My brothers never had my best interests in mind. Never.
I listened to the bathroom until I heard Jade step under the stream of water. My mind wandered to the thought of her standing there, water trickling over her perfect black hair. She was beautiful, that much was true. She was different from the other humans who had been sent to marry me, somehow owing a debt to my father and thinking this would make up for it.
Jade was defiant. She wasn’t planning on listening to anything I said. I still wasn’t entirely convinced that she was actually afraid of the fae, but maybe she was at least pretending to be afraid for her own safety. She had survival instincts. When I saw her for the first time in the forest with the wolves, I knew she would be hard for anyone to try and kill. Jade had a certain fire to her that annoyed me to no end.
If she would just trust me, keeping her alive would be a lot easier.
But what was I supposed to say? I couldn’t tell her that the rumors weren’t true. I couldn’t tell her that I wasn’t the horrific, violent Prince of Shadows she had heard about. I couldn't tell her those things because they weren’t true.
The things I did to survive were less than admirable. But Jade had those same instincts. Maybe she would understand.
Or maybe she would hate me for everything I had done. She probably already did. I couldn’t ask her what she had heard about me. Saints, did I even care? People had been spreading rumors about me longer than Jade had been alive. For years, I had heard about the Prince of Shadows who could kill an entire room of fae with just a look. I had heard about the Saint-cursed fae with black wings who was touched by the demons. I had heard about the slave of the king who carried out his assassinations with ease and delight.
The stories had gotten so ridiculous, Serefin and I had often sat down and joked about how twisted they became. But that’s the thing about rumors. Truth is usually mixed in there somewhere.
“How’s it going in there?” I asked.
“I am very capable of taking showers without the need for you to check up on me, thanks,” she yelled from the bathroom.
Great.
I tugged my shirt off and threw it into my closet, lying back on the bed. The stars were bright tonight. That was one thing I actually admired about Rewyth: the stars. They were brighter here than anything else I had ever seen. It was why half the castle was built with transparent ceilings. The view was too beautiful to ignore.
It was a view I would fight for.
Amongst other things.
My thoughts were interrupted when Jade stepped out of the bathroom. Wearing my clothes. With dripping wet hair.
Saints save me.
“Nice shower,” she chirped.
I nodded, trying not to stare. “Our ancestors wanted us to be connected to nature. I like it. Reminds me of where we come from.”
“And where’s that?” she asked.
“You have a lot to learn about the history of fae. We didn’t always reside here. The fae had to fight for this land. There was a time when fae weren’t at all powerful. We were the weakest of the creatures. We fought for decades to claim our power. To claim our lands.”
She listened as I talked.
“Many fae used to believe we drew our power from the elements. It’s not practiced as much anymore, but it used to be. Fae would partner with witches and warlocks to strengthen their gifts.”
“Gifts?” she asked.
I nodded. “Some fae have special gifts. Magic, I guess. But not everyone.”
Jade walked around the bed and sat on the edge, as far from me as possible. Her eyes flickered to my bare chest.
“I won’t bite, you know. You may think whatever you’d like about me, but I’m not going to touch you.”
She nodded but didn’t move. Clearly she didn’t trust me. It made me wonder if another man had ever hurt her before. And that made me want to storm right back to the human lands and rip the head off anyone who did.
Jade interrupted my thoughts with, “Can I ask you a question, Malachi?”
“Depends on the question.”
“You don’t look like fae. None of you do. On the way here, Serefin told me you used…”
“Glamour?” I finished for her. “We all do. It's simple magic to make us appear normal.”
“But why? You’re in your own castle, why wouldn’t you just be yourself?”
The question made me smile. “It’s a simple trick so you would feel more relaxed. It’s bad enough that we drag a young woman into our castle and force her to marry. Better not scare you with our looks.”