Lord of the Hunt by Shona Husk Read Free Book Online Page A

couldn’t. She’d have to plunge in and survive to get what her parents needed.
    The King tilted his head a fraction. “She doesn’t mind living in the mortal world?”
    What answer did he want? Or was he just seeking any information? Of course her mother would rather be here—though Taryn had yet to figure out the attraction of Court—but would telling the King how her mother and father longed to come home help their cause? Besides, it was her mother’s choice to live in the human world. It was her father who was truly stuck. “She has my father to keep her company.”
    “You mean your father has her to keep him company.” He tapped the table as if he were annoyed with her answer. “She followed him into exile, yet here you are fairy, not changeling.”
    He knew her lineage. Fairies took the name of the fairy parent, as it made it easy to keep track of family trees. She didn’t know who her human sire had been and it didn’t matter.
    Taryn lifted her chin and met his icy gaze. “As you said, she isn’t in exile, so she came back to Annwyn to give birth.”
    His lips twitched. “Your mother was always a smart woman. Smart enough to be on my Council once. Do you take after her?”
    Taryn tried to hide her surprise as quickly as possible. Her mother had been on the Council? Yet she’d still chosen to leave with Taryn’s father over her service to the King. No wonder getting a pardon for her father had been a long time coming. Her heart sank as Taryn realized just what she had to achieve. Her mother had wounded the King’s pride. How was she ever going to convince him that her father should be allowed to return?
    “People say I look like her.” Maybe if the King still held a candle for her mother, it would be enough to eventually return both her parents to Court.
    “You do. It’s the eyes I think.” He looked at her for longer than was really necessary. “Any more siblings I should know about?”
    “No, sire. Raising a fairy child in the mortal world is hard work apparently. Though I know my mother would like another when they are allowed to return.” She held her breath, wondering if she’d pressed too far.
    “Your mother is always welcome in Annwyn.” The King lifted her hand and kissed it.
    Taryn resisted the urge to pull away; instead, she kept her attention on the King, her heart beating fast out of fear not desire. Just how far would she play this game to get the pardon? She was vaguely aware of other people at the table watching. What were they thinking?
    She swallowed. She had to make it clear that without her husband, Arlea would never return. If the King didn’t grant the pardon, she’d lose both her parents. “She would never leave her heart behind.”
    For a moment neither of them moved. Then the King laughed and released her hand. “You are more like her than you know.”
    Was that a good thing? She was beginning to wonder just what her mother had done to get on the Council. She knew fairies traded sex for favors, but hearing about it and being caught in it were two different things. Maybe she was too human to play fairy games.
    The Queen stood and clapped her hands. “I grow tired of talking. A dance!”
    Obediently, several of the diners at the table got up. Verden remained seated, his gaze carefully on the people attending the dinner. Everyone except her. She might as well have been invisible.
    “Cards.” The King held out his hand and a shadow placed a deck there.
    Dinner was removed so the table was clear for gaming. Then the King looked at her. “Do you know how to play any Court games?”
    Taryn shook her head. She wasn’t ready to play any kind of game with the King. She could almost feel the water getting deeper and the currents stronger, ready to drag her under.
    “Sit with me and learn. Verden.” The King beckoned him closer.
    Verden stood and walked over, cup in hand, then sat in the vacated seat. “What do we play?”
    “Omission, to teach the