Chapter Eighteen
Silence welcomed me as I made my way back into the room.
It was unnatural and heavy. Hundreds of voices silent, the music that had been playing when I left now stopped with nothing to replace it.
Every person stood frozen, their eyes fixed on the raised dais as if one breath might turn the still scene into chaos.
My gaze followed theirs, seeing Rhael and Aasim stood locked into a staring contest. Rhael stood rigid beside the long table, his shoulders tight, and his jaw locked so hard I could see the muscle jumping beneath the skin.
At his feet lay the shattered remains of a goblet, the stem crushed and the bowl splintered into thousands of pieces. Blood slid slowly from his palm, dark, and dripping onto the floor. He didn't seem as if he was bothered, or if he had just not noticed.
Aasim stood across from him, his face calm as if he was in a fight he knew he could win. His expression was almost amused, light green eyes glowing with interest.
Without thinking I crossed the space of the room quickly, my skirts whispering over the dark stone. The moment Rhael heard my footsteps he turned his head. His dark eyes flicked over my face, as if he wasn't sure I was real.
The moment I reached them Rhael's arm came around me.
Firm and possessive, pulling me into his side with such force it stole my breath.
It was as if it was the most natural thing in the world to him, but it left my mind spinning.
Confusion rippled through me, but I leant into him anyway, resting my hand against his chest.
Rhael’s usually steady heart thundered under my palm. He kept his bloody hand behind his back, wiping the wound on the side of his jacket, the dark fabric hiding the blood well.
I forced myself to breathe evenly, to appear composed as the two men continued to glare at one another in silence.
Doubt clawed at my ribs, whilst the vampire’s words continued to push themselves around my brain.
I wondered if this grip was possession, or just another show to put on.
Whether his promises would endure when all of this was done?
“There she is. The Jewel of the Fae Court.” Aasim smiled as he saw me. His voice was smooth whilst he tilted his head. His long dreadlocks falling over his shoulder.
“Choose your next words wisely,” Rhael sneered, as his arm tightened fractionally around me. The gesture was unsettling, only adding to the confusion I felt.
“Straight to the point then, this will make it easier for me. Elara, my mind has remained unchanged. I would like for you to be my bride.” Aasim chuckled, unbothered by the anger I could feel rolling from Rhael in waves.
The room inhaled, one collective gasp that made me feel uncomfortable.
Every single person turned to look at me.
All of them wondered how a weak human had ensnared not one, but two, kings.
I wanted to laugh out loud, if only they knew the truth.
Rhael wanted me for his war and Aasim wanted me just to piss Rhael off.
“No.” Rhael said flatly before I even had a chance to blink. The word final, cutting between us, whispers now taking over the crowd below.
Some narrowed their eyes, whilst others fanned themselves with invisible cloth, as if they were so scandalised by the drama. Yet none of them looked away, like leeches, feeding on the scene before them. It gave them life, joy, and I hated it. Some deep and twisted part of me hated them.
“You refuse on her behalf? Does she not have a voice?” Aasim raised a brow, challenging Rhael in his own home. This was a dangerous game and as shadows licked over my skin, leaving a cold trail everywhere they touched, I knew Rhael was on edge.
“I refuse because she is mine,” Rhael growled, the word ringing out through the hall.
My head snapped to face him, my hair whipping over my face.
It was ownership, possession, but it was also something deeper.
I felt my heart skip a beat, if I had been more foolish I would have smiled, leant into him more and relished in the word.
A fae claiming someone as their own was sacred, revered, but even then I knew he did not mean it. I could tell by the way his eyes didn't even shift to my direction, he refused to look at me because deep down even Rhael knew it was a lie.
I felt everyone stop their whispering, their eyes snapping to their King.
Rhael did not flinch, nothing about him seemed diplomatic in that moment and it was the most dangerous I had ever seen him.
For the first time I wondered if this is what fearing the Fae King felt like.
He looked calm but I could tell from the look in his eyes that this was when he was his most volatile.
“How fascinating, yet it still does not change my decision. I want the human who looks so comfortable in your arms.” Aasim smiled, his voice booming through the space, echoing from the dark walls. My face turned into an uncontrolled scowl.
