Page 54 of Fae Games

“Yes,” I whispered, “But it’s hard for me to describe.” I turned to the Spring Court prince. “You know the rest.”

“What?” Prince Caulden twisted around, his stoic features morphing into tightened lips and furrowed brows. But he wasn’t directing that look at me but at his brother.

I stared into my lap, listening to Prince Bradwell repeat the Duke of Medietas’s investigation into Elijah’s illicit activities. Even though I’d wallowed in those facts throughout the day, it still hurt to hear them again.

The carriage lights dimmed, and the carriage flew above a village of circular houses with wide, toadstool-shaped roofs.

“That’s impossible,” said Prince Caulden.

I reared back. “What?”

He turned to me, determination hardening his gray eyes. “Remember that time the girls glamoured you into believing that Meadowhawks had come to your rescue?”

I cringed at the memory. “Yes?”

“Their purpose was to rob you of your maidenhead.”

“My?” I shook my head. This had to be some kind of faerie term.

It was Prince Bradwell who replied. “According to legend, only an untouched maiden may become a fated mate. Whatever curse turned you into a faerie also rebuilt your body. It’s untouched apart from whatever you might have done after you joined the academy.”

I turned to Prince Caulden, who shrugged. “Rory mentioned that your maidenhead was intact and exceptionally pretty, so I have no cause to doubt his judgment.”

Heat rose to my cheeks as I slid down the seat and squirmed. Then a memory struck me upside the head. “Helen and I rode horses to the Mound, and unicorns galloped alongside us.”

“There you have it,” said Prince Caulden with a warm smile. “Unicorns are the ultimate judge of who is both pure in body and heart.”

Not even Sicily would have described me in such terms. A surge of emotion hit the back of my sinuses, causing them to sting. I closed my eyes and filled my lungs with air until it gushed out in a huge exhale. Thoughts jumped through my head. Was I still the same person as before? Would Prince Caulden have wanted me if I hadn’t been a virgin?

I wanted to ask, but a little voice in my head told me to count my blessings. Nothing could wipe out the betrayal or the horror of Elijah’s actions. The best way to heal was to continue living, continue having wonderful, loving experiences until Elijah faded from memory.

“Unity?” Prince Caulden’s voice was soft and tinged with concern.

“I… I just need a moment. Everything’s alright.”

“Why don’t we start on the breakfast tray,” said Prince Bradwell.

“Yes, let’s.”

The tenseness in my shoulders eased, and my breathing slowed to its usual steady rhythm. Elijah was in prison. Even if they released him, he would never touch me again. And if I got the chance to rule one or all of the Courts alongside my princes, I’d make sure he suffered.

My fingers twitched with the urge to track him down and pull off his gossamer wings, but I pushed it aside and focussed on the upcoming mission. Maybe one of the seeing hags might get a better reading of my destiny while she helped us search for signs of Helen and Sicily.

When I opened my eyes, one of the princes had fixed a plate containing poached sunbird eggs on tiny slices of toast, avocado, and assorted pieces of raw fish wrapped around different fillings.

“Eat,” said Prince Caulden. “It’s been a long, tiresome morning.”

Because I was in the middle, and because Prince Caulden plied me with fruit and glasses of sparkling nectar of orange blossom, I didn’t get to see much of the surroundings except for the sky and a few distant mountaintops. I barely even felt the tingle of the wards against my skin as the carriage pulled us through the academy grounds. It made me wonder if that first, excruciating journey through them had rid me of anything human.

The princes’ explanation of the curse having remade my body as fae kind of made sense, as that dying faerie had cursed me with his destiny before his silvery magic had invaded my chest.

“We’ll be arriving soon.” Prince Caulden patted me on the knee. “Would you like anything else to eat or drink to keep up your strength?”

Shaking my head, I patted my full stomach. “Are we going to the market on the top of the mound?”

Prince Bradwell sipped from a flute of sweet-smelling nectar that sparkled and popped. “We’re entering the mound at a much lower level.”

My mind drifted back to that awful drake, and I couldn’t help but picture a level filled with fire giants, smoke sprites, and skittering salamanders. “How low?”