Chapter 6 CHAPTER SIX

DAMON

She was pretending.

Even now, as the sleek car glided along the coastal highway toward Stormhold, Ella Kane sat stiffly beside me in the back seat, pretending she wasn’t terrified. Pretending she hadn’t spent the entire ride staring out the tinted window like she was plotting her escape. 

A small, dangerous smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I watched her reflection in the darkened window. 

I knew the truth the moment she first walked into that dining hall in Stormhold two nights ago.

I had known she wasn’t Mira Kane 

Before any meeting of political significance, I gathered information. It was not paranoia. You did not make decisions of consequence without first understanding what you were deciding about.

Rhys had put the file together. Three days before the courtship meeting I knew everything about Mira Kane that was worth knowing…Court of Silk, minor noble family, one daughter, pointed ears, documented magical ability.

The girl who had stepped out of the carriage had round ears concealed beneath a veil that was doing the glamour underneath it very little good. Her magic was not suppressed or hidden.

It was simply absent.

The glamour never worked on me.

Not even for a second.

I sensed the fragile illusion the instant she crossed the threshold….the subtle wrongness in the shape of her ears, the too-soft lines of her face, Most fae would have been fooled. I was not most fae.

And I allowed her to continue her chaotic little performance anyway.

I had watched her walk into my hall. Sit across from me. Proceed to deliver what I now understood had been a carefully considered campaign of self sabotage with the commitment of someone who had decided on a course of action and intended to see it through regardless of how uncomfortable it became.

She had been remarkable at it.

I had let her run the plan because I was curious what she was made of. Because curiosity was the only thing I had trusted consistently for years and it had not failed me yet.

It had not failed me this time either.

I shifted slightly in my seat, wings tucked tight against my back. Surprisingly, the constant humming beneath my skin… the restless, gnawing static of the Storm Madness seemed to calm a bit. Which was unusual particularly given that I had pushed myself this morning. Harder than was wise. The kind of session that left the current worse afterward, I had expected to feel it the entire journey.

Instead it felt calm..

It was the same curse that was slowly devouring my father.

King Vesper Vale was fading.

The memory lapses had grown worse in recent months. He would forget entire conversations. Forget the names of trusted advisors. Forget, sometimes, that he was king at all. The council was growing restless. They wanted stability. They wanted a successor on the throne before the Storm Madness claimed my father completely and left the court vulnerable.

And the law was clear: I could not ascend without a bonded consort.

I needed a wife.

The council had expected me to choose a proper match — someone from a strong lineage, politically advantageous, elegant and refined. Someone like Mira Kane.

Instead, I had chosen the footnote who had tried her hardest to make me reject her.

Ella shifted beside me, fingers twisting in her lap. She hadn’t spoken since we left Silverthorn Manor. 

“You’re very quiet,” I said, breaking the silence. My voice came out lower than intended. “For someone who had so much to say at dinner.”

She stiffened sharply, as if my words had burned her. When she finally turned to look at me, her eyes were wide with fear — genuine, unguarded fear.

“Why?” Her voice came out small and shaky. “Why are you doing this? I’m not the one you were supposed to marry. I’m not Mira. I tried so hard to make you reject me. I was awful. I spilled everything, I said terrible things… so why did you come for me?”

I studied her for a long moment, watching the way her breathing quickened, the way her fingers dug into her own thighs.

“I knew you weren’t her,” I said simply. “From the moment you walked into that hall. The glamour never worked on me. Not even for a second.”

Her face paled further.

“I had my people look into the Kane family the moment the marriage proposal was made,” I continued calmly. “I knew exactly who was supposed to be sent. And I knew exactly who actually showed up. I saw through every clumsy attempt you made to ruin the evening.”

Ella looked like she wanted the car to swallow her whole. Her voice cracked when she spoke again.

“Then why?” she whispered, terrified. “If you knew I wasn’t her… why agree to the match? Why take me now?”

I leaned back in my seat, wings folded tightly behind me, and looked out at the crashing sea for a moment before answering.

“Because I decided I wanted you instead.”

She stared at me in horror, mouth slightly open, clearly searching for any sign that this was some cruel joke.

I offered none.

“You’re insane,” she whispered.

