Taranus snorts. “When bedding Sheelin didn’t work as planned, you’d gone—”
I snarl, clenching my hands into fists. “I never bedded Sheelin. You know that.”
“Not for lack of trying, eh, brother? Before Odhran, you had eyes for her, despite having a mate rotting away in the Veil, did you not?”
Back when Sheelin had been little more than an innocent princess, there had been moments between us, though they never would have amounted to anything. Even if Odhran hadn’t manipulated then raped his way into her life. “You’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Odhran saw what he wanted, and he claimed it. He was the strongest king this realm had ever seen, and yet you sought to overthrow him.”
“He was a fucking monster.”
Taranus shakes his head. “Even still, when Sheelin was queen, you did everything you could to get the crown. Tell me, how was what I did any different than you? You’re simply angry I reached the top first.”
“I never would have rested my crown upon the deaths of innocents,” I snap back, enraged that he’d even attempt to compare the two of us. The truth is, Taranus was always a psychotic bastard, but I’d chosen to ignore it because I’d foolishly believed our blood bond was enough to keep him in check.
And every death, every atrocity carried out by his hands or the hands of his men, rests firmly upon my shoulders because, by the time I realized just what he was capable of, it was too late.
“You’ve always been weak, Rafferty. It’s why you would never have been king.” He turns away from me and moves toward Ember. Pressing her back against the stone, she’s helpless to get any farther away.
I know that if I show fear on her behalf, he’ll use it against the both of us, so I grip the bars and keep my mouth shut as they open the door and he moves into her cell.
Ember’s eyes clamp shut, and she turns her head to the side as he reaches forward and trails a finger along her jaw. “What to do with you, my dear?”
“Let me go.”
He chuckles, and I want to smash his face into the stone walls surrounding us. Over and over again, until he’s nothing more than blood and broken bones.
“You won’t be going anywhere.”
“Why not?”
“Because you will give me sons, who will continue on with my legacy, making us the most powerful fae in all the realm.”
She turns to him now, jaw hard, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I will not go to bed with you.”
He grips her chin, and she whimpers. It takes every bit of my restraint to keep me from losing my shit. The only reason I remain calm, though, is because my outburst would cause her nothing but more pain.
“You will come to bed with me after we are wed, human.”
“No.”
He shoves her back then opens his hand and slaps her. The crack echoes through my ears. “Taranus!” I roar, unable to keep myself chained any longer. Ember crumples to the floor, holding her face, and I use all the strength in my arsenal to try my damnedest to pry the bars apart.
He glances over his shoulder with amusement showing in every line of his arrogant face. “You are so predictable.” Chuckling, he reaches down and grips her arm, yanking her up as she whimpers. He drags her out of her cell, careless of the white dress scraping against the stone floor.
“Let her the fuck go,” I growl.
“She’s a human.”
“She’s a person,” I snap back.
Taranus slams her against the bars, and her eyes shut as her cheek is pressed against the cool metal. “Open his door,” he orders Conary.
“Your Majesty?”
“You heard me. Open. His. Door.”
Jaw tight, Taranus’s little pet reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key then does as he’s told and opens my cell door. I clench my fists, waiting for my chance to rush out and kill them all. But before I can, he throws Ember inside.