AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He helped bring down that trunk,” Lily says, “are you blind? Shall we call for guards who can actually see?”
“Beg your pardon, ladies. Is he injured? Need a hand to get him up the stairs?”
“We’re fine,” Selina says quickly. “It’s not that bad.”
I grunt in agreement, nodding, and the guard bows and lets us pass. Hoping the old healer won’t open her mouth and start talking about what happened, I try to keep up as we hurry toward the stairs, my gait uneven and jerky.
The steps have me gritting my teeth, my knees feeling too loose, my muscles unused to this movement. I hate leaning on the princesses, crushing them with my weight. I let go of Lily, using the wall for support instead, as we climb up.
Walking on a straight surface again helps. My arm around Selina, I manage better than on the stairs, though the soles of my bare feet hurt. The fucking soles of my feet. But slowly, step by step, my body starts to remember how to be upright, how to move forward. Even the black spots swimming in my eyes are fewer now. That’s a good sign, right?
Yet I’m panting hard by the time we reach the end of the corridor and have to stop before I collapse. Just the thing to do when you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. As if my bare legs and feet aren’t bad enough.
“This way,” Lily says, taking the old woman by the elbow and hauling her to the right. Selina tugs on me and I have no choice but to follow. I haven’t had the chance to ask where we’re going. She said she had a plan and I trust her.
Gods, I trust her. With everything I have. However, I’m inside a human palace where my kind is considered fair game, so despite the exhaustion and the struggle to literally keep my feet under me, I’m uneasy. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
“It’s not far,” Selina is saying, staggering as I lean on her more heavily than I would like. “Just a little further.”
We stumble on together. We probably look drunk as we move down another corridor. These human palaces seem so dark and closed off. But all I care about is Selina pressed to my side, solid and warm and bright.
And then the air changes, a whiff of freshness, trees and grass, wet stone.
We walk out of the palace and into a yard. A light carriage stands there, two horses harnessed to it, puffing clouds of white as we approach.
“Prince Alfred came through,” Selina whispers.
“Cousin Alfred?” Lily asks, awe in her voice, standing there with the healer. “You got him to help?”
“He thinks it’s for a game, too.”
“You cunning girl. You would have made a good queen.”
“I don’t care about being a queen.” Selina stops. She gently steps away from me and opens her arms for her cousin. “This is our cue to go, before Iason is back.”
Lily grabs my woman in her arms and hugs her tightly. “Be careful,” she whispers. “I shouldn’t be endorsing this madness but, dear Gods is your Fae King handsome.”
“I know.” Selina laughs, a sound both sad and happy at once. “I’ll miss you.”
“We’ll see each other again, I’m confident of that. And… Oh crap.”
“What is it?” Selina draws back and I turn as steps sound behind me. “Oh, no.”
A human man is standing there, a crown on his head and a scowl on his ugly face. “Selina?” he says. “What in the hells is this? Who is this man?”
It’s easy to guess whoheis and a sneer pulls at my lips as I gaze at him.
That bastard prince who forced a ring onto my lady’s hand.
Iason.
“Iason.” Selina steps in front of me, her face paling. “I thought you were gone hunting with Ralph.”
Is she trying to protect me? This slip of a human girl is putting herself in the way of harm—again—to save me from this man’s fury.
This man who is glaring at her, and his guards who are gathering now behind him like a flock of crows, drawing their swords, as if feeling what I am and fearing it.
“I canceled. Thought to see what you are up to.” He takes a step toward her, a cruel smile spreading on his face, and lifts his hand as if to hit her.
