The air shimmered black.
Manic silver eyes locked on mine as Malum’s upper lip curled back with disgust, and he radiated distress.
I patted my hair and tried to smooth down the wild curls.
My bedhead was bad, but it seemed slightly excessive to scream and charge across the room because of a bad hair day.
Malum breathed raggedly like a maniac.
This was exactly why all fae men would be jailed at birth and not released until they proved themselves peaceful. Thank the sun god I was queen and not some male whack job.
“Why are you wearing that! Take it off now!” Malum shouted, and I stared back at him blankly.
Was he having a breakdown? I hated to say it, but that would be the most relatable thing he’d done to date.
“Maybe try lying on the floor to ground yourself. It can help panic attacks,” I pointed out helpfully and crossed my arms over my chest to demonstrate. “Deep breaths.”
Malum snarled and gnashed his teeth like a rabid animal.
I spoke slowly. “No, you have to suck in through your nose.” I pointed to my nostril and sucked in. “Then try to release it through your mouth.” I nodded at him as I blew out.
There was a sizzling sound as his shirt caught on fire.
I narrowed my eyes. “I feel like you’re not trying.”
Malum trembled with rage. Poor guy was giving it his best shot, but he just couldn’t get the hang of it.
Orion whispered in Scorpius’s ear, then moved across the room and laid one hand on his flaming mate’s shoulder while he pointed his other hand at me. “Your neck.”
I looked down.
Gasped.
A black teardrop jewel about the size of my palm hung from a glittering diamond chain around my neck. The jewels were ice-cold and ridiculously heavy.
My eyes snapped to John, the man who’d knelt atop me seconds before.
He stared back.
Then arched a dark brow and smirked like he was offering a challenge.
I arched my brow back at him and asked in a snooty tone, “You couldn’t have gotten anything bigger?”
Malum choked.
Orion’s jaw dropped.
John’s dark eyes twinkled as he matched my energy and asked, “Have you earned a bigger diamond?”
I gracefully crawled out of bed, shoulders back, neck straight, and stopped in front of him. My aching knees begged to give out, but I locked them tight and flexed my thighs.
Like a queen I arched my brow at him. “Please, we both know what I deserve. Now, care to explain the rock hanging from my neck?”
John shrugged casually. “It’s nothing serious. I’ve always owned it, but I never had a woman to give it to. Figured I might as well give it to my bestie.”
I narrowed my eyes and stared up at him as I searched for the lie.
“You just happened to have this hanging around?” I asked skeptically as I fingered the cold weight.
It was heavy.
I’d grown up with coffers of expensive jewels, and I’d never seen a single stone so large. Especially not one that was such a unique shade of black.
“Yep.” John flashed his dimples. “It’s really not a big deal.” The smile slipped from his face, and his eyes looked sad. “Think of it as an apology for deceiving you.”
John glanced around the room uncomfortably as the devils and demons stared at him with distrust.
He put his hands into his sweatpants’ pockets and rocked back on his heels, shrugging. With his messy hair and dimples, he looked young. Vulnerable.
My heart hurt.
From his expression, it was clear he’d been afraid I wouldn’t want to be his friend after I found out about Luka.
Playing with the necklace, I grinned at him. “Apology accepted.”
John smiled so brightly that it hurt to look at him.
He draped his arm across my shoulders and leaned against me. “Thank the sun god, I could not have handled having to befriend the kings.” He shuddered dramatically. “That would have been horrible.”
I let him drag me out of the room and lead the way to dinner.
As we walked down the hall, lightning struck, and John’s smile slipped from his face as he stared down at me.
His expression tightened as he glared at my arms and face.
I stumbled.
Horror slowly unfurled in my gut.
Somewhere among the competitions, Luka, the gruesome wounds, and the haze, I’d stopped worrying about what had happened between the two of us.
From the darkness in John’s eyes, he’d just remembered.
Did he regret giving me the necklace? Was he disgusted to be touching me? Was he repulsed by my cowardice?
I was done being pathetic. “About the punishment,” I blurted out and faced the elephant between us head-on.
It was John’s turn to stumble.
Students and competitors pressed together in the crowded halls as the entire academy went to dinner, but the two of us might as well have been alone.
The world faded into background noise.
It felt like we were alone.
John took a deep, shuddering breath, and he glanced quickly at my necklace. “Let’s not talk about that right now. We have bigger issues.”
I bit down hard on my lower lip to steady myself and rasped, “Okay, later.”
My heart beat like it was trying to jump out of my chest. Why wouldn’t we talk about it now? Was it too terrifying for him to discuss? Did it trigger him?
Possibilities unfolded before my eyes, each worse than the last.
By the time we made it to the dining hall entrance, I was convinced that John was waiting until the competition was over to petition the High Council to have me arrested for assault and emotional battery.
Sure, I was probably catastrophizing.
But what if I wasn’t?
John pulled away as we passed the sacred tree. “I need to talk to Lothaire. Save me my usual seat.” He walked away.
The bloodied man crucified to the tree gurgled as my heart fell to my toes. What if he was going to tell Lothaire that he wanted to press charges?
I slapped the heel of my palm against the side of my head. Hard.
The pain didn’t help.
Distracted by my racing thoughts, I didn’t see the shoulder until it slammed into my side.
A woman invaded my personal space.
Sari scowled.
I hadn’t been this close to her since I’d carried her limp body down the hall.
She had dark circles around her eyes, and her blouse was askew. “You don’t deserve to wear that.” She pointed at my neck.
I grabbed the jewel protectively. “What?”
“Actually.” She smiled, and it wasn’t a pleasant expression. “You probably do, it’s very fitting.”
“What is?” I asked dumbly as I stared down at the necklace.
“They call it death.” Sari wrinkled her nose patronizingly. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? Since death is your thing.”
She smirked.
I fondled the heavy black stone with curiosity. I’d heard of black jewels called jade but never death. Seemed a little dramatic.
I shrugged.
I’d known it wasn’t jade because the jewel refracted light and sparkled brighter. Who cared about a jewel’s name anyway?
Sari waited, probably for me to spiral.
I could see what she was getting at. I was the fae queen, and my rightful throne was called the seat of death. I’d killed too many people to count, and now I wore a type of jewel called death.