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“I don’t want to talk about that,” I whisper.
“All right.”
Kai steps in close. So close, the heat from his skin warms my body and I can smell him. Sweet, with a hint of spice. Cinnamon rolls?
Warriors shouldn’t smell good. They’re often sweaty, and bathing isn’t high on their priority list. Kai should be especially odiferous with how much Lost Land filth is coating every inch of him, but he isn’t.
A slow inhale of his scent gives me a modicum of peace.
“Well, I don’t believe Princess Zaylee is dead,” he states. “She’s too valuable to kill. The main reason the barbarians have survived out there is because they’re resourceful. They wouldn’t destroy their best bargaining chip.”
“Let’s say you’re right,” I humor him. “That means she’s stuck with awful men who are probably making her wish for the ultimate escape in the same way I have.”
Tilting his head, Kai looks at me like he doesn’t agree. “You spent less than an hour with Princess Zaylee before you were separated, yes?”
Nodding, I confirm, “Our time together was brief.”
“She probably seemed very sweet.”
I narrow my eyes at his word choice. “Seemed?”
It’s then that I realize Kai knows Zaylee better than I do. He’s been around her during her entire life. He was there when she was a baby and got to see her growing up.
His lips twitch like he’s remembering something amusing. “The princess is not one to be trifled with.”
“What does that mean?”
“She’s got a good heart, but her soul is wild, and she has an odd sense of humor.”
“Odd how?”
“Dark and sometimes morbid. Situations that would normally frighten a person seem to fascinate her. And her Pyro power is quite strong. Her ability didn’t fully emerge until her teenage years. Perhaps she simply hid her strength until then—I’m not sure. She might’ve been downplaying her power for strategic reasons, but when she found it necessary to display it, she showed it in a very impressive way.”
“What kind of way?” I shift my weight from one leg to the other, trying to get some temporary relief from the rocks poking my bare feet.
We’re still not moving from where we stopped. We should probably be getting through the maze instead of chitchatting, but this is too interesting.
“When the princess was thirteen,” Kai starts, “there was a large sex trafficking ring busted up near the northern coast by Olphene. Two of the snatchers and the leader were sentenced to death. Princess Zaylee asked King Zander to let her sit in on the executions. She was quite adamant about it.”
I place my hand on my upper chest as if I’m clutching pearls. “He didn’t allow it, did he? She would’ve been far too young to witness something so gruesome.”
“Don’t worry. He said no. But the strangest thing started happening to the prisoners once they were put in the dungeon. In the days leading up to the executions, they went bald. They’d wake up each morning with less and less of their hair. Not just on their heads—everywhere on their bodies. Beards, eyebrows. All gone. They were in absolute hysterics because they were going to go to their deaths without their vanity intact, and no one could figure out how or why it was happening.”
“What was causing it?”
“Not what. Who. Princess Zaylee had been bribing the guard to let her sneak down there. While the prisoners were sleeping, she singed their hair off without leaving any evidence. No burns on their skin. No redness.” Kai shakes his head in awe. “The precision it took for her to do that is unbelievable, and the pettiness of it is so very fae.”
As funny as that is, I’m stuck on the fact that Zaylee had to be around such terrible people. “Are there a lot of trafficking rings still? I thought Zander’s harsh punishments had put a stop to them.”
“It’s extremely infrequent. You can take comfort in that. With law enforcement in the cities and the sprites on our side, we usually hear of an auction before it happens.”
“Since when have the sprites ever collaborated with the royals?”
The sprites have always been one of the greatest mysteries of Valora. The little flying creatures are utilized to send messages across the realms because of how fast and inconspicuous they are, but they’ve never taken orders from any king or queen. The favors they do for the fae come at a high cost. They have expensive taste, and they usually demand a ridiculous amount of jewels or gold for the jobs they do.
“Queen Whitley has formed a profound companionship with the sprite communities, and not just in the Dream Realm,” Kai explains. “All over Valora, they spy for her and report suspicious activity without even asking for payment.”
My eyes widen. “Well, that’s a miracle if I’ve ever heard one.”
