“A throne is just a chair. It is only important because of who sits on it,” I answer truthfully. Seb laughs and starts walking down the path in the middle.
“Do you know the story of this throne room?” he asks me. “The gods and the swords.”
“No, tell me,” I suggest. He stops in the middle of the throne room and places his hand on one of the swords nearby.
“This realm was once nothing more than dust. Dust and moonlight, an empty realm. The god Ares came here, and in his wisdom, he decided it would be a great city that would respect the dark and his love of being a warrior. So, on the day he bled magic into this world, he made the first reaper from a mortal and asked him what he wanted,” he continues, stepping closer to me. “The mortal wished for the weapons of the gods, and Ares made a thousand and one swords fall from the sky and dig into the ground, killing all of the family the mortal-turned-reaper had. The city floor ran red with blood that slowly changed into the reflective floor you see now. In payment for the lost blood and swords, Ares decreed that every thousand years, a new king or queen may take the throne. They simply had to enter through the gate to the realm and battle a hundred reapers to win. That blood and honour will always be part of this realm he has created.”
“You are forgetting the best part of this old story, my son,” a woman comments in a soft voice. We both turn to see a woman in a long yellow gown walking down the steps from the throne. Her hair is blonde and curly, clipped up into a bun at the back of her head, and she is thin, almost petite, in her build. Her hands stay behind her back as she walks to us and slowly walks in a circle around us before she stops. The final piece of the puzzle of who she is comes as her crown slowly appears out of nowhere. The white crown, a magical object all by itself, looks like two antler horns have wound themselves around to make the crown shape and meet in the middle, holding three large diamonds.
Seb takes a step closer to me and wraps his arm around my waist, holding me to his side. I resist the urge to smack him for it, knowing there must be a reason. “Ares had attracted so much attention for building this world that his sisters came to see what he had done. Eris, the goddess of chaos, wanted there to be another world to conquer this one, so she forced her sister, Eileithyia, to give birth to a new race. Twin fae were born that day, and the courts of the Seelie and Unseelie were created to give them space in the new world named the Otherworld. Before the gods left, Eris created the portals you see today. One to the Otherworld and one to Earth. It is said there were other portals created by Ares in his joy of the pain and destruction the worlds would come to face. What do you think of this story, young girl?”
“My name is Daesyn,” I curtly reply. The queen moves into my face in an instant, and her hand lashes out, grabbing my chin.
“Bow to your queen, Miss Riverlite. I know who you are, and why I may tolerate your filthy Seelie blood, don’t test me,” she commands. Doubt it or I’d be dead. When I don’t move, Seb pulls me from his mother’s grip and pushes me behind him.
“We have been drinking, and she is clueless about the world. Alun has kept them hidden in a field her whole life with his insane paranoia that something would happen to his children,” he explains, making up an excuse for me.
“The unsociable man has made an unsociable child. I shall speak with him,” she eventually replies. Her eyes find mine as she walks past, and I swear time pauses for a second. I see nothing but a queen who doesn’t want to leave her throne, and I hope she doesn’t see who I really am. Seb and I stay silent as the queen walks to the hidden door and pauses, looking back. “Please do not stay long. This room is for those who belong on the throne, and neither of you are welcome.”
Seb is still as a rock as his mother leaves.
“She is sort of a bitch,” I blurt out, and surprisingly, Seb bursts into laughter. I end up chuckling with him for a long time until both of us pause and smile at each other.
“Want to get drunk?” Seb asks.
“That’s the best idea you’ve had in ages,” I say. He nods his head towards the throne, and I follow him over. I’m highly amused when he finds two bottles of fae wine behind the throne, hidden in an underground space. We both sit with our backs resting against the throne’s chair legs as Seb opens one of the bottles and takes a long drink. He hands it to me next, and I sigh as I taste the liquid on my tongue.
“Tell me something funny. Anything to distract me,” I ask of Seb. “This place is gloomy, and your mother has freaked me out.”
I hand the bottle back to him, and for a second, I really look at the handsome prince. Under all his beauty, there is a rugged sort of darkness to him. He turns and meets my gaze, his half fae eyes finding mine. “Alright.” He pauses, thinking on it. “I met Torfinn when my mother called the gods for guidance, and they sent him instead. He was fifteen when he came here and moved in. My mother is quite obsessed with him, and he just wanted to escape, to finish his task here and meet his mother in her home.”
“Obsessed?” I question, and he nods.
“Let me explain. Ryker was, for a while, almost adopted by my mother. He was strong and won so many fights as a boy, and it attracted my mother’s attention. But Ryker and I are not the ideal sons for her, we never were. I’m not cruel enough despite her attempts to make me so, and Ryker is too loyal, too playful and too kind for her mind games. Ry likes the fae too much, and my mother soon hated him for that. Torfinn is cold, strong, and he was dripping in darkness from the second he came here,” Seb tells me. This isn’t funny.
“He isn’t like that,” I sharply reply.
Seb frowns. “I’ve known him for years. I see the real him, and you will too.”
“This isn’t funny,” I tell him.
His knowing eyes keep on me. “I know. I’m out of funny jokes.”
“So all three of you grew up together as teenagers. The girls around here must not have stood a chance,” I say, needing to lighten the subject.
He laughs a little bit. “Ryker is the player. I choose my partners carefully as many cannot handle me, and Torfinn is a virgin until he meets his mate. The girls love him, as does my mother, but he is untouchable.”
My eyes widen. “He is a virgin? Seriously?”
“Something about demi-god mate magic. That’s why he is an asshole twenty-four seven,” Seb replies around a laugh and hands me the drink back. I take a deep sip.
“Maybe if he got laid, he would lighten up,” I reply.
Seb laughs, and I join in. “I’ve said that to him once or twice, vixen. You would not believe the replies he has given me.”
“Let me guess, he told you to go and fuck yourself?” I say.
We both laugh together, and I don’t need him to answer that question. “I like you, vixen. If I didn’t have to kill you to get the throne, I might actually keep you around.”
I snort. “You’re too confident. That shit will get you killed. Likely by a dark-haired vixen who likes you too.”
He laughs with me before I take another long drink, fully aware this dark prince is crawling his way into my heart. And he is going to kill me quicker than any blade could do.
Chapter 21
Torfinn
“There isn’t enough whiskey to deal with these lame events,” Ryker mutters, pulling at his bowtie to loosen it. Downing my own shot of whiskey, I place the tumbler back on the bar.
“Agreed,” I reply, and as usual, I look for her. Daesyn Heartlocke, the woman I caught in the middle of the sky who has since been sneaking into every single one of my thoughts. The woman confuses me to no end and turns me on with just one single look in my direction with her sharp violent eyes.
My dick doesn’t worry about the consequences of fancying a reaper woman, but I sure as fuck do.
“She isn’t here,” Ryker cuts into my search of all the people in the room. “She left with Seb an hour ago.”
“Why?” I sharply ask, forgetting that Ryker is my friend and I trust him with my life. He and Seb are my brothers, the only family, bar my mother, who has ever given a shit about me. We might not be related by blood or by species, but they always have my back. Ryker looks pissed off as he looks away.
