Frost Fae (Dark Fae Kings #2) - Meg Xuemei X Page 0,47

for my family. I couldn’t let them see me fall apart, because if I did, they’d never feel safe.

I pushed open the door and stepped in, my siblings’ chatting filling the house. Those little buggers were forever loud, but right now their obnoxiousness was comforting, so there was no need to yell at them.

I stalked into the dining room, my gaze skimming from Drake, a Night knight, to a dozen pizza boxes scattered on the dining table. I’d bet Rydstrom paid for them. And I’d bet my little brother, Cassidy, had conned Drake into getting them that many pizzas.

My siblings appeared giddy as they dragged slices of pizza onto their plates. They were allowed pizza only once a week under our tight budget, and we usually ordered no more than three boxes of pizza for all of us.

My siblings looked up from their treat and grinned at me, and my heart warmed. I reminded myself not to scold them for taking charity from the Fae. I was making a six-figure salary now and I could feed all six of them well from now on.

“Commander!” Cassidy saluted me with his greasy little hand. “Drake said the dinner was on the house—not our house, but Rydstrom, your new suitor’s house—so I helped him order the pizza for us. And I reserved a box of pineapple pizza for you.”

Drake darted a glance at me as he tried to hide a spark of amusement in his eyes.

My stomach groaned in hunger, but I had no appetite. Then I was suddenly awash with anger. I didn’t want any Fae at my house. I’d opened my home to them, exposing my family to danger, and one of them had betrayed me.

I understood that Drake had nothing to do with the Winter King’s mistreatment of me and that he was following Rydstrom’s order to take care of my family, but I’d had enough Fae for the moment.

“What are you doing here, Drake?” I asked curtly in the Fae tongue.

Drake’s eyes widened before they returned to normal, and he switched back to the bland expression he always wore in Claws, Fangs, and Fiends. He hadn’t expected me to speak Fae. I snickered. Yeah, shocker! I understood the language and could speak it fluently as it was in my blood.

“Watching your family,” he answered in Fae.

“I’m here now,” I said. “You can leave. And please tell your boss that I want no Fae from any court in my house again.”

My siblings all stared at me.

“They’re speaking French, a beautiful, elegant, and cocky language,” Cassidy explained with pride. “Our Commander is a lady of many talents.”

Drake nodded and exited the house.

“Commander.” Cassidy shot to his feet. “Do you require I pull the chair out for you at the head of the table?”

Safiya rolled her eyes.

The little dude was very good at kissing ass. I frowned at him and waved for him to sit back down, wondering what he wanted from me this time. I pulled the chair out for myself and slumped into it.

I scanned my siblings, grateful they all looked safe and sound and even happy. But worry filled Fawn’s eyes, and I wondered if she’d foreseen how my date with the Winter King had turned out. I didn’t have the energy to discern if it was the bone witch or my own little sister looking at me like that. I darted my weary eyes away from her.

“How was your date, Evie?” Emmett asked.

My siblings appeared excited, waiting for me to reveal something and let them into my adult world.

For a moment, I wanted to cry.

My heart clenched in ice. I’d never go on another date with any of the Fae kings.

“We broke up,” I said as lightly as possible. “You won’t see that silver-haired dude or any of his minions anymore.”

“What happened?” Safiya, my fifteen-year-old sister, asked with giddiness.

I really needed to have a long talk with her shortly. It wouldn’t do her any good to constantly regard me as her competition. She wouldn’t be able to move on with her own life if she kept that kind of mentality. Safeguarding my family also meant protecting them from themselves as well. I owed my parents at least that much.

A lump stuck in my throat. I missed them so much.

“Not all good-looking guys are good men, Safiya,” I said.

“You dumped Rowan?” Cassidy asked, his chubby face scrunching. His curly hair was unruly around his forehead. I’d have to take him to a hairstylist soon, now that I could afford