Free Steal the Sun by Lexi Blake Page A

and got my first glimpse of my mother-in-law.
    Miria, Queen of Faery, sat upon her throne before me. There was a raised platform with three chairs. Miria sat on the largest of the three in between two slightly smaller thrones. All three were carved from oak and elaborate in their design. Declan sat in one to her right, a look of aloof superiority on his face. I’d been told the seat to her left was the one Dev used. There were several people standing around the queen, and I suspected they were counselors and high nobles. Padric stood closest to the queen. It was fitting as he was both the head of security for the royal family and the queen’s lover.
    Miria, Queen of Faery, was gloriously lovely. I was surprised to find she had long strawberry-blonde hair. I guessed the twins got their dark good looks from their father. Miria was fair but by no means bland. Her face was delicately sculpted, with high cheek bones and a lush mouth. Her eyes marked her as the twins’ relative. They were emerald green and sparkled with the same intelligence Dev had.
    “Dude,” Daniel said as we approached the throne. “That’s your mom?”
    She didn’t look old enough to be his mom, but that was the way it was with the Fae. They reached their prime and just stopped aging. Miria looked to be about twenty-five. Dev was twenty-seven now and would look older than his mother or brother had he not been taking Daniel’s blood regularly. Daniel’s blood stopped the aging process in humans when taken on a regular basis. I’d begun noticing that for Dev, it seemed to actually reverse aging a little. The fine lines around his eyes he got when he laughed had disappeared.
    Miria tried to maintain her cool composure but the closer we got the more her eyes ate up the sight of her son. I saw her eyes get glossy with unshed tears, and she reached out to Declan. He patted his mother’s hand and for a moment looked less like a brat prince.
    “Good evening, Mother,” Dev said formally as we reached the throne. He bowed deeply.
    I could see her son’s formal tone was not what the queen had been hoping for. “Devinshea, it is good to see you.”
    Dev didn’t give her anything. He nodded but chose to introduce us rather than reply. “Mother, this is my goddess, Zoey. And this is my partner, Daniel Donovan. I assume Declan brought you up to speed on my living arrangements.”
    That last was said coolly and with just a hint of challenge. He was just begging for his mother to say something disparaging about his lifestyle.
    Miria had none of that. She smiled broadly and stood, causing Declan to quickly get his butt up as well. She wore a lovely white gown and a crown that sparkled in the candlelight. “Yes, of course. Declan and Padric both spoke highly of your wife and partner.”
    Declan snorted at that. He didn’t like Danny. It probably had something to do with the fact that Daniel had kicked his ass the first time they met. “I certainly did not. I spoke poorly of him.”
    Miria ignored her elder son. She stepped off the platform and walked to us. “It is so good to meet you, daughter,” she said with what seemed like complete sincerity. The queen kissed my cheek and gave me a long look before turning to Dev and laughing brightly. “Well, Devinshea, you certainly brought a beauty home. You are lovely, dear.”
    “She is beautiful but not obedient,” Declan noted. “That is not the dress I told her to wear.”
    “Hush,” she admonished. “The dress is stunning and suits her far more than anything in our style. Our styles would swallow her beautiful body. Declan, you were right about her breasts. They are delicious looking.”
    The last bit was said with a slight breathless appreciation. I felt Danny tense beside me as he tried hard not to laugh at my sudden discomfort. My mother-in-law was looking me over with a sensual smile.
    “I told you,” Declan said with a lecherous grin.
    Dev leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Mother swings