Ignorant bastards.
The other members of the court, however, weren’t as obtuse.
“The man of the hour,” Carlyle said to me, walking forward and holding out his hand.
I smiled in relief. “Isn’t it past your bedtime, old man?” He laughed before turning his attention to Jade.
“And I believe congratulations are in order. It’s a pleasure to have you in this court, Lady Farrow,” he said, bending down to kiss her knuckles.
He was always such a flirt. If he wasn’t triple my age, I might have kicked his ass for it.
But Carlyle had always been good to me. He had pure intentions, which was a rarity for the fae, I had to admit.
It was decades ago when I met him. My father had sent me as a last straw during a war between our countries. He had sent me as a weapon, but I had returned as Carlyle’s ally.
And friend.
A dull ache threatened my chest, but I cleared my throat and buried that memory.
Jade was doing her best to look confident, but she was clearly out of her element, staring at Carlyle like he was some sort of Saint.
“Thank you,” she finally responded to Carlyle. “Although I can’t say everyone has been as welcoming as you.”
She better watch it. Everything we said would be heard by dozens of ears. Ears that would pay millions to watch me burn.
To watch us burn.
And what better way to watch a man suffer than to torture his wife?
No. They didn’t know I cared about her. Saints, I didn’t care about her. But they had to believe that, too. At least here.
“Shall we?” I said, guiding Jade with a hand on her back. We maneuvered through the sea of whispering fae and found our seats at the head of the table.
Right next to my father.
I simply nodded at him, not trusting my own mouth to not say something stupid.
“Princess Jade,” Adonis said. “You’re looking well. It’s a pleasure to see you again so soon.”
A feral growl filled the room, and it took me a second to realize it was from me.
Adonis looked at me as if I were unhinged.
Maybe I was.
“What?” he asked. “Am I not allowed to speak to your wife?”
Jade opened her mouth like she was going to answer for herself, but I cut her off. “This is a court meeting, and Jade knows nothing of the court, so it’s best if you don’t address her at all today. She already has enough to think about. Right, Jade?”
Anger pulsed through my body with every heartbeat.
“As a matter of fact,” I said to the room, very aware of my father sitting just feet away from me, “nobody in this room speaks to Jade. If you would like to address something, you can speak to me about it.”
The twins snickered before one of them, Eli, said, “well what if we want to tell her that she looks expensive? How much are human whores worth these days anyway?” He asked, hardly containing his laughter.
Jade stiffened. The room silenced.
That was all I needed.
I didn’t draw my sword. I didn’t need it. My black wings casted a shadow around me as I stepped forward toward my brother.
His face straightened. He had never seen me this way before. Most of them hadn’t.
This was the Prince of Shadows everyone talked about. This was the prince that was a weapon to Rewyth.
The ground began to rumble. “Control yourself, Malachi,” my father warned, but I pushed his words aside. I kept my focus on Eli, on the words he said.
I didn’t care if it hurt Jade, but disrespect to Jade was disrespect to me.
Perhaps they had forgotten. I was going to make them remember.
Power rumbled through the air. My power. The same power that could kill with a single thought. The same power that made the entire kingdom fear me. That made my father use me as a weapon all this time.
I wasn’t planning on killing my brother, but I would scare him just enough. He would be the example of what would happen if anyone messed with Jade again.
“Mal, stop,” Jade’s voice cut through the air. Normally I would have ignored it, but her voice was strained. The tiniest smell of fear filled the air.
It was enough to stop me in my tracks, to stop any amount of power that was building up inside of me.
I blinked a few times, now very aware of the fact that I had pinned my brother against the wall, arm against his neck hard enough that he was fighting to breathe.
I dropped him and backed away.
The entire room was staring at me in awe. Including my father. Including Jade.
“Malachi,” my father boomed from his chair. “Are you able to keep your temper intact? Or must we excuse you from this court meeting?”