Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,86
had chained Eislyn to him.
She frowned at the wrist braces. He’d insisted on the bonds after she’d tried to escape yet again. It seemed he didn’t trust her very much.
Obviously.
“I can’t pay my taxes this year, Your Excellence,” the Fomorian murmured, eyes cast to the golden floor.
Eislyn stiffened. Lir had dragged her around with him for the past week, forcing her to witness his every courtly duty. So far, she’d been lucky enough to avoid seeing anything that would transform her mind into putty. She knew what happened to those who could not pay their taxes. Depending on the amount they owed, either everything was taken from them, they were tossed into the dungeons, or…they were executed.
She really didn’t want to watch the Emperor slice someone’s head off their body.
“I see.” Emperor Lir leaned back into his golden seat. “Do you know what we do to those who cannot fulfill their duty as a law-abiding citizen of this great empire?”
The Fomorian swallowed hard. “I do, Your Excellence.”
“Good.” Lir nodded. Eislyn braced herself, glancing away. “You will leave your home to join my army at once. You may have half a day to say goodbye to any family you might have. Once you have served six years, you may return to them.”
Eislyn’s head shot up, and she gaped at the Emperor. She’d never heard of such a thing. He was…pardoning the Fomorian? Sure, he had to spend six years fighting in an army, but that wasn’t such a terrible thing. It was an honor.
Eislyn spent the rest of the day standing quietly by his side while he saw the remaining subjects who had requested time in his presence. Most of the time, he just listened to their concerns. Sometimes, he made commands his guards carried out for him. To stop crime. To help a farmer who had lost it all.
She hated him, but…she could not lie and say he wasn’t decent to his people.
Just not to her.
When they returned to his quarters that night, he ushered in a servant behind him. The serving girl held a silver platter packed full of grilled meats, freshly-baked breads, and fresh fruits and cheese. Eislyn’s stomach grumbled, her mouth watering. It had been a long time since she’d seen food this grand.
Lir unclasped her chain and motioned at the food. “Eat.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Eagerly, she dug into the food and piled everything she could fit onto a plate. She plopped down into a chair beside the hearth and popped a strawberry into her mouth. The juices exploded against her tongue, as sweet as the longest summer day.
Lir strode to the open window and stared at the burnt orange sunset. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
She paused with a slice of chicken halfway to her mouth. “Witness what?”
“My punishment,” he said, twisting toward her. “For the baker who could not pay his taxes.”
“Oh. That.” She shoved the chicken into her mouth, and almost moaned at the tenderness of the meat. “I don’t know why you’re apologizing. You treated him far more fairly than…well, anyone else would have.”
It burned her up to praise him, especially when that irritating smug smile of his donned his face. “So, you admit it. You don’t think I’m a monster, after all.”
She held up the shackle-free wrists. “You’re keeping me chained to you all day and night. Of course you’re a monster.”
His eyes flashed. “All day, yes. All night…not yet. But that can be arranged.”
Choking around the chicken, Eislyn felt her entire head turn the color of the strawberries. “I thought you said you didn’t want to debase yourself by touching a fae.”
A wicked smile curled his lips. “Who said anything about touching? Certainly not me. If that’s where your mind went, then one might wonder exactly what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
She dropped the chicken onto the plate. “Funnily enough, I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Perhaps that’s because you’re hungry for something else.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Okay, now you’re just messing with me.”
He chuckled.
“You know, sometimes I really can’t figure you out.” With a roll of her eyes, she turned back to her food. Annoying or not, she wasn’t going to let Lir turn her off from strawberries and chicken. “One minute, you’re dragging me through your palace on a chain. The next you’re making jokes like we’re friends.”
He strode across the floor and dropped into the seat across from hers. “Perhaps I wish we weren’t enemies.”