Night Fae (Dark Fae Kings #3) - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,9

to judge which guild is legit? It’s all about no judgment, right? After all, this is the Peace Summit.”

She’d found a loophole. While the Director of the Silver Circle hosted the convention between the Fae kings and the Dawn Queen, he couldn’t deny the entry of the leader of a rogue guild when the dark mage was the queen’s escort.

Brigantia wheeled back to the Fae kings, a ravishing smile plastered on her red lips, her eyes leering at the Night King. I restrained myself from lunging at her to mar her face.

“Rydstrom,” she said silkily. “I thought you’d prefer a more private setting. But it seems you’re inclined to announce your intention toward me in front of many witnesses.” She gave Rowan a meaningful, sultry look, as if they’d shared a thousand hot kisses, then winked at Baron. “All my kings have gathered for me in the mortal land. How delightful!”

“Queen Brigantia.” Baron smirked. “I guarantee you, this isn’t The Bachelorette.”

I blinked. The Bachelorette was an American reality television dating game show. Baron must have watched the old recordings when he researched human dating rituals in order to court me. The effort was there, but he might not know that the show had been out of fashion for decades.

Brigantia narrowed her eyes and extended her gloved hand toward Baron for him to kiss, but he didn’t take it. My Summer King never minded being appallingly rude, even if it would start a war. If he weren’t my darling, I would say his air of supremacy matched hers perfectly.

“Aren’t you naughty, Summer King?” Brigantia hissed out her displeasure and dropped her hand. “I heard you’ve barely been at your court while chasing mortal whores.” Her voice dripped with spite. “No wonder you now talk like a human.”

Baron only grinned wider. “Are you jealous of the mortal whores I’ve been chasing, Queen Brigantia? That’s quite beneath you, isn’t it? But then, everyone has a low point, including a queen.”

“In the human world, it’s called an inferiority complex,” I offered to back up Baron.

I wasn’t going to put up with how she tried to stake a claim on my men. She could have the Winter King but no one else. I wouldn’t allow her to lay her claws on my kings.

Not here. Not now. Not ever.

I turned to my sister, fury burning in me, and she looked straight at me for the first time since she swept into the hall.

Our stares clashed.

Her eyes widened before she seethed. “You—it’s you! The Winter King’s ex-whore!”

Chapter 4

“Seriously, chick? That’s the best you can come up with?” I asked sarcastically and winked at Brigantia, knowing perfectly well that would madden her no end. “You need to broaden your vocabulary, but I bet you probably haven’t read a single book for decades. In the mortal world, we call that kind of person TSTL—too stupid to live. Also”—I raised a pinkie toward her—“it’s not okay to slut shame other women just because they’re different than you. When a woman does that to another woman, it’s beyond tacky. It’s unacceptable. I didn’t mean to lecture you, lady, but the world has changed. So, if you want to keep up with the new era, you might want to drop your bad attitude first.”

Brigantia’s jaw dropped in shock. I was sure that that no one had ever talked to her that way in her entire life. The gasps echoing through the hall confirmed my theory. The warriors must have thought I was either too bold or very stupid to challenge the powerful Dawn Queen, but then, they didn’t know me. They didn’t know that I didn’t give two shits about any authority, let alone give a crap about the usurper who took my crown and tried to kill me on multiple occasions.

Baron roared out a deep belly laugh, and Rydstrom chuckled in dark amusement. Even Northton allowed a faint smile to touch his face, though it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked more wary than entertained.

We were supposed to provoke Brigantia, but it seemed that we were rushing the main course.

“How dare you?” Brigantia demanded, her face turning purple. “I’m the Queen of the Dawn Court, and you’ll pay me respect!”

“Never heard of you before,” I said with a shrug. “I could call myself the Queen of Spain. Who’s to contest it?”

I grinned at Baron and Rydstrom, and they gazed at me dotingly, molten heat in their eyes, even though this wasn’t the time since we were facing a deadly enemy. But