Free The Renegade's Heart by Claire Delacroix Page A

to the far end of the high table and paused to study each
person who sat there. He slid his fingertips along the lip of the
table, and Elizabeth saw the silvery sparkle of Fae dust left by
his touch.
    He moved past Alexander and Eleanor quickly,
almost dismissively. He paused before Annelise, surveying her so
intently that Elizabeth feared for her older sister. Had he come to
seize a mortal bride?
    To Elizabeth’s relief, he shook his head and
moved on.
    He watched Isabella with an intensity that
made terror coil in Elizabeth’s gut. His eyes were so dark that
they appeared to have no pupils. He could have been a man with a
thousand dark secrets, every one of them dangerous for a mortal to
know. That he stared so long at Isabella could be no good thing,
but without revealing that she could see him, Elizabeth did not
know what to do.
    He nodded abruptly, some decision made. What
did his nod mean? Elizabeth’s heart pounded when he took a step
closer to her. She swallowed and made to look at her trencher
again, knowing that this otherworldly king would survey her
next.
    And he would realize that she could see
him.
    She felt him pause before her. There was
silence and stillness of such intensity that Elizabeth knew he
looked upon her. Finally she could stand it no longer, and flicked
a glance toward the messenger, knowing she would see this Fae king
when she did as much.
    He had turned away, much to her relief, his
gaze fixed upon the ceiling. Elizabeth looked upward and saw the
glittering ribbons that rose from her and her sisters. In fact,
there was a tangle of ribbons against the ceiling of the hall,
rising from all the people in the hall in a glorious riot of
colors. Elizabeth had learned that her ability to see these ribbons
was a gift, for they indicated the bonds of true love. She had seen
the ribbons of her siblings entwined with the spouses they had
eventually taken. The king smiled and she knew he saw them as
well.
    He reached behind himself to one of his
attendants, who offered a dark snake to him. Elizabeth realized
that it had once been a ribbon, but now it was musty and rotten. It
trailed back out the doorway, past the portal and into the night.
He gave it a tug and it did not break, so it yet had an inner
strength – and more than might have been assumed by appearances.
Indeed, when he shook it, some of the dust fell from it, and
Elizabeth could see that it had once been a rich purple.
    One of his attendants took flight and seized
the copper ribbon that unfurled above Isabella, presenting it to
the king. He knotted them together securely, testing the strength
of the bond, then cast them skyward together.
    To what man had the king bound Isabella?
    He turned and met her gaze so abruptly that
Elizabeth had no chance to pretend she could not see him. Her heart
stopped cold and she was snared in the shadowed depths of his gaze.
His eyes seemed to draw her ever closer, pulling her into a void in
which nothing mattered but the Fae king and his desires. She felt
her resistance to him fade and die, felt herself start to rise to
follow him.
    He held up a finger and she knew he wanted
her to stay.
    She sat back, enthralled by him.
    The king smiled at her, as if amused by her
reaction. He reached up and seized her ribbon, a banner of
brilliant crimson that glimmered in the light from the candles. He
seemed to admire it, then turned a twinkling glance upon her as he
broke it without remorse. He flung one end aside, giving the end
that extended to her a little tug.
    His words echoed in her thoughts, his voice
so rich and melodious that she could have listened to him forever. One day, beauteous Elizabeth, you will come to me. His smile
broadened. I already grow impatient . He stared into her eyes
for a long moment, a yearning burgeoning within Elizabeth with just
that glance.
    The Fae king pivoted abruptly and returned to
his steed, his cloak flaring behind him and the beast stamping in
its impatience to be gone. Elizabeth