Chapter 24 #2
Dean held back a scoff. A non-royal fae, no matter how fast, was exponentially slower than a royal, and they both knew it.
“The faster we find whoever was behind the assassination attempt, the faster I can be at peace when we’re apart.
” Braddock raised his brows. “More at peace than I am now,” Dean amended, glancing over his shoulder at his mate.
A man approached the girls and motioned to Fawn with a smile Dean didn’t like. Dean started forward, but Braddock snatched his arm to hold him in place. “If she is to be queen, she needs to handle herself. Do not make her look weak in this sea of sharks.”
Dean recognized the young nobleman. Howard . His father died mysteriously a few years back and Howard took over the estate. The man’s self-importance knew no bounds.
A few people around Fawn’s group had stopped their conversations to listen with wide eyes.
Howard raked his eyes down Fawn’s body again, and Dean fought the urge to pull her close. He didn’t mind people looking as long as it remained just that: looking. Something in Howard’s eye unsettled Dean. He decided he’d kill him later, just to be safe.
“You looked pretty on that stage last time I saw you,” Howard said. Her nostrils flared, and Dean tried to decipher the man’s words. Did he mean the dais? “I must say, I was surprised to learn you are the king’s mate.”
Fawn smiled tightly and clasped her hands in front of her. “As was I. Are you from the Mountain Kingdom, then?”
“I was visiting on business.” Howard crossed his arms and licked his thin lips. “Will you dance in the local pleasure house?”
The pleasure house? He stared at Fawn for her reaction, but she kept her face blank. “That is none of your business,” she replied curtly, her irritation growing. “I assure you, there are plenty of beautiful dancers who work there already.”
The side of Howard’s mouth lifted in a nasty smile. “I’ve seen your assets , Your Highness,” he drawled lecherously. “It’d be a crime to deprive us of them.”
Dean cursed when Cali pushed her way to the front of the growing crowd with Emi at her side.
What the fuck is her sister doing here? Dean had banned Emi from the palace after that first disastrous dinner.
The two women whispered to each other and, Cali giggled, catching Fawn’s attention.
Her irritation slipped into embarrassment, and Dean’s spine went rigid.
His mind raced putting the pieces together. Either Fawn worked at a pleasure house at some point, or this man was insinuating his queen was a whore, neither of which deserved the condescension this man used.
Fawn feigned indifference; her cool mask sliding into place. “Do you speak to everyone this way? Because I must say,” she looked Howard up and down, “I am not a fan of unwarranted arrogance.”
Naomi smirked, and Howard’s ruddy cheeks darkened. “I treat a whore like a whore,” he sneered, dropping the flimsy jovial mask.
“I’m afraid you don’t,” Fawn snapped. “Pleasure house workers and whores are desired enough to be paid for their time. You, on the other hand—” her lip curled with disgust “—were turned down by dancers and thrown out of our establishment.” His face looked almost purple now.
“That’s right. I remember you. You couldn’t even pay to touch someone. ”
“You can play at queen all you’d like, but everyone knows you’re a fraud,” the man raged. “The king will tire of you sooner or later and go back to the woman who deserves him.” He flung his hand toward Cali. To Cali’s credit, she looked horrified at the exchange, her smug smile long gone.
Fawn’s breathing picked up, and her hands fisted at her side.
“Would you like to know the best part of being queen?” she asked him.
He opened his mouth to answer but she cut him off.
“Deciding the fate of men like you. Dean, sweetheart .” She reached for his invisible arm, and he grinned.
The little minx had known he was there all along.
Dean appeared instantly, and Howard stumbled back, but Braddock stopped his retreat. “Yes, darling?”
“I don’t want him stepping foot in any pleasure house in our kingdom.” Howard’s face contorted with rage as she added, “or our palace.”
Dean leaned in and kissed her forehead. “As you wish. Would you please move back a few steps?”
She gave him a quizzical look but did as he asked. “Thank you.” Dean turned back to Howard and retrieved his dagger from his belt. “I didn’t want you to get blood on your new dress.”
In one motion, he slit Howard’s throat. Screams and cries filled the air, and people tried to scramble for the exit. “ Lock the doors, ” Dean bellowed.
Braddock dropped Howard and looked down at his bloody arms with annoyance. “This is my favorite shirt.”
“ Dean ,” Fawn shrieked. “What have you done?”
He wiped his dagger on his pants and sheathed it. “He’ll never set foot in a pleasure house or our palace again.”
Fawn’s gaze jumped from him to Howard and back again. She sighed loudly and rubbed her temples. “In the future, please ask me before killing someone.”
“I will,” he lied, and she narrowed her eyes knowingly. He winked and led her back to the dais.
Sobs and chatter infiltrated Fawn’s senses as some of the attendees cowered in groups. Others stood around chatting like watching your king slaughter a man for insulting his wife was normal happenstance. Dean raised his hand and the room fell quiet save for sniffles and hiccups.
“Anyone who disrespects their queen will meet the gods,” he announced, his voice brokering no room for argument.
Fawn poked him in the side. “I will not allow you to kill people for being assholes,” she whispered.
We’ll see. He turned back to the crowd. “Anyone who disrespects their queen will suffer whatever consequences she decides.”
Braddock directed two guards to clear Howard's body and a few maids to clean up the blood. One passed out, and Cali rushed over to help her with Emi at her side. Dean called over a maid and told her to have the musicians play something sensual.
They both sat on their thrones and watched their people. Some were still crying, and he’d let them go before too long, but first they would admire his bride to erase Howard’s poison.
“There’s another person with a chalkboard,” Fawn observed, a line forming between her brows as she scanned the crowd. “And another. I don’t understand.”
Dean prayed she’d have a better reaction to this than she had to Howard’s penance. “I had everyone who called you anything but my mate rounded up and their tongues cut out.”
“ What? ” She jumped out of her throne, horrified. “Gods, Dean, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
He leaned forward and tugged her in front of him.
From his seated position, they were almost eye-to-eye, and he pulled her even closer.
“I am not a man who can sit idly by while someone hurts you. My mother remained silent while my father abused me, and her betrayal cut deeper than his ever could. If you hurt, I destroy. It will always be this way, darling.”
Dean held his breath. Would she try to leave him? He’d need to get new locks that only he had the key to for their rooms if she tried. That would be a hassle.
“You couldn’t have revealed this part of yourself before I fell in love with you?” she tried to joke.
“The first time we met, I threw a server across the room to make you smile,” he reminded her. “You’ve always known.”
A sensual number floated from the musician’s box and Dean slipped his arm around his mate’s waist. “We need to address what Howard accused you of.”
Fawn went rigid in his arms, and something flashed in her eyes. “Accused? As if dancing in a pleasure house is a crime?” Oh, she was mad.
Dean released her, allowing her to back away, and ran the pad of this thumb over his bottom lip. “You like showing others what’s mine?”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “Yes.”
He lounged back on his throne, his eyes tracing her body. “So do I. Dance for me, darling.”
It took her a moment to recover from her shock, and he fought with a smile. “This is hardly the place, Dean,” she spoke softly. “Not everyone is comfortable with public nudity.”
“Leave on your clothes, if that makes you more comfortable.” He’d have her give him the full show later. “But do not let that piece of shit insult your art. Show them how beautiful it is.”
Fawn’s eyes softened, and she sauntered forward, swaying her hips to the beat. Leaning over his lap, she kissed him sweetly. “Thank you.”
Dean watched his mate dance, giving life to the music around them. The sexual nature of her moves charged the air like a well-placed lightning strike and everyone (who wasn’t still crying) watched, entranced by her.
A deep satisfaction took root as every eye followed her around the stage.