Page 27 of A Fate of Wings

Her handmaiden appeared, sending her back straight as a board once again, forcing her to be the queen.

“Your majesty, breakfast is ready.” She curtsied.

“This way.” Thea drew me into step with her.

Her handmaiden fell into step behind us, but I was aware of her presence. Her intense gaze at my back. I didn’t trust anyone in this castle. Least of all the one person close enough to my mate to slip poison into her drink. To kill her as someone had killed her father. Was the quiet little handmaiden the culprit? Or were there more serious monsters hiding in these walls?

We entered the grand dining hall. Servants had laid the twelve-seater marble table with enough food to feed a dozen people, but only one person sat at the table. An identical version of Thea. Her twin sister. I’d seen them together before, but today the difference in the pair was glaring. Thea was bright and regal, whereas her sister’s scowl seemed forever etched on her face, making her darker, less like royalty, and more like a commoner.

“There you are,” the sister said.

“Melanie, this is the Beast. I’ve chosen him to be my mate.”

“Him?” She sneered. “He’s beneath you.”

“That is the point,” Thea said and stepped up to the chair at the head of the table. “He won the trials. He earned the right to be my mate.”

I drew the etched timber and burgundy leather chair out for her, waited for her to settle, then eased it back in. I walked to the end of the table and stood behind her sister’s chair.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re in my seat.”

“Sit over there.” She pointed across the table.

“As her mate, this is my seat.”

“Thea?” she whined.

Thea patted the chair beside her. “Come sit next to me.”

Her sister scowled harder. The atmosphere in the dining room became hostile to my senses. I stood still so as not to alert her to the knowledge I sensed rage. It was part of the gift of being a Rage Demon.

She shoved back her chair and stomped down the length of the table like a spoiled child. Thea smiled at her indulgently. Was she blind to her sister’s faults?

“Now then,” Thea said, once her sister sat at the table. “I need your help to prepare for the ceremony.”

Melanie’s eyes flicked to me, then back to Thea. She smiled demurely.

“Of course. We’ll decorate the courtyard with fringed orchids and daylight lilies. The seamstress has already prepared your gown. I’m assuming the seamstress has started his attire?”

“I’m certain Raelin would have set her the task already.”

“Yes.” She picked up her knife and fork.

I frowned but didn’t call her out on her poor etiquette of not waiting for the queen to pick up her cutlery first. Observing the way the sisters interacted gave me pause for thought.

“The yellow moon will appear soon.”

“It’s why I held the trials now,” Thea said, picking up her knife and fork.

I followed suit now the queen had eaten.

“Fitting, since you’re so fond of yellow,” Melanie said. She turned to me. “What about you, Beast?”

“What about me?” I shoveled a forkful of eggs into my mouth.

“What do you want for the ceremony?”