Anger filled me, the vampire’s words lingering in my brain. It was at that moment I decided not to tell Rhael. Not because I thought he did not deserve to know, but because she was right. I could have power in a situation where I had none.
I had spent years fighting against the use of men, refusing to bow, making myself stronger. Rhael had weakened each part of that, and the idea that I had let my walls down so easily for someone who would use me as something so disposable, made me feel weaker than I had felt in years.
“You have no need for her. There is no reason for this.” Rhael argued, but the words didn't seem to seep through my brain, too busy lost in my own self pitying thoughts.
“Oh, but there is. If she was merely a human guest I would have lost interest. If she were a weapon, she would bore me. But since she is yours, she is precisely what I want. You took from me my people all those years ago, now it is time I return the favour.” Aasim replied, his smile growing wider as dread settled in my stomach.
The game had begun, battle lines drawn and negotiations bartered back and forth.
I knew how this would play out. Rhael would put on a good show, make himself seem strong, not to have his possessions taken from him in his own home.
From what I had seen of Aasim he would not back down.
I was a slave, and Rhael needed his support to win the war he was preparing to wager for his people.
A human slave would be a small price to pay to get what he needed.
Once again my owner's hands would be traded, my chains placed into the grip of another King.
It was as if I was back at that slave market, held on display for all to see. Only instead of Fion holding the chains that bound me, now it was Rhael. A man who had held me through nights, pleasured my body, but who possibly cared less for me than Fion ever had.
“What if I offered myself instead?” A voice rang out through the crowd, and I turned my eyes wide, as I saw Olesia moving through the body of people.
The Fae Princess wore a sweetheart neckline dress which fell around her in draped layers of black fabric, lined with silver runes to match Rhael’s.
The silver, miniature, tiara on her head marked her as the princess.
Although her posture and grace did more for that title than a crown ever could.
I watched as she climbed up onto the dais placing herself between the two kings, her hands clasped calmly before her.
“Absolutely not,” Rhael snapped, his fingers digging into my waist as the anger in his tone reached a new level.
I felt my mouth drop into a gasp, my eyes fixed on the princess as she looked between the two kings. This I had not expected, and a selfish part of me felt relief that perhaps I would not be the one being traded today.
“This is not your decision alone.” Olesia told him, her posture the complete opposite to her brothers. Where he was rigid she was soft, her calm mirrored his anger. She was composure whilst he was destruction.
“It is when it concerns you. You are not a bargaining piece," he snapped his eyes focusing solely on his sister. Even though his hands remained on my body, I was sure he had forgotten I was there. No longer an important piece in the game.
“Rhael, this is not something you can deny me. Let me help you. Help our people, my people.” Olesia responded as she turned to face him, her expression matching one I had seen Rhael wear multiple times.
“I will not trade my sister like cattle,” he growled, his voice dangerously low. Now I was scared of him.
This was not the smooth controlled Rhael I was used to.
It was something different, wild and unrestrained.
His teeth pulled at the lip ring pierced through his flesh.
A habit I had grown used to but in his current mood almost seemed more dangerous.
Like he could rip it from himself and not even flinch.
“And I will not sit by and allow our kind to bleed. You of all people have given up so much. Allow me to do this.” She pleaded with him as I watched in silence. Unsure if I was even still supposed to be there but unable to move from Rhael’s iron grip.
“You are beautiful and from Rhael’s reaction, you would make a worthy bride,” Aasim smirked and I wanted to turn to him and tell him to shut up.
That this stupid game he was playing was too far, that he was too much.
Whatever issue he and Rhael had between each other could be sorted as men, not using people as toys.
“No. I will not allow this!” Rhael yelled trying to surge forward. I pressed my hand into his chest. Trying to keep him still, and I felt my hand tremble as his eyes found mine once more. Blazing, as if I had dared to stop him.
“Rhael,” I warned, my voice quiet. Trying to explain so many things in one word. If he attacked first the alliance would be broken and the dragons would see this as not only an attack, but a reason to wage war on the Fae for themselves.