Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“I should kill you here and now,” Mordren narrowed his eyes at me. My heart began skittering in my chest—he was echoing exactly what I’d been thinking! “And I would too—if the people hadn’t become so ridiculously fond of you during the Public Quenching last night,” he added scowling. “So here’s what we’re going to do…”
He stepped closer to me and bent down, looking intently into my eyes. I remembered being warned that I shouldn’t look him in the eye—hadn’t Sel or Krynn told me his magic lay in powers of persuasion and making people believe his lies? But somehow it seemed I couldn’t look away from the glowing bluish-purple depths.
“Listen to me, Princess,” Mordren said. “We will go through with the Royal Coronation and you will be declared the Queen of the Midnight Court. But when it comes time to choose your Consort, you will name me as the male you wish to marry. Not only that, but you will declare me to be your King Consort and you’ll do it with a smile on your face.”
“I will not!” I exclaimed hotly. “I know what that means—if I name you the King, you’ll get half my power right away and more over time!” I wasn’t going to allow him to push me aside that easily!
“I told you that your magic wouldn’t work on her,” Elgiana remarked.
She had been standing to one side, watching with a sneer on her gorgeous face. She still had the crystal vial of dark blue antidote in one hand. I wished I could grab it from her but I couldn’t get away from Mordren.
“It’s the Jewel of Lolth—it’s protecting her from your power,” she went on. “That’s why she’s not succumbing to your spell.”
“Well then, let’s just take it off!” Mordren snatched at the filigree silver pendant around my neck—only to pull his hand back with a howl of pain. He blew on his fingers as though he’d touched a hot stove. “Little bitch!” he hissed at me. “Take it off, now!”
“No.” I lifted my chin. I might be weak and nearly powerless, but I wasn’t going to make things any easier on him.
Mordren got a frustrated look on his face.
“Look at me,” he demanded again. “You will name me your King Consort!”
I opened my mouth to deny him again, but then I heard a familiar voice whisper in my ear,
“Agree with him! Pretend you’re under his spell or he’ll kill you!”
“What?” I looked around but didn’t see anyone, though I could have sworn it was Lady Nolana whispering to me.
“You will name me King Consort!” Mordren insisted again.
“Agree!” Lady Nolana whispered in my ear and I felt her cool hand slip into mine. As soon as she touched me, I could see her standing there beside me, a worried look on her face.
But though she was visible to me, it was clear that neither Mordren nor Elgiana could see her at all. I remembered what she’d said about how being unseen was part of her magic. Clearly she was concealing herself from them. But how could following her advice help me?
I wavered for a moment—then admitted to myself I had no better ideas. I had to agree with Mordren or risk getting killed at once. So I pasted a zombie-like blank look on my face and said, in a flat, emotionless voice,
“I will name you my King Consort.”
“There!” Mordren brightened up. “Was that so hard?”
“It took you long enough,” Lady Elgiana remarked. “Go on—tell her the rest.”
Mordren looked into my eyes again.
“You will stay by my side for one year only. Then you will declare that you are stepping down and going back to the Mortal Realm—you’ll say that you’re not a true Dark Fae because you weren’t raised in the Midnight Court.”
“Not a true Fae,” I repeated robotically, though his words made me so angry it was hard to keep the blank look on my face.
“And you’ll name Lady Elgiana as your successor,” Mordren went on.
“I’ll name Elgiana as my…as my successor.” I forced myself to say the words.
“But why do we have to wait a whole year, Mordren?” Elgiana pouted. “I want to be Queen now.”
“We have to wait because the people are already fond of the Princess—it has to look like her decision or you won’t be seen as a legitimate Queen,” he shot back. “Now be quiet and let me work!” He stared at me again. “Do you understand what you’re going to do, Princess?”
“Declare you my King Consort and rule for one year before going back to the Mortal Realm and making Lady Elgiana the Queen,” I said.
“Exactly. Good!” He nodded as though he was satisfied and finally moved out of my space. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief—his face was gorgeous but his breath smelled unpleasantly fishy—but I knew I couldn’t show anything. I was supposed to be magically hypnotized.