Jade’s demeanor had flipped entirely since I had walked away. She sat at the table with both elbows propping her head up, tossing her chin back and laughing at something Lucien was saying.
Lucien. Certainly the least trustworthy of my brothers. But Jade didn’t know that. And Lucien was clever enough to ensure she thought the exact opposite.
“I leave for two minutes and you start having fun without me?” I chirped, sliding back into my seat.
Jade hardly glanced in my direction, her long black hair spilling over her shoulder.
“Your brother here was just filling me in on exactly what type of family I’ve married myself into,” Jade said with a smile still plastered on her face.
“Is that so?” I asked.
Lucien nodded, his dark eyes drinking up every second of her attention. “Nothing too terrible yet, brother. We must ease her into these types of things. But I did inform your beautiful bride here that of all the idiot Rewyth princes, you may be the only one who has managed to set the castle on fire.” A wicked grin played on his lips.
I pretended to be amused by the memory, but I knew what Lucien was doing.
He was trying to piss me off.
We both knew that I wasn’t the one who set the castle on fire. I was just the one who got blamed.
Like I got blamed for everything else growing up.
Lucien leaned in to whisper into Jade’s ear again, now just inches from Jade’s face. His eyes flickered over every one of her features.
I draped my arm across Jade’s shoulders, squeezing lightly. A clear display to my brothers, to Lucien, to back off.
“I’m sure Jade’s heard enough,” I interjected, trying my best to sound as bored as possible. Jade whipped her head to me.
“He was just telling me–”
“I said enough!” I boomed. I didn’t care that the words came out too strong. I didn’t care that she flinched at my voice.
Lucien needed to learn. And frankly, so did Jade.
Lucien held my gaze a second longer before he sat up and returned to his original position at the table.
I didn’t take my arm off Jade’s shoulders, but did my best to touch as little of her as possible. As if that would help. Any type of relaxation she was displaying just seconds ago was gone now, replaced by the strong look of a woman who wanted to survive.
The thought of Lucien getting so close to Jade with that look on his face made me want to throw him across the ballroom.
But then people would think I cared. Which I didn’t.
I had expected the snakes to come out of the swamp at this wedding. I should have expected my brothers to be four of them.
And like I said. I was tired of people touching my things.
CHAPTER 5
Jade
“What a beautiful bride!” Adeline said as she approached our table that was apparently reserved for family…and myself.
“Thank you, Adeline,” I said. “Although a bit more fabric would have been nice.”
“Malachi, she is simply gorgeous,” Adeline continued. Malachi looked at me sideways and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” he said, causing me to fight a blush. “She is, isn’t she?”
I was shocked that he would admit a compliment so easily. But I was his wife, after all. I supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world if he agreed that I wasn’t hideous.
Not like I cared.
Malachi relaxed back into his chair, sprawling his legs in front of him in a nonchalant demeanor. His arm still rested across my shoulders. A predator staking claim on his prey.
A shiver shuttered through me.
The rest of the princes, Malachi’s brothers, busied themselves with whispering and giggling, no doubt talking about their new sister.
They stole glances at Malachi every few seconds, but he didn’t seem to spend a single second thinking about any of them. After my conversation with Lucien, I was skeptical. Although he seemed friendly enough, Malachi didn’t trust him. I could tell by the way he sat next to me, tense and tracking every movement his brother made.
Malachi didn’t even trust his family around me. Noted.
“Everyone is here?” Malachi asked Adeline in a low voice as she took a seat at the table.
She nodded. “Including the King of Paseocan.”
A low growl escaped Malachi’s throat at the name. I tuned in, suddenly interested in whatever quarrel they may have that would make Malachi react this way to him.
The killer of his past wives, perhaps?
If there was one thing I would listen to Malachi about, it was not to trust anyone. Not a single one of these wicked fae were off my list, which meant my guard was up.