Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
ORION
Wendy beeped and beeped and beeped all the way through the palace, the guards saying nothing.
Their favorite thing to do.
They dragged me through crystal corridors without any grace. Treated me like a criminal, dumping me in a luxurious, turquoise crystal room with a balcony overlooking the ocean.
I’d rather a drafty, abandoned warehouse covered in pigeon poop.
“Bathe, change, wait,” the head guard said.
“Where is the king?”
Nothing. Always nothing since they stole me from my mate’s side.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Her eyes narrowed, focused on my pocket. “All in good time.” She slammed the door, locking it on the other side.
I ran at it, slamming my fists into the crystal. “Let me out!”
Silence, only the waves beyond the open balcony doors making a sound.
Bathe? No. Change into whatever outfit they’d laid out for me? No.
No.
No.
“No!” I screamed.
Desperate tears burned tracks down my cheeks. There had to be a way out of here that didn’t involve diving off the balcony or trying to fight through the guards.
What terrible irony. I’d finally got what I wanted. Home. And now I rejected it.
Technically, this palace wasn’t my home.
A part of me tried mourning Miko, asking me to let him go and face his destiny as a savior. This bonding between a fae and werewolf was never meant to be. Being trapped on Earth had been a horrible mistake, one now corrected.
I don’t think so!
And what about Basil? Did he deserve to be left at the mercy of the blood magi?
I got up, pounding on the crystal door of this gilded cage. “Let me out!”
Bang. Bang. Bang. “Let me out!”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I fished Wendy from my pocket. “What’s the matter?”
In place of the happy blob was a bee, eyes boring into me from the screen.
“Wendy?”
Beep.
“What’s going on with you?”
I pressed buttons, none of the usual menus coming up.
Beep.
“What—”
The door opened, five guards filing into the room. I jumped back, closing my hand around my pet.
King Damien strode in wearing one of those burgundy suits he was famous for, his long blond hair swept back in a ponytail.
“Orion,” he said, opening his arms grandly. “How lovely to see your face.”
His face was all sharp angles and radiant, copper skin. He boasted the healthy glow of a man living an extremely comfortably life.
I bowed out of respect. “Your Majesty.”
“You haven’t bathed or changed,” he said. “Are you feeling okay?”
I met his azure gaze. “Confused.”
“Oh?”
Really? That was his response? “Yes, Your Majesty. You opened the gates, you dragged me back here—”
He lifted a hand, demanding silence. “I object to the term dragged, Orion. I brought you home.”
“Why?”
He tilted his head, left eye twitching.
I was a fool to speak to him like this. But screw him.
“I just want answers,” I said in a softer voice. “I spent so long banging on the gates, desperate to come home. They never opened, no one acknowledged me at all. What changed?”
“How dare you speak so brazenly?” a guard snapped at me.
Goodness. The guard was right. How disrespectful of me. But how disrespectful of him, too—kingliness aside.
“It’s fine,” the king interjected. “Orion here has been through a lot. He’s right, we do owe him answers. We should have saved you from Dawn.”
Absolutely correct!
“Shame on me. Shame on all of us.”
“You acted for the best of Faery,” I blurted. Guilt and loyalty to my king forced the response out of me.
“I did. I really did. And I will do so again.” He pointed at my hand closed around Wendy. “A miracle has been brought to my attention.”
Oh, stars.
I tightened my hold, taking a step back. “Wendy…”
“Adorable name.”
“What about Basil?”
“Basil is not your concern.”
“But he’s still on Earth.”
“A necessary sacrifice for a smooth rescue.” He held out his open hand. “Give her to me.”
“No.” I gulped, bumping into the wall, feet itching to dash for the balcony.
“What did you say?”
“You can’t have her.”
The potent menace in his expression made my knees knock. “She belongs to me.”
I slid across the wall toward the door to the next room. “Why?”
“You have no right to ask me questions, Orion.”
The guards stalked me, approaching like predators.
“I thought you said I deserved answers.”
“Give me the bee and we’ll talk.” He paled, realizing his mistake.
“Bee?”
He sighed. “Silly, silly me.”
“Bee? What do you mean?”
King Damien folded his arms behind his back, rocking on his heels. “I’ve said too much.”
“You haven’t said anything.”
“Bee is more than enough, Orion. A shame.”
“Why is it a shame?”
“I really wanted to send you to your parents. Believe me when I tell you that.”
“What—”
“Kill him.”
The guards moved in.