A low, rough chuckle escaped me.

“Perhaps,” I said, leaning back in my seat. “But you’re mine now, Ella Kane. And I have no intention of letting you go.”

The car continued its smooth path along the coastal road toward Stormhold, the tension between us thick enough to taste.

Ella Kane was mine now.

Whether she was ready for that or not.

She didn’t speak again for the remainder of the journey.

Neither did I.

The black gates of Stormhold rose ahead of us and Ella’s body went rigid beside me as the car rolled through them. She had been here before for that disastrous dinner but seeing it again under these circumstances seemed to strike her differently. Her hands clenched tightly in her lap until her knuckles bleached white. She stared straight ahead, jaw locked, refusing to so much as glance in my direction.

The car came to a smooth stop in the main courtyard. Before the driver could move, I opened my own door and stepped out, wings half-unfurled to stretch after the long ride. 

Rhys was already there. Of course he was.

He stood at the base of the main steps with his hands clasped behind his back. Rhys had been my right hand since I was young.. my shadow, my sword, my only true constant. He had been assigned as my personal guard when I was seven years old. After Kael’s death, that bond had only deepened. He knew me better than anyone alive. And right now, his expression said he had approximately fourteen questions and was carefully deciding which ones to voice first.

His sharp gaze flicked to me as I stepped out, then past me to the other side of the car. Something shifted in his face… a flicker of surprise, quickly masked. Of course, had expected Mira Kane. 

His eyes said: We will be discussing this.

Mine answered: Later.

He inclined his head in a shallow, respectful bow. “Your Highness.”

I moved around the car to where Ella had finally stepped out. She stood frozen at the base of the wide stone steps, staring up at the towering entrance of Stormhold with a mixture of awe and dread. The wind tugged at her messy ginger hair and the hem of dress. She looked small against the fortress. Small but defiant.

Two maids hurried forward immediately, bowing low.

“My lady,” the older one said with practiced gentleness, “please allow us to escort you inside. We have a bath drawn and fresh clothes prepared. We can help you change and—”

“No.”

Ella’s voice was sharp. She took a deliberate step back, arms crossing tightly over her chest. “I don’t need help changing. I don’t need a bath right now. And I definitely don’t need anyone fussing over me like I’m some fragile doll.”

The maids exchanged nervous glances, clearly unprepared for outright rejection.

“But my lady,” the younger one tried again, voice soft and coaxing, “it’s standard protocol for honored guests. We can prepare anything you like…scented oils, new gowns, whatever you desire—”

“I said no,” Ella snapped, louder this time. Her eyes flashed with stubborn fire even as fear lingered at the edges. “I’m not your ‘lady and I can walk by myself. I can handle myself.”

She glared at them, then at me, chin lifted in clear defiance. 

I watched her with quiet fascination. Most people in her position would have crumbled under the pressure. Ella Kane was doing the opposite.

Rhys raised an eyebrow at me, clearly amused despite himself.

I gave the maids a small nod. They bowed quickly and retreated a respectful distance, though they hovered nearby, uncertain.

Ella didn’t move toward the steps. She stood her ground, breathing hard, eyes darting between the towering entrance, the guards, and me.

I finally spoke, keeping my voice low and even.

“No one will force you to do anything you don’t want, Ella. But you are staying here. That decision has already been made.”

Her jaw tightened. For a moment I thought she might actually refuse to walk inside. Then, with visible reluctance and pure stubbornness burning in her eyes, she started moving up the steps 

Rhys appeared at my shoulder.

“The council will want to meet tomorrow,” he said. Quietly. Informational.

“I know.”

“They won’t be pleased.”

“I know that too.”

A pause.

“She’s half fae,” he said. Not judgmentally. Just noting.

“Yes.”

“No documented magic.”

“No.”

“No court standing. No political alliance. No—”

“Rhys.”

He stopped.

I watched Ella reach the top of the steps and pause at the entrance

“I know what she isn’t,” I said.

Rhys was quiet for a moment.

“And what is she?” he asked.

watched her step through the entrance of Stormhold and disappear inside.

The restless humming beneath my skin returned, gnawing at the edges of my control.

“That,” I said, “is what I intend to find out.”

I followed her inside.