The Ruthless Fae King (Kings of Avalier Book 3) by Leia Stone

Author:Leia Stone [Stone, Leia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-28T16:00:00+00:00

I was awoken to the sound of the hinges on the door squeaking. For a moment I forgot where I was, then the nightmare of my reality all came rushing back to me. My heartbeat spiked in my chest as I looked frantically at who was about to enter my room.

Please don’t be Marcelle.

When I saw an unassuming handmaid, I relaxed a little. The door closed behind her and she bowed deeply to me. Her blond hair was tied into two braids and she didn’t look a day over seventeen winters old. She wore the Summer fae crest on her brown apron, which she smoothed with her hands as she approached me.

“Hello, Princess Madelynn.” Her voice was soft and calm. “My name is Birdie and I’ve been assigned as your lady-in-waiting.”

“Birdie?” I didn’t mean to say that out loud but it was a peculiar name.

She smiled, approaching the bed timidly. “My mother died in childbirth, so my father named me after her favorite thing—bird watching. I know it’s not a common name, but I love it.”

Her childlike innocence hurt my chest in that moment. Because it reminded me of myself a few days ago.

“I don’t need a lady-in-waiting. I’m never leaving this room.” I fell back into the bed and rolled over to give her my back. If I was going to be forced to bed Marcelle and then be locked up like a prisoner with my powers bound, then I wouldn’t let him insult me with a lady-in-waiting like I was some honored guest of the palace or a real wife.

I could hear her swallow hard, and for a full moment she didn’t say a word. I believed I’d stunned her and I felt badly if I hurt her feelings, but I couldn’t play Marcelle’s games and live with myself.

The bed dipped then, and suddenly she was hovering over me, her mouth to my ear. “The vote was held overnight. Summer, Spring, and Fall have separated from Winter. Marcelle is the new king of Hazeville, and once your coronation is held you will be our queen.”

I wasn’t sure I could be shocked any more until that very moment. A whimper lodged in my throat and I couldn’t keep the sob from escaping. My father voted to leave Thorngate. Lucien just lost three courts… if the queen attacked… Winter would be overwhelmed.

Her hand rested on my arm and squeezed lightly. “I overheard King Marcelle talking to an advisor. He said he wants tabs kept on your mother and sister, that if you do not cooperate in this new role as his wife and queen… he will make them have an… accident.”

I whipped around so fast that she jumped backwards.

“Why are you telling me this?” I looked at her skeptically, my mind racing as I thought up all the ways Marcelle could hurt my mother and sister. I shouldn’t have fought back last night, it was stupid of me, but it wasn’t in my nature to just lie down and take injustice with a smile.

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