The Dark Huntsman: A Fantasy Romance of The Black Court (Tales of The Black Court Book 1) by Jessica Aspen Read Free Book Online Page A

change his answer.
    Only one. Only one. Only one.
    Her slender fingers tap, tap, tapped together in a pyramid. He kept his gaze steady, facing her without flinching. His life, his uncles’ lives, and that of the woman he now hid, all depended on him. How had he come to this? Too long imprisoned without a woman and he’d made a snap decision looking at her naked body.
    He must have been mad.
    He forced himself to drive all doubts from his mind, all thoughts of the witch and her possibilities. All desires. He held fast to his statement. His truth.
    One death for the queen.
    Tap, tap, tap.
    She had better be worth it.
    Tap, tap, tap.
    The moment hung in the air until his back was wet. The queen eased back down onto her throne, never taking her disconcerting eyes off of his.
    “Haddon!” she snapped out. Still looking at Logan. Still tapping her fingers.
    The queen’s secretary and chief counsel scurried over. A tall, thin man with pale green skin and lank, green, weedy hair whose boot-licking had propelled him a long way up the social ladder since Logan had first met him as a child. They whispered back and forth. The queen’s eyes never breaking their vicious hold.
    Logan waited. Legs slightly spread, hands folded behind his back, knees bent. He could stand like this for hours, and he might need to. She’d left others until they dropped. Did she forget, just move on? Or did she do it on purpose? She did love to torture.
    The queen and Haddon stopped whispering, their heads still close together. They eyed Logan. A pair of cats eyeing a mouse, deciding whether to play with him some more or move straight to devouring. The queen’s long tapping fingers stilled. Behind him, he could sense the court gathering for the feast.
    “Haddon believes it is possible they might have had some warning. He will find out how they might have gotten the information. Owen, my current mirror, grows old. He’s only human, after all. Their bodies wear out so soon.” Her fleeting, feral smile chilled the sweat running down his spine.
    “But what shall we do with you now?” Her lips grew taut, tiny sparks of anger crackled from her skin.
    His world became small. All his instincts screamed in order to survive this moment all he had to do was hold still.
    Very still.
    He had no friends here without the prince. No one would go against the queen on his behalf. His agenda was clear.
    First, survive this moment and get out of court. Second, safeguard his witch and find out why she was important. Third, find out where the hell Prince Kian was and enlist his help.
    Or give Prince Kian what help he could.
    “You’ve had time to think on what defying me costs, and this killing does provide some evidence of penance.” The queen’s lovely wicked eyes measured his value. “I suppose I could use your prison for someone else, if it were empty…” The entire court inhaled, sucking up the available oxygen and leaving a palpable vacuum.
    “I will not put you back in. You may go." The queen relaxed back in her throne and gestured to a serving girl for a cup. Logan nearly toppled from the breeze of a thousand exhales.
    “My lady, this takes care of my service to you.”
    She looked down at him, surprise etched on her face.
    “Do you think so?” She raised her eyebrows, her lips pursed. “I do not. You were supposed to be my Huntsman and you refused my wishes.”
    “Fifteen years of imprisonment and this service should bring us even.”
    “Even!” she hissed. “You defied me and worse than that, you encouraged my son to defy me. Do you think you can ever repay me?” Her eyes swirled into a maelstrom of purple. Logan struggled to retain his calm as the tapping began again, accelerating to a fast staccato.
    “How can you consider this a service? One measly creature killed when you should have killed four. They should be dead! And you were supposed to have made sure they were dead, but you did not. I need them all killed. All of them. Every last