Crown of Faeries

19 | Veneer

I glanced up at Weston to see if this was a joke or something, but it wasn't. Weston's eyes were like golden coins as he stared blankly at the back of Kieran.

My soft gasp from not too long ago caused Kieran to turn around slowly. His strong form glittering through the sun pouring in through the windows. The curtains flapped and fluttered around him in large arcs, mimicking the wings that buried themselves in his back. His earthy toned eyes soft at first as he viewed me from where he stood, but then turned to something else.

I would have sworn guilt rippled through those dark caverns in his irises, but his eyes looked away from me to land on Weston.

Kieran's jaw tightened as he looked at the prince. "Thank you for bringing her." He said nonchalantly. My eyes flickered to Weston to see him nod his head quietly. "Could we have a moment alone?" Kieran finished as his eyes bored into Weston's.

"Sure." Weston said with an arrogant sly to his word as he back peddled out of the room. His hand slipped from my shoulder to my waist as he passed me, sending a new profound warmth and...love through my body.

I glanced at him with rosette cheeks, embarrassed by the way I'd felt from a common sincere goodbye. I watched as he slipped past the opened doors and closed them with a soft hiss of air.

Kieran and I stood there silently for a moment as we stared at one another. His black button down was tucked into a pair of dark washed jeans that hugged every curve and muscle in his lean body. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to just below his elbows and the collar was unbuttoned one too many than needed, showing off that small hint of chest hair and his broad chest.

"How have you been." He spoke coolly and calmly to me.

"Shitty." I retorted and he gave me a pointed look. But he never bothered to ask me how I was really doing.

Kieran nodded his head and moved away from the fluttering curtains. "I was shocked when Weston said he could get you out for a few moments."

"Shocked?" I snorted. Out of habit and my small temper rising, I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Caelia. You're not the only one on trial, do you know that?" His eyes hardened and his muscles in his arms flexed as he stepped slowly closer to me. Making the distance between us suffocatingly slow. "My father has placed me against the Crown and is painting me a sympathizer for the others." His face twisting to an image of pure hatred.

"I never knew you hated them so much." My words coming out more venomous then intended.

Kieran's eyes drifted to mine. "Hate them? No. I just don't see the point in the old ways. The world is beginning to change and the Crown will be the new way of governing our kind."

"Our kind?" I almost laughed. Kieran's eyes darkened. "You're a Reaper, Kieran. You're not even Fae."

"So?" He spat as he closed the distance between us. His chest curving downwards so his face could hover above my own. "I'm needed. More than a Seelie princess." His fingers reached out to clip the tips of my ears.

I yanked back and away from him with a single jerk. "Don't touch me!" I shouted at him.

With a speed that matched Gods, Kieran landed on me. His hands grabbed my wrist and jerked them behind my back. He jilted them downwards and I gasped as I heard my spine pop as he bent me backwards slightly.

Growling as he poked his nose against mine, his lips parted in a snarl. "I told you I loved you and now you don't even want me to touch you?"

His words shocked me and for some reason I couldn't piece together the time of when he'd ever told me such a thing. "Kieran, what did you do?" I heard my voice crack with fear as I watched those earthy eyes turn to dark coal.