Page 189 of The Fallen Fae King

Liviana huddles against the headboard. The jewels are still laid out in front of her, but she no longer has any attention to spare for them. Instead, she is fully focused on me.

It would be possible to imagine that Liviana didn’t even know Aquila, the bloodied Omega that I am dragging in with me, apart from the tightening of her lips.

I slam the door shut behind me, then hurl Aquila to the floor between us like an accusation.

Is this going to be enough?

I don’t want her head. I want the heads of her mother and Aquila’s father.

I wait for Liviana to speak first, only she doesn’t.

Grudgingly, I respect that.

She would have made an excellent soldier in my army.

“Anything to say?” I demand.

Liviana merely arches her brow. “Why are you throwing bleeding soldiers into my bedroom? Discipline your cadets somewhere else, Aurelius. I need to prepare for breakfast. Today is a special day for us, remember?”

Aquila’s face flashes with hurt.

Liviana is a good actress. I would almost believe her, apart from the way that she’s unable to stop her cold gaze from darting to the cut on Aquila’s lip.

I kick Aquila in the gut, hoping that it will make Liviana flinch.

She doesn’t.

But she’s holding herself unnaturally still. The fact that she doesn’t flinch is more telling than if she had.

I kick Aquila again, and he curls around himself, hugging his stomach.

Liviana is now like a statue.

I circle Aquila. “I discovered this morning that this traitor was plotting against my cousin. Can you believe that?”

“Shocking. But what has that got to do with me?” There was only the slightest hesitation before Liviana replied, but it was there.

I grab Aquila’s hair, forcing him to raise his head and face Liviana. “You’re going to be ruling alongside me. You should start making decisions that are more important than what jewel you’re going to wear. For example, what life is more important and who deserves to die?”

“Die?” Liviana’s voice is fainter.

I roughly let go of Aquila, and he catches himself on his hands with a grunt of pain. “He’s a silver elite. You must know him. Is his life worthless? Or worth more than ambition?”

“I don’t know.” Liviana is wringing the blanket between her hands. “This has nothing to do with me.”

“Did I accuse you of something? Unless you did know about his plot?”

“I had nothing to do with any plot,” Liviana replies, shriller. “It was all him.”

Aquila’s face crumples with devastated betrayal. Then he pointedly turns away, refusing to look at her.

Got her.

“Wait.” Liviana scrambles out of the bed to the edge of the mattress, knocking the jewels flying like they are trash. “What will happen to him?”

I grab Aquila’s elbow and haul him to his feet. He doesn’t resist. He stands like the life has been drained from him.

“I’ll take him to the Silver Basilica,” I casually reply, “and have the traitor executed. Why don’t you come with me? You can watch as a wedding gift from me. We can keep his head to decorate the end of our nest.”