Shocked and stupid.
For a stolen second there, I’d almost believed it might not be so terrible to surrender to the heat rather than the rage. I’d almost believed he’d spoken true when he’d claimed that he wished to have both me and his revenge, and therefore, maybe I could have used it to my advantage by slowly gaining his trust.
But he didn’t want me badly enough. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fed from another.
An irrational way of thinking, certainly. The king needed to consume blood to nourish those magical abilities of his—to keep them as cold and deadly as his heart.
But I didn’t want to be rational. For what upset me the most was that he hadn’t asked me if I would be a willing source.
Though if he had, would I have surrendered that much at least?
Only the goddess would know now.
The forest clearing became visible through the trees. Bonfires rose toward the sky, ice garlands strung throughout the birch trees I neared. The twirling loops of crystal surrounded what looked to be a large valley, joining the fires to give light to the shadows of moving bodies.
Florian snatched my wrist, keeping me within the woods. “Stop walking away from me.”
“Is that an order, Majesty?” Tearing my hand from his possessive hold, I fluttered my lashes.
“Florian.”
My temper flared. “You stop that because it doesn’t matter what I call you.” I should have been concerned by this newfound ability to let loose such anger after so many years of swallowing every unpleasant feeling I had.
Apparently, I was not as afraid of this war-hungry king as I had been of Rolina.
Definitely stupid, I inwardly scolded.
Florian’s own anger swelled. A blistering breeze that knocked my hair over my shoulders. But he only gritted, “It matters to me.”
I knew he hadn’t wanted to confess those words. And that he did made my ire and jealousy deflate.
He cursed, looking toward the sky as if Mythayla had cursed him even though he’d been the one to instigate all of this.
“Florian,” I said softly, unsure why I was speaking to the monster at all. His eyes lowered, narrowing upon me as if he were on edge and braced for an attack. “You did upset me.”
His features creased, the rare sight melting some of the resolve around my heart.
“I need to feed, Tullia,” he said simply. “And soon, you might too.” He scowled when I remained silent, as though he did not understand my unwillingness to understand him. “There’s no one I wish to fuck but you.”
My darkened lashes tickled my brows as my eyes widened. “How very sweet,” I said dryly, even as my stomach bounced. “But…” I licked my lips, forgetting again they were painted and frowning at the berried taste. “It’s just as intimate, isn’t it? Drinking another’s blood.” The question was genuine and not mocking. I’d read and always assumed it was.
The detachment that once again made his features unreadable, as well as his silence, caused my chest and eyes to burn. I turned and headed for the tree line, and this time, he didn’t stop me.
This heat was rendering me an unrecognizable and emotional mess.
The king caught up with me within two inflamed breaths, his stride unhurried and the warriors lining the woods parting to reveal our destination.
The hand at the small of my back felt more like a brand. A claim over a possession. Not a guiding touch toward the throne upon a wooden podium on the northern edge of the clearing. Beyond it, rippling in the breeze, was a large deep-blue tapestry of the royal insignia—a crimson hellebore flower backed by a gleaming white snowflake.
My skin itched as the revelry quieted to a low hum, and eyes fell upon us like needles poking at thread.
The final beating of a drum echoed through the deafening silence as he paraded me in an unmistakable display of power toward the throne.
A throne that was unlike anything I could have read in a book.
As dark as night, the ancient and curling wood glimmered with diamonds and sapphires reminiscent of icicles. The back of the giant chair arched in sharp spires and rose higher than Florian’s head as he stood before his people.
An endless sea of glowing torches and fire-lit eyes.
The king looked upon them all with a taut chin and shoulders, then seated himself.
My hand was clasped in his. I couldn’t remember when that had happened as I hadn’t known until I was tugged gently onto his lap.
The annual celebration of this wintry kingdom continued with a violent pound of a drum.
Stunned by the sight of so many people looking at me—seeing where their king had placed me—I flinched at the sound, belatedly attempting to close the gap in the leg of my gown and failing.
Florian seized my waist. He turned me until my thighs draped over his and his erection pressed into my hip. “Cease fussing, pet.”
“So I’m a pet again?” I asked, my eyes skirting the crowds of people adorned in blue and white and black. “Lovely.”
Smoke rose from vendor carts at the opposite end of the clearing. The scent of meat and fish and even something sugary sweet traveled upon the air.
Stiffly, I sat and tried to ignore the male whose mere presence soaked up the undivided attention of all those closest to the podium. Painfully aware that they might overhear despite the noise, I whispered between tight lips, “If I am to be queen, then shouldn’t I have my own throne?”
“Then how would I touch you?”
I both shivered and bristled.
His fingers circled idly over the bare skin through the lace flower at my hip. “You’re still displeased with me.”
“I’m not.”
My ass was pinched. I jumped and scowled, glaring at him.
It seemed that was his plan—to gain my full attention. A pleased spark glinted in his dark-blue gaze when I met it with mine. His hand slowly rose from the small of my back. My hair tangled in his fingers, my skin igniting despite my efforts to act unbothered.
He leaned forward, whispering to my cheek, “I’ve not fed since your arrival in Folkyn, and butterfly?” A shaken exhale left me as he murmured roughly to the corner of my mouth, “I’m fucking famished.”
I couldn’t keep my eyes from widening.
His hand reached my nape, his fingers curling and squeezing gently. “So although I adore quarreling with you and the look of molten fury in your eyes, right now, my patience only extends so far.”
Those edged words proved my earlier assumption wrong.
I didn’t need to ask him to convey exactly what he’d meant. He was just as in need, perhaps even more than I was, and he would have to remedy that if I wasn’t careful.
My thawing heart stuttered and drooped as what he’d said before failed to keep from nagging at me. I couldn’t help it. Couldn’t stop myself from saying, “You fed during the time we were meeting at the Lair of Lust.”
His eyes darkened.
I turned away, my teeth catching my lip. I hadn’t the room to care about the rouge. A red haze blurred my vision and swept through my body to tighten every organ. No matter how much I reminded myself that it didn’t matter.
After what he’d done, it certainly shouldn’t have mattered.
But for some reason, it did.
Florian’s hand caught mine when I rose from his lap. “We need only stay an hour for appearance’s sake. Then we can leave.”