sure she’d like to enjoy the rest of her dinner. Right, Jade?”

I picked up a piece of her long hair and let it fall through my fingers. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, but she didn’t look at me.

“Right,” she answered.

“Perfect,” I said, taking Serefin’s seat next to her.

Kara moved as if she, too, were about to leave. My brothers followed.

“Stop,” I yelled. “Everyone can sit here until my wife is done eating.”

My brothers laughed. “Yeah, we’re not doing that,” Lucien sneered. This won a laugh from Kara.

As much as I hated hurting my brothers, there was a power in me that was hungry for more. It was always there, always waiting to be unleashed.

Perhaps I would give it a small taste.

I blinked at Lucien, envisioning a black tendril of smoke circling his chest and tightening.

Lucien dropped to his knees, gasping for air.

I cleared my vision, taking a deep breath as the hunger for power subsided. A taste was all it needed.

And it was enough to keep the others from leaving the table.

Lucien scrambled back to his seat.

“You’re a coward for that,” he said through gritted teeth. I laughed. We all knew I could kill them all right here if I wanted to. We all knew the type of power I had access to, the type of power they would never wield.

Jade stared across the table at Lucien with a straight face, but I saw a small glisten of amusement in her eyes.

I didn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.

“So where were we? Talking about me, weren’t you?” I asked.

Kara spoke next. “Only that we heard about the attack on Jade. It’s terrible news, Malachi. If there’s anything we can do to help you, please just ask.”

She placed a hand on my shoulder, and Jade’s eyes followed it. She flinched, only for a second, before replacing her mask.

“That’s very kind of you, Kara,” she said. Something told me Jade had a lot of practice with shoving hatred aside, burning it deep down and replacing it with a facade.

I should know. I had been doing the same for decades.

I didn’t move Kara’s hand from my shoulder. Instead, I placed my hand on Jade’s thigh. It was a small movement, but I could feel the eyes of everyone. I could feel the amusement from my brothers and the annoyance from Kara.

But Jade didn’t move.

At least she didn’t flinch. That much was a relief.

Kara slowly moved her hand, placing it back in her lap. I left my hand on Jade’s thigh as she picked up her fork.

“That’s thoughtful of you, Kara, but Serefin and I have everything under control. Besides, I have reasons to suspect our attacker might be someone within our walls. But I’m sure you all know that by now.”

“What makes you think that?” My brother Eli asked.

I eyed him carefully before answering, “A few different things. I don’t see how someone could have gotten into the castle without being seen, for one.”

“Surely the guards would have seen someone,” Kara added.

“During the ceremony? There was so much going on, anyone could have snuck in,” Adonis said.

I remembered how close Jade was to getting caught by them that night. They had wanted to meet up with her. They were trying to get her alone.

“You’re right,” I replied, keeping my composure. “Many things can happen in the chaos of the wedding ceremony. I’m only glad I was there to protect Jade from the threats this time.”

I squeezed Jade’s thigh lightly, and she dropped her fork.

“Sorry,” she stammered. “It, uh, slipped.”

I looked up to find Kara staring at my hand. And she was done hiding her emotions. “You should be more careful, Jade. One mistake will get you killed in Rewyth. Your husband should have warned you of that. Humans aren’t supposed to be here.”

Jade opened her mouth, but I spoke first. “Is that a threat, Kara?”

Kara knew better than to challenge me, but jealousy was a great motivator. “I’m just making sure Jade knows what she’s getting into. If you’re so worried about her safety, maybe she shouldn’t be here.”