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