Shadow (Touched by the Fae 2)

Whether he means to or not, Nine moves so that, once again, he’s shielding me. Protecting me. With nothing but his coat, his shadows, and his haughty determination, Nine is the only barrier standing between me and the Fae Queen.

And we both know it.

Her countenance is peaceful. Serene. Her eyes, though? They’re hard. This is a fae who stole the throne from her husband, then held onto it with force and cruelty. I have to remember that. As gorgeous as she is, it’s glamour. Such thick glamour, I keep getting glimpses of what her true appearance must be—but not enough.

She wants me to believe she’s sweet. Innocent. But innocent monarchs don’t have subjects who call their reign the Reign of the Damned.

I have to remember that, too.

With such a graceful maneuver, she’d make a prima ballerina look clumsy in comparison, Melisandre rises from her throne. She floats down the stairs of the platform, meeting me and Nine on the ground level.

Her guards are a silent shadow at her back.

They’re not the only ones in the room any longer, though. There are at least twelve other fae—each one of them Seelie—milling around near the throne. They part like the Red Sea as Melisandre walks across the room, leaving her a wide path, each one showing respect by bowing their head as she passes.

I gulp.

Melisandre smiles.

“You’ve returned much sooner than I expected,” she says, obviously addressing Nine. “What is it you want to ask of me?”

“I’ve come to ask you nothing. I will make an announcement, and I will offer you a bargain.”

“You’ve intrigued me, Ninetroir. Go on. Make your announcement. After you’ve finished, we’ll see to a bargain. I’m in a fair mood this eve. I might be willing to make two bargains.”

Two. Because she’s so sure that she’s got me where she wants me.

She isn’t wrong, either.

Nine looks around the room, meeting the gaze of the fae watching him interest.

“With the queen of all Faerie, her honored guards, and the Seelie Court as my witness, I’m here to claim what fate has given me. It was foretold that the Shadow would save Faerie by ending the Reign of the Damned, but that’s the Shadow. I’ve known for a while that fate has her own plans for me. I’ve waited for countless years, hoping to find a ffrindau worthy of me. Riley was born to be mine. Now, in front of you all, I claim her. Until Oberon separates us, I belong to her as she belongs to me.”

I— wait. What?

There’s an angry buzz in my skull. The whispers might be from the shock of the others in the throne room—the high-pitched argument Melisandre telling Nine that he’s making a mistake—but most of it comes from me.

What?

Did he just—

What?!

I told him once, right after his touch acted like a drug that made me lose all my damn sense, that if he asked me to be his ffrindau, I’d say yes. I never took it back.

He’s not asking me, though.

In front of the Fae Queen and everyone else, Nine has just told them all that he’s claiming me as his mate. That he’s known all along that fate has chosen me for him and that, with his announcement, he’s no longer fighting it.

That’s okay. I stopped fighting it a long time ago, too.

While the crowd still reacts in open surprise, Nine reaches out and grabs my hand. There’s no time for me to give him permission. I can hear the sizzle as his skin burns, smell the char of flesh in the air as he yanks me toward him.

His eyes are shining, glowing an unearthly silver color that has my breath tearing from my throat. I see everything in his eyes—every emotion, every thought, every hope—his love for me, the madness from a lifetime of waiting for his ffrindau only to have her be a half-human, half-fae reject who ran from the frying pan straight to the fire.

For the first time ever, he’s completely vulnerable. He’s dropped his guard, with the entire Seelie Court acting as a witness to it.

The least I can do is give him the same honor.