The Forsaken King

His hand left my pants, and he forced my head back so I’d look him in the eye. “Feel better, baby?”

I was too tired to be angry. Too satisfied to care.

He let me go and stepped away. “I’ll fuck you when I get back.”

I watched him walk away, leaving me against the wall. “You better.”

He stilled before he stepped out of the bedroom. His body became rigid and tight, like all the muscles of his back squeezed his spine. He drew in a breath, let it out, and found the strength to keep going.

SIXTEEN

Huntley

When the guards saw me approach, they sidestepped out of my way, allowing me entry to the cobblestone path that led to the large double doors of the keep. There were more guards there, and they both opened the doors so I could pass.

The castle was made of stone, far more bare than the one I’d grown up in, but there were rugs to cushion my boots, vases of flowers on the tables, heavily armored guards positioned throughout the castle to defend their queen.

I took the stairs and moved to the next floor, walking down a corridor until I reached the grand room where my mother had her meetings. A large table stood in the middle of the room, the double doors to the balcony open because it was an unusually warm day.

Asher was already there, sitting in his large, cushioned chair with the maps on the surface of the table in front of him. He grabbed a pawn, his thumb rubbing over the chess piece before setting it back down onto HeartHolme. He didn’t look at me as he addressed me. “Good to be home, Huntley?”

I sat in the chair across from him. “I’ll be gone before I can even enjoy it.”

His eyes flicked up, and he regarded me, his look slightly cold. He was in the garb of the queen, the feather on his chest. His head was bald, his skin was tight over his thin body, and he had eyes that could see through everything.

“Have something to say, Asher?”

He straightened in the chair, drawing a slow breath. “Queen Rolfe told me about your…interest in our prisoner.”

“Captors fuck their prisoners. This isn’t revolutionary.”

“Captors rape their prisoners. That’s not what you’re doing.”

Sometimes I wished I were king just so I could bash his head in. “Where is she?”

“She’ll join us when she’s ready.” He grabbed the pawn again, rubbed his fingers over it. “Her Highness informed me about the attack on the outpost. Very concerning.”

“Another day, another yeti…”

The silence trickled by, the two of us exchanging stares, the tension stretching.

Commander Dawson came next, dressed in the armor that signified his rank, a broadsword on his hip. “It’s good to see your return, Huntley. This castle was quiet without the two of you.”

“Nice to be back, Commander.”

Commander Dawson took his seat, the strong and silent type, much more my style.

Minutes later, my mother finally made her entrance, her hair done with brand-new feathers, her makeup painted on her face, in her royal garb that made her look like a true queen. She fought alongside her people as one of them, but she could also occupy a throne like it was made just for her.

We all rose when she entered the room, and once she sat down, we followed suit.

Her eyes went to me first, and instead of a glimmer of motherly affection, there was just callous coldness. “You think it’s wise that our prisoner is unattended this very moment?”

“What’s she going to do?” I asked incredulously. “Go on a killing spree? To what purpose?”

Her eyes remained cold.

“And she can’t escape, so we don’t have to worry about that.”

Mother turned away, as if the conversation was dismissed. “I’m concerned about the two of you traveling alone together.”

“Why?”

She turned back to me. “She can slit your throat in the middle of the night.”

“She won’t.”

“You said you didn’t trust her—”

“She’d die without me, and she knows it. Unless I personally deliver her to Delacroix, she’d never make it back—at least not alive.”

My mother’s frozen eyes held my gaze, processing my words without a hint of reaction.

“We don’t need to worry about her—at least, not right now.” Once she got me what I needed, I wasn’t sure what would happen next. We couldn’t let her go, but we couldn’t kill her either. At that point, it would get complicated…really complicated.

Asher stared at me with that obnoxious look on his face, like he didn’t find any merit to my words.

She addressed the table. “As was already stated in my letter sent with the emissary, the outpost was attacked. The Teeth recruited the help of a yeti and nearly destroyed our camp. Huntley believes they were there for Ivory.”

Commander Dawson turned to me. “Your evidence?”

“I watched them try to take her. Everyone else was attacked, but she was spared.”