Gross. Ursula felt the fire rising in her chest.

“I’m still working on taming her.” Kester gave a low bow, and she resisted elbowing him in the gut.

Oberon let out a snarl. “Since I can’t have her, I would like to watch you mate with her.”

Ursula’s jaw dropped open. What?

Kester smiled nonchalantly, as if this were a completely reasonable suggestion. “Of course. But she’s a bit shy. We must go somewhere with a smaller crowd.”

Her heart raced. That wasn’t what he meant by claiming, was it? Obviously, Kester was hot, but she wasn’t about to put on a public show.

“Fine,” said Oberon. “I’ll take you to my exclusive suite.”

Kester nodded. “She won’t disappoint.”

Ursula bit down a thousand angry retorts. What. The. Fuck. She tried not to scowl, reminding herself that they were here for Zee, and that surely Kester had some plan in mind that didn’t involve shagging her in front of the king. Then again, it wasn’t like Kester was open about his plans.

One of the guards beckoned them forward, and Kester led her onto the dais, pulling her close. Oberon stamped the butt of the halberd on the wood. With a slight jerk, the whole platform began to rise slowly into the air, until they were thirty feet off the ground.

Kester leaned into her, whispering, “Don’t worry.”

The dais continued to rise, until they were a hundred feet in the air, the crowd below growing smaller. She tried not to give in to the vertigo, or the disorientation of realizing that the columns were actually enormous tree roots. Are we in a giant tree? Dizzy, she stepped back from the edge.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Oberon intoned from behind her. “I’ve ruled these fae since we first came from the heavens, and I never grow tired of the view.”

She turned, surveying the king. His eyes were clear and his skin unlined. If she’d been asked, Ursula would have guessed he was no older than forty, though with his strange coloring and enormous size, he looked distinctly otherworldly. She wasn’t supposed to speak, and this man was creepy enough that she was actually pleased with that particular demand. So she just widened her eyes, trying to look as innocent and stupid as possible.

He moved closer to her, bending over her neck and taking a long sniff. “Ahh. I never get tired of that, either. The scent of a female ready to mate.”

Revulsion rose in Ursula’s throat. Get me out of here. I’ll take Emerazel’s hellfire over this guy.

The king continued on his monologue. “I was born before the sundering, before the gods were exiled from the heavens, and yet I still thrill at the sight of a young beauty like you.” He laced his fingers together. “Out of curiosity, has the Headsman told you how old he is?”