Macy POV
Reluctantly I put on a baby blue gown and follow Nyx through the palace. I want to protest and refuse to come down for breakfast, but my curiosity keeps getting the better of me. This time, I don't focus on keeping my wings off the ground. I pay attention to the halls around me. If I am going to live here, I need to be able to find my way around.
After walking for what seems like hours, we finally step inside the dining room. It is fuller than I expected. My parents are there, along with Destin, Cassian, and Roland. There is no other seat for me to take except for the one beside Destin. His words from earlier are ringing loudly in my head, and my ears feel like they are on fire.
He jumps to his feet to pull out of my chair, and I glare in his direction. I don't want or need his help, especially not after this morning. Determined to play nice, I grind my teeth together and let him help me. His fingers glide between the feathers of my wings, and I shiver.
As I lower myself into my seat, I can feel Destin's breath against my neck. "Pity, I would have liked to have seen you in red."
I clear my throat and spread my gown neatly over my legs. "I am sure you would have, but you will never see me in that dress."
"We will see about that," he smirks as he takes his seat.
Everyone at the table is watching the interaction between the two of us, and I am desperate to change the subject. "If you all are here, who is running the South Pack?" I ask my parents.
Dad fidgets in his seat. "We do not know."
"Let me guess," I say, cutting my eyes at Cassian. "You were stolen in the middle of the day as well."
"Not exactly," Mom whispers. "We came here on our own after Raven took you."
"Oh," I scoff. "So, instead of rescuing me from Raven, you came here."
"We thought King Cassian could help us get you back," Father fills in the blanks. "We had no idea that we would be staying indefinitely."
"Have you started to forget as well?" I blurt out. No one dares to look in my direction. Not even Cassian. "Fine. If no one will tell me the truth. I will see myself back to my room."
I try to push my chair back, but it doesn't budge. Destin is holding my chair in place. His green eyes are daring me to defy him, almost as if he would take pleasure if I did.
"You need to eat," he tells me. "Especially if you are going to be getting drunk with Roland on a nightly basis."
My fathers growl loudly, but Roland couldn't care less about their outburst. "She isn't old enough to be drinking," Father snarls.
"Says who?" Roland chuckles. "In this Realm, anyone can partake. You need to lighten up."
Destin leans over and presses his fork to my mouth. "Eat."
"You…" I begin, but I am silenced by Destin shoving his fork in my mouth.
I glare into his green eyes as I chew. "Such a good girl," he smirks. He fills his fork and holds it in front of my face.
I slap his hand away, and the fork flies across the dining room. "I can feed myself."
"Macy," Nyx gasps.
"Stop it, Nyx," I roll my eyes. "He was treating me like a child. In the Human Realm, you would have taken off his balls for treating me that way."
"Macy is right," Mom interjects. "You are not the Nyx we remember."
Nyx looks like she was just scolded, but Cassian looks amused. "Are you saying that wolf Nyx was a rebel?"
When no one at the table answers him, he changes the subject. "I have decided to throw a ball in honor of Macy's return to the Immortal Realm."
"I haven't returned here," I remind him. "This is not my home."
"That doesn't matter," he brushes off my comment. "You will be the next Queen, and your subjects deserve to meet you."
"So this is more of an FYI, not an invitation," I grumble.
"Exactly," Cassian says. "I was thinking about tomorrow night."
Mom chokes on her drink. "Can you plan a ball that fast?"
"The Fae love to party," Roland smirks. "We could plan it for this afternoon, and the whole kingdom would show up."
"What exactly will this entail?" I ask.
"You will be introduced to the kingdom with Destin at your side. There will be dancing, drinking, and eating," Cassian shrugs.
"No," I respond curtly.
"What?" Cassian and Nyx say at the same time.
"I said no," I repeat myself.
"Why not?" Roland pouts. He is clearly looking for any reason to get drunk.
"First off, I do not dance or drink. Second, I will not be introduced without my mates at my side," I hiss.
"I seem to remember you drinking last night," Roland laughs.
I cut my eyes at him but he doesn't notice. In fact, I think he might already be drunk.
"Macy," Nyx sighs. "We spoke about that this morning. If they wanted to be here, they would be. They have had plenty of time to come through the portal."
"You don't know that," I grumble. "You are only guessing."
"This isn't up for debate," Cassian tells me. "You need to learn your place."
"My place," I respond cooly. "Where exactly is that?"
"To be seen and not heard," he snarls.
"How am I supposed to rule like that?" I argue.
"You are not ready to rule," Cassian reminds me. "Your job is to show the kingdom you are one of us."
"I am not one of you," I remind him.
"Stop arguing," Cassian shouts. He pushes away from the table and storms out of the dining room, with Nyx chasing after him. My parents are silent, and it is clear no one will help me fight my battles.
"I have lost my appetite," I say, getting to my feet.
This time, Destin allows me to get up, but he is right at my side. I can hear his footsteps behind me as I walk through this maze of a palace. He lets me get thoroughly lost before he finally speaks up.
"Cassian is wrong," he says. "He shouldn't speak to you that way."
"I don't need you to be on my side," I snap. "You are only trying to get into my pants."
Destin looks me up and down, "but you aren't wearing pants."
I want to be frustrated, to stomp my foot and throw a tantrum, but instead, I laugh. "Show me how to get out of here."
"I thought you would never ask," he smiles.