Trials of Dusk and Dreams (eBook)

It feels like a strange dream inside Legion’s study. Only a week ago, my problems revolved around avoiding babysitting duties and deciding which house to rob next. Now, I’m back in the middle of a war, caught between politics. The only difference is no one is using me as a tool. And I am mated to six demigods. Bodin’s possessive reaction proves our connection is trying to push through Titania’s enchantment.

He glares at me with expressive eyes, yet the rest of him is hard and unyielding. I should be angry—he shoved Briar. But as I look into his eyes and find vulnerability beneath the violence, I want to know why he tries to hide it. What happened in his very long life that shaped his personality? It’s hard to believe this reaction is born of Titania’s recent false narrative. It’s something else, something deeply experienced.

Emrys hasn’t moved an inch since the door closed. His rusty-colored eyes are always filled with so much bitterness. Styx lurks in the shadows between the bookcases, still pretending to read. Why do they distrust me so much? This version of them doesn’t even know me. So what did the other queens do to them?

And then there is Legion. He watches me, patiently, steadily. He is the First, the Knight Commander. He is too beautiful, enigmatic, and sophisticated to go unnoticed on a battlefield. The buttons on his double-breasted silk waistcoat accentuate his broad shoulders and athletic frame. His black silk shirt sleeves are rolled casually to his elbows, revealing muscular forearms as they rest on his desk. Long, silken hair falls from a widow’s peak. His skin is so pale and luminous that it reminds me of carved crystal. It was he who reached for me on that battlefield and locked elegant fingers around my ankle.

He who called me nothing.

And I called them monsters.

But I don’t think that makes Legion appear so sad and haunted. He probably doesn’t even remember now that Fox is gone. No, he seems to be the type who cannot be shaken from his foundations. Once he wants something, he takes it. He does not care if he must wait eons for the right time or opportunity. His hidden torment comes from somewhere else, and I want to know where. I want to banish it from his eyes so he is free to smile.

Just once.