I can't help but smirk. "Well, what else can explain their calm?” I say, my voice dripping with contempt. "I have a lifetime of stories about what you are capable of. Hell, half the continent is gone because ofyour kind."
The king's eyes flash angrily, and I almost regret my words. Almost. But then again, I'm not one to back down from a fight, even if it means putting myself in danger.
"You speak out of ignorance," he says, his voice low and dangerous. "Your people are now our people. We treat them with respect and honor, and they in turn do the same for us. Do you believe the rumors that we eat humans?
I scoff. "Perhaps not, but you had to steal me to make me your bride. Where did your reputation come from in the first place,Butcher?” My cheeks are hot. Every time I'd gotten mad at him before, a softening came shortly after. Something that made him question whether or not it was right to be so harsh with me.
Right now, he doesn't back down. “People and civilizations can change. Look behind you," he demands, holding his arm out toward the party happening around us.
I look behind me, taking in the celebratory atmosphere of the gathered people. They laugh, drink, eat, and everything is light. Then, my eyes follow his arm to look at the children dancing around the fire.
"Our young are the most valuable part of our community. Our future. Do you see many?"
I count less than twenty, but he doesn't wait for me to answer.
"I have helped many humans, and I’ve never seen any with as many scars as you. It... pains me to think about what you have endured at the hands of the giants. More than you will ever know. But," he speaks passionately, “we are showing you that we trust you because we understand loyalty is earned, not demanded. Why won’t you extend us the same courtesy as our future queen?”
"Right, because having the power to crush them like insects has nothing to do with it."
He steps closer into the shadows with me, his breath hot against my cheek. He is everywhere, too close and not close enough. "You think that we use our songs to trick and control you? Would you like to see our power, Estela?" he murmurs, his lips only inches away from mine. "Would you like to feel it?"
I shudder, both in fear and anticipation. It would be insanity to accept. But… the coiling in my stomach and the humming in my chest says yes. Demands it. So I nod, knowing that I'm making a mistake in allowing myself to get so close to him.
He smiles and takes my hand, pulling me from the shadows and into the light of the fire. The flames dance around us, filling the air with warmth and song that chase away my doubts and fears. I feel like I am soaring, free, and unburdened by the world.
"Velen! A new song. One for me to dance to with my bride,” the king calls. Then he says something in his language.
A man with a solemn, tight face nods and steps between two of the enormous crystals all around the room. The features of this Enduar are striking in the same way the king's is, all sharp, masculine angles and a strong jaw. His beauty has me glancing up at the man escorting me by the arm just before I realize that this is exactly what kind of crystal siren could lure me to my death.
When Velen starts his song, everyone goes quiet. His notes reach up and down and outside of the boundaries of what I've known sound to be. It sings of a power greater than we can comprehend, of a longing that cannot be filled.
“You see?” the king murmurs as he pulls me close. He situates my hand on his large bicep and takes my other one with his hand. Then he pulls me close. My breasts brush the space below his chest, but I don’t care. Something inside of me urges me closer. “The song comes from the cavern, from the rocks and minerals that make up our world. We simply use it to enhance the feelings of a room, not create them.”
Hostia1. I suck in a breath. That would mean that my attraction to him is genuine. My eyes are drawn to Teo’s face, and there’s unbridled marvel in my mind as I allow myself to memorize his blue skin. His eyes pull down at the corners, contributing to the stern expression he seems to wear often, but I can just begin to see kind lines around his mouth—and it intrigues me to see such a blatant example of how his smile never quite reaches his eyes.
Sadness lingers in him. Regret. Torment. It’s a mirror into my own soul.
The entire cavern echoes the rhythm and melody back, submerging us all in a sound unlike anything I would ever be able to compare in my lifetime. Pure beauty and vibration while I twirl, helpless in his arms.
My heart breaks with the movements of his mouth. And then another sound joins into his, and the crystals resonate the harmonies. My emotions weave through me like threads in a tapestry—there is one who longs for something with a ferocity that refuses to be reciprocated.
To be honest, I have never experienced an emotion so potent. The only love I’d ever felt was toward Mikal. It was the type of enduring love borne out of labor and worry. He is my only family.
This is different. Butterflies come to life in my stomach while I watch Teo, and I long to touch his face to see if this is another dream. The truth is, despite the images of ecstasy invading my thoughts, I didn’t know anything about sex past breeding. I’d heard that it could be a good distraction, and some men even made it pleasurable for the women.
If anyone were to touch me, to make love to me—giant prince or otherwise—my value would have been shattered like a glass phial on the rocks. What good is a toy that has already been broken?
But right now, the king doesn’t look at me like he’d hurt me. My pulse is almost painful between my legs. I can see giving into the demands between us and kissing him. I’m practically consumed by imagining what his lips would feel like on my throat. If those pointed teeth were as sharp as they looked.
I gasp when the crystal in my chest starts to resonate with the glorious sound. It’s stoking this fire within me. For the first time, I remember to be embarrassed.
Relief comes quickly when I look around and see everyone closing their eyes. Their gems glow brightly to the power of the man's voice. Even Arlet, who lets the tears stream down her face without restriction.
Then, the king lifts my chin, and I glimpse the glowing, otherworldly red and orange of the gem’s color embedded in his chest seconds before I look into his silver-blue eyes. I can feel his power pulsating beneath his skin. It is like a current drawing me in on gentle waves.
“Your thoughts are loud.”
My cheeks flush, but not from shame. I want to resist, to escape from him, but I can't. I am both captivated and scared of what will happen when I let go and succumb to pure sound. It’s like I'm in a dream.