Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,49
smiled. “In Fomor, marriage creates a world-altering bond. As long as I remain inside this palace, you will, too. You can’t leave, Eislyn. You are bound to me so long as I remain alive. Nothing can break it. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for a good long while.”
“And what if you try to leave the palace?” she said, cheeks filling with unwanted heat. “If I’m stuck here, then are you stuck here, too?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I control the bond. I’m free to leave whenever I’d like. But, you’ll have to leave, too.”
Eislyn gaped at him. “That’s why you were so insistent we marry that first day. You said it was to stop me from leaving. You only did this so I wouldn’t escape!”
He chuckled. “Of course I did. Why else would I have married you?”
“Do you marry all of your prisoners?” Her lip curled as she stalked toward him. “Or just ones who happen to be fae? Is this what happens to us when we come here? You and your creepy friends marry us and bind us to remain by your sides? Is this why we always disappear? Is this why we never come back?”
She pointed a finger at his bare chest.
Emperor Lir smacked her hand aside. “Careful. One might think you mean to cause your Emperor harm.”
“I do mean to cause you harm,” she hissed through her teeth. “You’ve trapped me here. Forever.”
“Isn’t that better than being dead?” He arched a brow. “You asked what happens to other fae who come here despite our treaty. They do not survive, Princess Eislyn Darragh.”
He turned to go, but she reached out a hand to stop him. Her fingers landed on his bronze arm, and he stiffened beneath her touch. “Why?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” he said without turning back to face her. “There is too much you don’t understand about the world. And I don’t plan to be the one to explain it.”
He stepped forward, out of her reach. Her fingers slipped down into the nothingness of air, the whisper of his presence the only thing left as he vanished down the corridor.
Frowning, Eislyn turned and glared at the invisible wall. So, she would not be escaping then. At least not today. Maybe one day. Maybe once the Emperor was dead.
Or, she thought, perhaps she could find another way.
There was only one place she could go. With a nod, Eislyn Darragh aimed her feet toward the library.
She strode down the wrong corridor at least a half a dozen times before a Fomorian appeared out of thin air to guide her in the right direction. He looked much like the others. Tall, bronze, as tough as steel. His wings were nowhere in sight. She wanted to ask him how they hid them in their skin, but she didn’t want to admit her curiosity.
“Here you are,” Dearg said in a bored tone of voice, opening the library door for her. “The middle shelf is where we keep the fiction. You may stay in here as long as you’d like.”
Eislyn’s eyes widened as she stepped inside. This library was even more expansive than the ones she’d visited in the Air Court, and she’d thought none could top those. Every surface gleamed gold. The ceiling, the floors, even the shelves themselves. They stretched all along the curving walls, reaching up toward an arched ceiling painted with swirling art. Two archways led to further rooms with even more doors beyond. She could get lost in this place.
“What about the non-fiction?” she asked, breathing in the comforting scent of worn pages and leather covers. “Your history books?”
He frowned. “I’m not certain those would be of any interest to you.”
“Why? Because I’m some dumb fae female?”
“Precisely.” He shot her a wicked smile. “I’m glad you understand.”
He turned to go, but she called out after him. “You aren’t going to stand guard and keep watch over me?”
His lips twitched. “And why would I do that?”
“Look, I may be your Emperor’s weird wife, but I know I’m a prisoner.” She lifted a book from the nearest shelf and peeled open the cover. The ancient pages fanned before her, inviting her to read their every word.
“A harmless prisoner,” he said. “You can’t leave the palace, no matter how hard you try. Your magic is worthless against us. There is nothing you can do to pose a threat. I don’t need to stand guard over you.”
“If I pose no threat,” she shot back, “then why did the Emperor go to so