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Parking myself closer to Terry, I fold my legs and slump my spine. I pick at course blades of ordinary green grass, not unlike the kind found in my world.
“He gave me some powder,” I confess to her, shame clinging to the edges of my whispered voice. “White stuff,” I add, as though that will clear things up. “And ...” I pause to shrug before saying, “it made me feel better.”
“He gave you the white powder?” Terry’s tone is fraught with disbelief.
I look up at her from beneath my low lashes.
Shock slackens her face. Her hands have stilled over the surface of the water for a beat before her arms go limp and they sink into the water.
“He gave you ...the white powder?” Her echo is shriller this time, panic starting to seep into her tone.
Flapping my hands, I shush her harshly. “Let the whole castle know, will you?”
“Oh, please,” she snaps at me. “You let him give you something—a dark fae prince—and I’m the one who will cause you trouble?”
For a moment, I watch her, her words sinking in. Trouble. Yes, this all will bring me mountains of trouble. Trouble I might not be able to survive.
But those are worries for another day.
I loosen a heavy sigh that slumps my shoulders and weakly shrug my shoulders. “He gave me no choice.”
It’s the truth. And it shows on my downcast face.
Terry’s mouth pinches into a thin line. She watches me for a long moment. Then I hear the splash of the lake as she hikes her way out.
I lift my gaze as she twists her hair like a rope, rinsing out a rainfall of water. She plucks up a ruined towel that wears rips and holes, then uses it to dab herself somewhat dry.
“What does he want in return?”
She’s sharp. Nothing comes free in this realm—nothing comes free with the dark fae. Especially not the fae of all fae, the fucking prince.
I’m such a fool.
“I should have fought him,” I sigh, burying my face in my hands.
“And anger him?” She scoffs, plopping down beside me on the grassy shore. “That’s no good either.”
“Well what should I have done?” My words are muffled by my palms.
“Nothing you could have done. It’s not about that anyway. It’s about what he wants from you now, and how you work your way around it.”
Dropping my hands to my lap with a slap, I turn to look at her. Defeat slumps me.
“Ok, so what do I do?”
She levels her gaze with mine. “Let’s assume he wants something ... sexual with you.”
I part my mouth to object, but ... she’s right. And I let my words drift away before they can be spoken.
She nods firmly. “That’s what I thought. I’m no stranger to it, you know.”
“The prince—?” My eyes are wild and land on her.
“No.” She cuts me off. “His sister, Linathe. The third princess.”
My interest is piqued like the tips of the icy mountains in the distance. “What happened?”
“I gave it to her. One night—that’s all she wanted.”
