Page 65 of Wings of Snow
I abruptly released her and suppressed my dragon affinity until my appearance returned to normal.
Georgyanna gulped in air. Fear shone from her eyes, and for the first time she looked at me with apprehension. Gone were her playful swats on my arm or teasing fingers trailing down my stomach. I’d allowed her flirtatious antics previously only out of good manners, but now...good manners be damned.
From now on, she would only see the Death Master. Especially if this was the kind of crap she pulled when I wasn’t in residence.
I did a one-eighty, then stalked toward the door, intent on tracking down Balbus before I left to see what other misgivings Georgyanna had been up to in my absence. If she’d hurt others, I wanted to know so I could do right by their families. I couldn’t directly do anything, of course. My father never allowed it since it didn’t portray me as the monster he’d so carefully crafted in the public’s image, but I’d found ways around that.
Daiseeum wouldn’t be the first servant in this castle to stumble upon a box of rulibs in her home or baskets of fresh food and produce on their kitchen counter. I had to do all of those acts discreetly and anonymously, but Balbus knew that and assisted me each time.
With Daiseeum, it would be no different. I would find a way to provide something for her too. It wouldn’t in any way detract from the horrors she experienced today, but perhaps, it would ease some of the burden she felt—that most Solis felt—in the harsh state of our continent’s failing crops.
I was at the door, my hand turning the doorknob, when Georgyanna abruptly spat from behind me, “You’re a monster! Truly, you are! You’re as despicable as everyone says you are!”
I faced her as I swung the door open, then showed my teeth again even though they were back to normal fae form.
I smirked. “You’re the one who wanted to marry me.”
She picked up her book and threw it at me.
A gust of my air affinity knocked it off course before it was even halfway across the room. She shrieked in outrage, then stomped her foot and stormed to the bathing chamber before slamming the door behind her.
Smiling darkly, I walked into the hall and closed the door behind me, intent on finding Balbus before I left.
* * *
I foundBalbus and quickly confirmed that Daiseeum wasn’t the first servant to suffer under Georgyanna’s hand. Consequently, I made a list of what I needed Balbus to do for the families she’d affected.
Once finished, he bowed deeply. “It will be done, my prince.”
He held his chin higher, a righteous gleam in his eye. I knew he would help right all of the wrongs my witch fiancée had enacted.
“Is there anything else I need to be aware of that’s happened while I’ve been gone?”
Balbus frowned. “There is one other thing, Your Highness. Another servant has gone missing.”
I froze. “When?”
“Last night. There’s no sign of him, and when he didn’t show up for work this morning, we found his supplies in disarray in the domal stables where he labors.”
“And nobody saw or heard anything?”
“No, my prince. It’s been just like the other times when fae have gone missing.”
A sense of foreboding curled around me. “Thank you for the update, Balbus.”
He bowed, then swiftly left.
Brooding over the latest disappearance, that my father was most likely behind, I headed to my mother’s tower in a hurry. If more fae had gone missing, then my father was actively working against us again. I needed to check on my mother even though every second that passed gave Drachu more opportunity to know we were coming.
I crossed the threshold of her warded wing and flew up the hundred steps to the top of her tower.
I found the queen of the Solis continent sitting in her favorite chair, near the balcony. I slipped into her chambers, completely silent, yet I knew she detected me before I was halfway across the room.
The magic that caged her affinities sequestered her from much of her abilities, but it would never be able to fully extinguish them. She was too strong. Too powerful. Yet, here and now, she was a shell of the fairy she’d once been.
“Mother? Are you well?” I asked, coming up behind her.
She abruptly stood and walked outside to the balcony before placing her hands on the railing.