The Unseelie King and I

THE UNSEELIE KING AND I FAE-TED KINGS BOOK 2 MILANA JACKS CONTENTS Introduction 1. Augusta 2. Augusta 3. Augusta 4. Aamako 5. Augusta 6. Aamako 7. Augusta 8. Aamako 9. Augusta 10. Augusta 11. Aamako 12. Augusta 13. Aamako 14. Aamako 15. Augusta 16. Aamako 17. Augusta 18. Aamako 19. Aamako 20. Aamako 21. Augusta 22. Augusta 23. Aamako 24. Augusta 25. Aamako 26. Augusta 27. Aamako 28. Augusta 29. Aamako 30. Augusta 31. Augusta 32. Aamako 33. Augusta 34. Aamako 35. Aamako 36. Augusta 37. Aamako 38. Augusta 39. Augusta 40. Aamako 41. Augusta 42. Augusta 43. Aamako 44. Augusta 45. Augusta 46. Augusta 47. Augusta Savage in the Touch teaser Also by Milana Jacks About the Author The Unseelie King and I © Milana Jacks 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Cover Design by Trif Book Design INTRODUCTION The events in this book happen between the last chapter and the epilogue of the The Royal Obsession, book 1 in the Fae-ted Kings series. 1 AUGUSTA Cecile flips her red hair and leans over the railing of the upper ballroom floor, positioning her body so that her breasts lift to attract a male’s gaze. Particularly one male’s. The commander of the Summer fae armies, the same male whose attention I’m trying to garner. Not that it matters to him. While Cecile has had some luck with the commander, the most I ever got from him was that one time he took a lock of my hair and sniffed it. I interpreted it as a gesture indicating interest, and I followed my eldest sister June from our boring farm in the mountains down to the Summer Court, where she enchanted none other than our heart-stopping king. Me? I went on rejecting suitors, keeping myself available for the commander in case he became interested. But as the summer nears its end and I grow more desperate, so does Cecile. In fact, most singles at the party tonight will try to hook up with someone. Tonight’s event precedes a series of events that will take place right before the royal wedding, and I’m out of time to snag the commander’s affections for this mating season. Too bad he’s the only male in the world who can resist the charms of fae females in heat. Maybe he likes males. “Oh!” I say out loud. My middle sister, Julie, flips her brown curls over her shoulder. “Oh ho ho.” She rubs her hands together. “Did you have a vision?” “I had a thought.” Julie’s eyes sparkle from a few glasses of champagne. “Do tell.” “The commander like males.” Cecile shakes her head. “He does not.” “How do you know?” The moment I ask, I regret it. Although I can’t see into the future, meaning I can’t see what she’ll tell me, Cecile is so mean, she might be an Unseelie fae who got swapped at birth and deposited next door to my parents’ house for all I know. “Because”—Cecile plays with the end of her braid—“he visits Klen’s Brothel.” “He does?” Julie and I screech, then cover our mouths as people who were whispering in various parts of the upper floor above the massive foyer start moving toward us. Cecile, loving the attention and knowing she has the ear of pretty much every fae within reach, leans in conspiratorially. “Monique said that Lady Grech and her sister said they saw our dear commander leaving Klen’s just this morning.” “How did you already hear about it?” She scoffs. “I pay to stay informed.” Julie and I stare. “What? I like staying in the know.” “Where did you get the coin?” We’re poor, as in my father piled up debt on his back just to dress us for the court this summer. Cecile is our next-door neighbor, who’s no better off than my family. She shrugs. “Here and there. But the point is, it’s not the commander. The seer serves the crown, Augusta. Maybe he was interested in you before, but now that you’re the royal seer, he can’t touch you.” “Why not?” “Because…” My sister clears her throat. “June slipped and told me the king forbade anyone from so much as looking at you.” I expel a breath, and all my hopes deflate. No wonder the commander is uninterested in me. Not only am I almost nineteen, I’m also inexperienced and those fae at Klen’s ride him three ways from sundown, now I’m also forbidden. And while forbidden fruit sounds delicious to me, the commander would never disobey his king. He’s the most loyal, most honorable male I’ve ever met. It’s part of what makes him so appealing. Sulking in my newfound self-pity, I prop my chin on my palm and my elbow on the railing. “Ladies don’t sulk or slouch,” comes from behind me. I startle and spin to see El’jah, the Summer prince. He’s wearing a one-piece golden suit with black boots that reach midthigh and a black blazer with two tapered tails reaching just past the back of his knees. He winks at me, and his blue eyes twinkle, setting my heart and every heart in the vicinity aflutter. Few are immune to El’jah’s charm. “One…” He lifts a finger. “The commander isn’t into males. Trust me, I know these things.” Dramatically, I drop my shoulders even more, as if moping. “Awww,” El’jah says as he pats my head. “You poor thing. Look up, I have number two.” He lifts the second finger. “Don’t be the dog who spends the last summer