Page 81 of Fae Games

I was free, and I needed to find my princes and put things right.

The sun shone down on my face, warming my numb skin, and tears stung the backs of my eyes. Last night with Prince Bradwell had been so perfect. He had looked me in the eyes with warmth and humility and then betrayed me in my sleep. How could I have been so gullible?

“Nay,” said the kelpie.

“Are you reading my mind?” I asked.

“Nay?” he replied.

I blew into his ear, and his wings flapped faster, propelling us toward the castle in the distance. As the sun continued to warm my clothes, my spirits lightened, and the anguish in my heart cleared, allowing a little room for hope. Maybe Queen Titania had forced Prince Bradwell to say all those things. Perhaps if I had stayed, the princes would have staged a rescue.

“Nay,” said the kelpie.

My lips tightened, and I glanced down at a vast lake, noticing that neither of us cast a reflection. He was probably right.

I blew into his ear again and said, “If you take me to the huge apple tree in the Royal Fae Academy, I’ll set you free.”

“Nay?”

“Yes.”

With a happy neigh, the kelpie picked up speed. We flew above the forests and around the Prudence Plaza, where the princes had bought me that Emporium dress, and over meadows and plateaus and more forestland until we shimmered through the academy’s wards.

The kelpie flew over the pond of lily pads and knuckers, descended through the orchard, and landed by Pokeweed’s tree. By now, my clothes had dried, leaving a chill that seeped into my bones.

I stroked the kelpie’s silver mane. “No hard feelings, eh? You did try to drown me, so we’re even.”

“Nay,” he replied.

I jumped down from the kelpie’s back and landed in a crouch. Making sure to face the creature in case he decided to attack, I held up my iron keys and crept further into the canopy of the huge apple tree. “Go on, then. You’re free.”

The kelpie glared at me through eyes of molten silver, and my stomach tightened with the threat of an oncoming attack. He flared his nostrils, bared teeth that lengthened into fangs, and bolted through the orchard.

I backed against the apple tree, breathing hard through ragged breaths. That last act of defiance had been horrific, and I hoped never to see such a creature again. A moment later, there was a distant splash, and I clenched my teeth. Now there was a bloody kelpie living in the academy’s pond. I had to tell Pokeweed to tell Mistress Ellyllon.

“Where’s that knot?” I walked around the tree’s perimeter, looking for a way in. The sun filtered down from the thick branches, making patterns on my skin. Right now, I needed the biggest cup of dandelion coffee and some of Pokeweed’s shortbread.

“Unity?” said a voice I recognized as Prince Caulden’s.

My heart leaped, and I spun around to find Prince Caulden standing behind me with all three of his brothers. A pulse of panic thudded against my chest. There was something terribly wrong about this scenario. Two of the brothers despised me, and the other two wanted to be my mate, yet they all stood united.

“What’s going on?” My voice shook.

“How did you escape the palace?” Prince Rory stepped forward, as did his brothers.

All fantasies of the two princes staging a daring rescue evaporated. They wouldn’t be at the academy if they’d been concerned about my welfare.

I turned and hurried around the tree trunk, my hands scrambling over its rough surface for that knot, but the four princes followed on my heels.

“Do tell.” Prince Bradwell’s eyes shone with more malice than Prince August’s. “After all that effort I went through to detain you at Her Majesty’s pleasure, it’s the least you owe us.”

My gaze darted to the field of giant garlic flowers. Even if I could break free and run, they would catch me in an instant. The only chance of getting away from them and their peculiar behavior was finding the knot, but where the bloody hell was it?

The sight of Prince Bradwell staring as though waiting for an answer made my blood boil. Why on earth did he think he deserved any kind of explanation?

“You could have flown us directly to the palace,” I snapped. “Why go to the effort of taking me to the Spring Court?”

“Do you really want to know?” said a mocking female voice from behind the princes.