The Wicked King excerpt by Holly Black (The Folk Of The Air, #2)
(major spoilers for The Cruel Prince below; sharing this here because everyone deserves to know about this omg)
We danced once before, at the coronation of Prince Dain. Before the murdering began. Before I took Cardan prisoner at knifepoint. I wonder if he is thinking of it when he spins me around the Milkwood.
He might not be particularly practiced with a blade, but as he promised the hagās daughter, heās a skilled dancer. I let him steer me through steps I doubtless would have fumbled. My heart is racing and my skin is slicked with sweat.
Papery moths fly above our heads, circling up as though tragically drawn to the light of the stars.
āWhatever you do to me,ā I say, too angry to stay quiet. āI can do worse to you.ā
āOh,ā he says, fingers tight on mine. āDo not think I forget that for a moment. Youād never allow it.ā
āThen why?ā I demand.
āYou believe I planned your humiliation?ā he laughs. āMe? That sounds like work.ā
āI donāt care if you did or not,ā I tell him, too angry to make sense of my feelings. āI just care that you enjoyed it.ā
āAnd why shouldnāt I delight to see you squirm? You tricked me,ā Cardan says. āYou played me for a fool and now I am the King of Fools.ā
āThe High King of Fools,ā I say, sneer in my voice. Our gaze meets and thereās a shock of recognition, of mutual understanding that our bodies are pressed too close. I am conscious of my skin, of the sweat beading on my lip, of the slide of my thighs against one another. I am aware of the warmth of his neck beneath my twined fingers, of the prickly brush of his hair and how I want to sink my hands into it. I inhale the scent of him ā moss and oak wood and leather. I stare at his treacherous mouth and imagine it on me.
Everything about this is wrong. Around us, the revel is resuming. Some of the Court glances our way, because some of the Court always looks to the High King, but Lockeās game is at an end.
Go back to the palace, Cardan had said and Iād ignored the warning.
(more here) go read it! iām wayyy too excited for this
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