Prince of Cats - Tasha Black Page 0,25

at Kieran.

He gazed up at her with big, serious eyes.

Piper felt herself stretching her arms away from her body slightly, offering the child to the woman who would pretend to be his mother. It would have been easier to cut away a part of her own body and hand that over.

The woman wrinkled her nose, making no move to take him.

“I have decided to be more of a hands-off mother,” she said almost inaudibly to Piper.

Piper cuddled Kieran closer again, feeling relief, but also a surge of rage at the rejection of her perfect baby.

“Turn around,” Killian’s deep voice reminded her that he was close. “Let everyone get a look.”

Piper turned slowly to face the gathered crowd.

“Lords and Ladies of the Autumn Court,” Killian announced loudly. “Princess Wynter and I introduce you to our heir, Prince Kieran.”

There was great applause and shouts of the prince’s name.

Kieran, for his part, chose this moment to drop his shyness and waved his arms and legs in delight, spluttering a round of congratulatory baby talk in reply, that was heard by no one but Piper because of the din in the room.

“Did the surrogate put up a fight?” Wynter asked Killian quietly.

“She was… surprisingly cooperative,” Killian murmured back.

Piper felt a stab of hurt. She knew he didn’t mean it, or maybe his words were meant for her to hear, a sort of in-joke.

She kept a silly smile plastered on her face.

“Get them out of here,” Wynter sniffed. “I can’t eat with that horrible little creature around.”

Killian snapped his fingers and the guard who had escorted them in headed over.

“This way, miss,” the guard whispered to Piper.

She followed him in a haze, ignoring the faces that leaned closer to peer at the baby. Suddenly, it all seemed like too much, and all Piper wanted to do was get out of there.

At last, they reached the cool air of the passageway.

As she followed the guard back to her room, it was impossible not to mourn the loss of her freedom. In this world, it was clear she was invisible, a pawn and not a player.

Even Killian had just dismissed her without a thought.

Whatever she might have thought was between them, the reality of the situation was that Killian would always put his kingdom first.

And that begged the question - had there really been anything between them in the first place?

Or were his declarations all by design - meant to trick and trap her into cooperating. Convincing her that coming here was good idea was certainly easier than trying to drag her and the baby by force.

And the Fae were known to be tricky.

It’s not true. I know he feels what I feel…

But as she arrived in her room with the single window looking out over the frost-laced trees, she found that she wasn’t so sure.

17

Killian

Killian watched Piper walk away with their son, his heart breaking with each step she took.

She looked just like any other servant, except for the proud set of her shoulders.

This wasn’t the way he wanted to present them at court. This wasn’t what he wanted in any way.

Beside him, Wynter picked listlessly at her watercress soup, as if even that flavorless broth offended her somehow.

He closed his eyes and pictured Piper, drawing her bow, biceps flexing, concentration in her eyes like steel.

Nothing was too much for Piper. Not making love to him the night they met, not caring for the child on her own, not protecting and providing for the people she loved.

Piper was all in, all the time. She was fiercely independent, strong, and loyal. And the best he could offer her was the life of a servant - invisible, unimportant, vulnerable to the whims of the court.

He could sneak to her room when his duties allowed, and make love to her furtively, but he could never claim her as his own.

No matter what he told himself she was to him, the truth of the matter was that he’d had to watch her be dismissed from his company tonight and he couldn’t lift a finger.

And that was nothing, compared to what might come.

What would happen if he had to watch her be abused, or worse?

Bad things happened at fae court, even the Autumn Court, which considered itself quite civilized.

And very bad things happened to humans at a fae court.

It was not just a possibility that he would have to watch her be humiliated or hurt, it was almost certain. And when that happened, he wasn’t sure he would be able to