The Mortal Queen | The Cruel Prince / Wicked King Fanfic

Nine

Jude

The way Cardan is looking at me right now with that smirk is unnerving. He's confident and insistent that a truce between us is possible. Something about it is still bothering me. I'm sure he can see the uncertainty on my face.

I'm briefly distracted by what he pulled in the bathroom, sneaking up on me like that. I can't believe I let my guard down. Still, seeing his eyes on mine the moment I noticed him in there with me, made my heart skip a beat and then plummet into my toes.

And the way he ran his fingers through my hair makes my skin tingle at the memory of it. It was so gentle and intimate.

I can't quite wrap my head around everything that's happened today, much less understand the major changes I've noticed about him since we've been apart. Or is it that it's been so long since I've seen him that I don't remember exactly what he was like before?

He's confident and assertive, not to mention extremely charming and devastatingly good-looking. I remember his unending charm and, oh, the good looks are as I remember them. That alone is going to get me into trouble. But the other things are noticeably more prominent than before. No doubt this is all due to his newfound freedom and making his own decisions. He's grown into his responsibilities. Without me.

I hear him say my name, and it draws me out of my distracted thoughts.

"Hmm?" I ask, meeting his gaze.

"Are you alright?"

"Mm, yes. Sorry. It's been a strange morning."

He runs a hand through his dark curls. "Why don't you tell me some of those other reasons you're so convinced are standing in the way of us forming a partnership."

How does he not have any reservations about this whole thing? Doesn't he have doubts? I bite my bottom lip, trying to gather up the nerve to admit this next part.

"Cardan. I'm—human." I hold up my hand to start ticking things off on my fingers. "Mortal. Weak. Nothing. What could I possibly have to offer that you would see worthy of an ally?"

He's crossed his arms over his chest, and I am positive he didn't think I'd take the conversation in this direction, and I've stunned him into silence. He gently taps his index finger against his upper lip.

Before he has a chance to respond, I poke his chest with my finger. "You once told me how disgusted you were with yourself for thinking about me, a mortal." I say softly.

My eyes bore into his, and I know he knows what I'm referring to. He remembers it as well as I do, when I held a knife to his throat and kissed him.

"Well, that was before." He says with a crooked smile, throwing my words from earlier back at me. And for whatever reason, he's stalling.

"Before what?" I ask.

He takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment before letting it out.

"What is this? Are you suddenly loathing yourself for being human?"

"No, of course not." I say, folding my arms now, looking away from him. I don't want to admit to him how much I have wished to become one of them. To not be human.

"But we both know how humans are perceived by those in Faerie. We're weak and untrustworthy."

His mouth slowly morphs into a devious grin. Bastard. I can't imagine what's so amusing to him.

"What's—" Right at that moment there's a distant roll of thunder outside. Curious, I break eye contact with him and walk across the room to my window. I pull one side of the curtain away and see the dark clouds coming in, blocking out the sun. And the wind is picking up.