go soon, my cover was going to be blown.
“Well, Sally. Take a seat.” He released me with a shove, but I didn’t sit.
“I sincerely apologize, my king, but fresh produce just came in from a farm for you, and I must tend to it before it spoils.” Gods, I hoped he could see reasoning in that. I was not ready to fight him and win.
He stood from his desk, soup still untouched, and stalked closer. “I can see you take pride in your job. You want to make me proud, don’t you, Sally?”
King Zephyr was only a few inches from me by then, and his use of “proud” was a trigger to my defense system. As a young girl, I’d only ever wanted to make him proud. It had been so ingrained into me that, for a while, it had become my sole purpose for living.
But not anymore.
He raised a hand to stroke my cheek, and I didn’t hesitate to grab a hold of his wrist like he’d done to mine and twisted until it cracked. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
He roared, but I wasn’t worried. The guards couldn’t hear us. “You ungrateful little bitch!”
“And you’re a dirty old man who preys on the weak, but I’m not a meek servant who will put up with some disgusting tyrant.” My knee surged forward, slamming into his crown jewels. Then, I used my elbow to thump the back of his head. “Have a nice nap, Zephy.”
His body went limp, crumpling to the floor. I might not be able to kill him easily, but I could still hurt him.
The nickname I used to call him before he turned me into a weapon slipped from my lips without a second thought. It was the name I’d coined for him when I used to think he was the greatest fae to walk the worlds.
Then, I grew up to know better.
He’d already begun to stir, and since I had no weapon to kill him with, I headed for the door, slipping through without opening it far enough that the guards could see the king’s body.
They said nothing to me once again as I made my way back to the kitchen.
My feet were moving swiftly, and I told myself it was merely because the guards would be on my ass soon and not because I hoped Finn was still waiting for me.
My five minutes had come and gone, and my heart sank a little when I entered the kitchen. The maid who was supposed to bring the king’s lunch up was standing there sorting through the food we’d brought.
She glowered at me. “Who do you think you are taking food to the king? Duties are assigned, and you must—”
I quit listening and darted for the stairs. I had no time for a reprimand that didn’t actually matter. When I made it to the main floor, I took a quick second to consider going back through the front doors or the back ones. I was a maid now and wasn’t sure which they’d utilize more at the end of their shift.
Shit, hadn’t a lot of the maids lived in the castle? I couldn’t remember. None of them had been important to me during my time here, considering how often they changed. Now I knew why. The king was even more vile than I’d thought.
Just when I stepped to go left, a plan already forming in my mind on how to get out on my own, a hand reached out from the shadows, wrapping around my bicep. My feet tripped over each other with the opposing momentum, and my body pressed against a hard chest.
It wasn’t dark, and my eyes immediately met Finn’s. They were charcoal and piercing with rage. Something unfamiliar blossomed in my chest. It was warm and consoling and unusual.
Finn’s hands moved from my arms up to my cheeks. “Did you do what you wanted?” I nodded. “Was it worth the risk?”
“Only time will tell,” I answered, my voice doing weird things as my pulse picked up.
What the hell was Finn doing to me?
He gave one curt nod, then moved in without notice. His lips pressed roughly against mine, and his hold tightened around my face. Where the hell was this coming from? I had no idea, but my body was no longer allowing me to fight it.
My hormones kicked into overdrive, and all sense went out the window as I wrapped my arms, and then my legs, around him. He turned us around, pressing my