The Winter Court Book 2: The Fae's Queen
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M. L. Smith
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1,1M
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52
Chapter 55
FAEāS CAPTIVE PART II
Caz was a wreck of fury and heartache, loathing and longing as he stared down at Seraphina, his mind a tormented haze he couldnāt escape from.
Even now, when he wanted nothing more than to bring her crimes to light, to damn her for every truth Beatrix had divulged only minutes ago, he couldnāt help but notice how beautiful his mate was. How breathtaking, even while afraid.
Sheās afraid of me, a small part of him whispered, gutted.
But a larger, crueler part saw it as all the confirmation he needed of her guilt. Why fear him if she was innocent?
Sheād done thisādriven a wedge through their mating. Lied her way into his bed, into his heart. He was simply driving that wedge deeper. Adding fuel to the fire of her betrayal.
On some level, he still couldnāt believe where they stood now, the future bleak and in tatters at their feet.
Seraphinaās deception had led them to this moment.
Had anything ever been real between them? Or had lying always come naturally to his mate, her deceits so well hidden heād never noticed them until now?
Despair struck him like a bolt of lightning, searing him until he felt nothing but a torrent of pain and a malevolent storm he couldnāt control.
So, he didnāt.
He unleashed it upon her. He wanted her to hurt like sheād hurt him.
āYes, I know everything I need to know about you, Seraphina,ā Caz uttered darkly. āA half-breed servant,ā he spat, loathing the word even as it passed his lips. āThe daughter of my enemy. A female who stabbed me in the back at every opportunity. Your transgressions against me are boundless.ā
Just how deep did those transgressions go?
King Auburn had long ago revealed himself to be a cunning king. Had he discovered who Seraphina was to Caz a decade ago, before heād even realized it himself, and conspired to use her against him?
Had anything between Caz and Seraphina ever been real? Or had his mate lured him with her sweet words, her intoxicating temperature and lush body, making him feel emotions heād long thought lost?
Heād never felt for anyone the way he felt for Seraphina, not even Celeste.
And yet, Seraphina had deceived him as easily as that wretch had. His heart clenched hard, and agony radiated through him.
Only, it wasnāt physical, but emotional. Soul deep. The type of pain heād thought himself incapable of feeling ever again. He pushed it back, letting his anger, his hatred of this entire ordeal rise to the surface, reigniting his fury.
Seriās eyes stung with tears, and he hated the sight of them. Hated that they held power over him; that she did.
How could he want to wipe her tears away and apologize when it was she whoād hurt him? He didnāt know, but he did. Instead, he clenched his jaw so hard he felt a tooth crack from the strain.
āThatās not fair,ā Seraphina whispered, her voice thick with tears. āI didnāt choose my parents, and Iāve never betrayed youāā
He cut her off, not wanting to hear another lie from her beautiful lips. Not wanting his resolve to weaken as it had from the moment sheād walked into his life.
Loving his mate had been a weakness that cost him, and he needed it extinguished.
āYou made me crave you, fooled me into caring for you, all the while knowing I would never accept King Auburnās filthy offspring in my bed,ā he replied, his voice filled with self-loathing.
King Auburn was filthy, vile scum, incapable of producing anything but more of his own rot.
It was impossible to find those qualities in Seraphina, but Caz was determined to try. Determined to stop the battered emotions beating incessantly at his fractured heart.
All he wanted was to hear her excuses, her lies, to take everything sheād said at face value. But if he did that, heād only weaken himself further. Heād open himself, and his people, up to the possibility of another betrayal.
What would the next one cost him? His kingdom?
āThat Death Rattler,ā Cazimir continued angrily, desperate to find Seraphinaās true motives. āWas it even an actual attack, or was it a ploy to lure me to your side? For me to notice a pathetic, worthless little half-breed?ā
He twisted his question and the insults within, forming it in such a way that his words rang true, even if he didnāt believe them yet.
If sheād conspired against him like that, then she was worthless. She was pathetic. And heād never forgive the slight.
āStop calling me that,ā Seri bit out roughly, a tear sliding down her cheek.
His breath stalled. Youāre taking this too far.
Caz ignored it, hardening his resolve.
She wiped the tear away quickly before fisting the skirt of her dress. āWhat are you even asking me?ā
āHow far does your betrayal go, Seraphina?ā Cazimir demanded, shaking his head as he forced himself to continue.
āYou distracted me from my true purpose from the start. Was that the plan? To make me forget myself and my intention to go to war with your ilk? Did you know you were my mate before you even arrived here? Did your cunt father concoct another grand scheme against me, and were you all too excited to improve your social standing?ā
āListen to yourself!ā Seri exclaimed. āYou think I planned for you to kidnap me? That I plotted to almost die from poison, just so you would notice me? Why would I everāā
āTo fool me into caring for you!ā he bellowed, pain and despair thick in his voice as his words echoed into the night.
āHow can you even pretend to care about me? You wonāt even talk to me about this. Youāve insulted me at every turn. You threw a spear at me!ā Seri screamed, the same mix of emotions blending in her own voice.
It infuriated him. Heād done nothing but open his home and his heart to her. Heād mated her, made her his everything despite the trouble his court could cause because of it.
Heād killed his own allies to protect her, and she had the nerve to question his loyalty? To question how he felt?
āI dissolved that spear before it even came near you,ā Cazimir snapped, unable to address the other issues.
If he did, then he knew heād admit the truth. He didnāt just care for Seraphina. How he felt went so much deeperāand that was what made this entire situation excruciating. Unbearable.
āIf you hadnāt been weak and looked away, you would have known that, Princess Seraphina.ā
Seri narrowed her tear-filled eyes. āI think you mean Queen.ā
Cazimir hissed, stalking toward her. He invaded her space, the cold wafting off him in waves.
Despite everything, the pull to her was too great. He wanted to hold her, to drag her into his arms and pretend everything was fine. But with what sheād put him through, he couldnāt give in to his primal, instinctual urge to find comfort in her touch.
He couldnāt risk another mistake, not when it could cost him and his people everything.
And yet he couldnāt resist putting a hand to her cheek, desperate to feel her soft skin.
āMaking you my queen was a mistake,ā he whispered harshly, his soul weeping.
Heād been too hasty in mating her. Heād let someone in who could just as easily ruin his kingdom as save it.
He should have been more cautious.
Seraphina flinched as if heād struck her, and her breath caught in her throat, a new wave of tears rising to the surface.
His resolve to hurt her weakened, even as he rasped, āIf Iād known you were the daughter of King Auburn, I never would have touched you. How could I ever want someone like you?ā
Easily.
Because, no matter what sheād done, her heart beckoned him closer, like a moth to a flame. And his soul, the black, tarnished thing, craved the light in hers. Needed it, like he needed to feel the frost in the air. Like he needed to feel her warmth against his flesh, and her soft, sensual moans filling his ears as he took her.
Could she truly have faked everything?
āIf Iād known youād fucked Celeste, I never would have touched you either,ā Seraphina bit out through clenched teeth, another tear tracking down her face.
His eyes widened with surprise, nostrils flaring.
āThatās right,ā she goaded. āWhile you were discovering my secrets, I was learning yours.ā
āWho told you that?ā he asked, his fury stalling out suddenly in the wake of the fresh tears that slid down her face.
Unable to help himself, he wiped them away, his heart aching for an entirely different reason.
She didnāt react to his touch. It was almost as though she couldnāt even feel it.
When she didnāt answer, her eyes filled with so much turmoil, he asked again, āWho told you that?ā
