Miracle Child

Vesper's POV The King held court only when he was planning something. Something that wouldn’t be fun for me. Today was no different. In fact, judging by the quirk of his lips and glee in his eyes, this plan of his would make life significantly more difficult for me. I’d been summoned shortly after the suns converged at the white agate palace, morning for the citizens of Solaris. I’d been in the middle of drills with the raptors directly under my command when, at the mere whim of the King, my shadows shifted me to the side of the male who commanded me through the unbreakable blood bond. Fury had my blood boiling as shadows leaked from my skin, but there was nothing I could do about it. Instead, I knelt at the side of a pale opal throne intricately carved into a tangle of vines. The male sprawled on the ornate seat didn’t notice my anger, though. He was too busy watching the citizens of this city in the sky as they fell over themselves for his attention. All of them wore rich, extravagant garments of vibrant colors, except for red. The King hated red, so these greedy bastards avoided it. Every lousy excuse for a fae that lived in this city was the top of our society. Nobles, they would have been called in Psyrus, the realm belonging to humankind. They ruled over this side of Erythium, high above everyone else, but no one was above the male to my left. I did not know what was happening, what had these usually unruffled, arrogant fae all bothered, but I imagined it was why I had been summoned. Amethyst eyes finally turned to me as he bared his teeth in a grin with a hint of madness. A shiver had my faltering control snapping back into place, my shadows dissipating as quickly as they’d appeared. My face turned to the ground against my control, and I gritted my teeth as I glared at the fresh scars along my forearm. Blood bonds were an ancient form of fae magic that only the King and a handful of favored citizens were able to use. All active raptors were bound directly to the King, but those few that survived past their usefulness were offered to those who resided on Solaris. More times than not, these fae didn’t want the broken, wasted leftovers of the King. Still, the few that were accepted had more freedom than we did. The citizens were not as familiar with the extent of the bond, leaving their raptors with more autonomy than we had. “Vesper,” purred the King softly, still not allowing me to raise my head from where I stared at my braced arm on bent knee, “I’ve greatly upset my court today.” The statement was unnecessary, and I bit my response back. I wasn’t the best at controlling my emotions, or rather, I wasn’t very good at hiding my anger, especially at this male who held complete control over my very being. Most other emotions didn’t bother me too much, especially when softness or tenderness would only be used against me. I nodded sharply, and he chuckled low in his throat. “I thought they’d be happy for me,” he lied with amusement in his voice. He knew precisely what he was doing. He always did. “I figured they’d enjoy the idea of my family expanding,” he continued, and my face cleared as confusion replaced the anger. The Queen was baren, as were many of the females in this city, and since the birth of a male heir, she hadn’t allowed the King anymore mistresses. And, as far as I was aware, neither the prince nor the princess were expecting. “I’m bringing a bride for my heir,” he explained, obviously wishing to elicit the same response from me as he had from his citizens, “I made a bargain twenty years ago.” My blood ran cold at the way his tone turned sly. Dread had me shutting my eyes, but it didn’t stop my ears from taking in his words, “I intend to make that human I acquired the next SolFae Queen.”