The Unseelie King (The Kings Book 6) by Heather Killough-Walden Read Free Book Online Page A

queen. So was Diana Chroi’s, an expecting mother on the verge of labor, as fae gestation periods were surprisingly fast compared to those of mortals.
    Their absences weren’t what had him worried. It was the spell he’d cast prior to calling the meeting in the first place that troubled him. It verified the High Witch’s claims. But he’d been a fool to doubt her, even for a second. And from where she sat at the opposite end of the table, Lalura Chantelle’s stern gaze brooked no recourse in reminding him of that fact.
    Never doubt Lalura Chantelle. Lesson learned.
    However, this was hard for Roman. They were the Thirteen Kings . There was not supposed to be a force on earth strong enough to penetrate their loyalties. Much less turn them against one another.
    And yet, here he was – staring at the evidence to the contrary.
    The Thirteen Kings were too powerful for any spell to work in a more accurate capacity amongst them. When Lalura had approached him with her news, they’d worked together to create a spell that would have a chance at working at all. The Thirteen were enormously powerful, and that magic permeated any space they occupied to the point that there was a miasma of magic in the air, filling every nook and cranny, alleviating all sense of normalcy to the point that the beginning of one man’s magic and the end of another’s simply couldn’t be deciphered. They were frankly the most powerful men in the realms – gathered together in a single room. It was quite literally magically overwhelming.
    But as Offspring of a warlock and an Akyri, vampires possessed magic of their own. Roman’s skills in the art, combined with Chantelle’s perplexingly immense capabilities, alas managed to procure a spell that would not necessarily give them the exact answers they required, but would at least verify their concerns.
    They’d settled on an “aura.” As a mortal’s aura changed with intent and emotion, so would the aura in the room. It was the best they could do.
    Now Roman gazed rather dejectedly at only the vaguest proof that deception sat among them. The opposing magics of everyone in the room also caused the spell to lag, so that it could not be pinned to any one king’s arrival or entrance, further complicating the situation. It took a few minutes for the darkness to arrive, and he had no indication of who was causing it.
    But the fact that it had come to fruition at all was devastating enough. Roman’s heart sank to know that the worst scenario they could encounter had actually come to pass. There was a traitor among them. One of the Thirteen was not on their side.
    The men and women at the table watched him in a strange sort of silence, as if they could sense that something enormous was occurring and was about to be revealed. His gaze trailed over each and every one of them. To his left sat his queen, Evelynne. At the moment, she watched him with knowing apprehension; she’d been with them since Lalura had arrived, and was well aware of what was happening. She also knew him well by now, and could read the expression on his face. She knew he’d learned the worst.
    Her brown, gold-flecked eyes were large in her beautiful face, their gold highlights made more intense with her vampirism. He gazed upon her, feeling the warmth in his chest that he always felt when he realized that she was his – that he had turned her. That she’d wanted him to. No man’s luck would ever be greater than his.
    He tried to give her a reassuring look, wanted to put her quick, comprehending mind at ease. But for the first time in a very long while, he simply did not have it in him. There was too much that was wrong.
    So instead, he looked away.
    To Evie's left sat the Phantom King, Thanatos, dressed in the black leather jacket and jeans that signified he’d come directly from his “job” the moment he’d received Roman’s message. Thane was good at knowing when things were serious. A man who worked with wrongful deaths