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His lips curl at the last word, human, like it’s distasteful.
“There must be some rational explanation,” the headmistress whispers. “There has to be,” she repeats, as if saying it twice will make the statement true.
The king’s penetrating gaze slides to me, and suddenly I can’t move, can’t draw enough air into my lungs. My hand goes to my throat, and I can feel my pulse hammering against my palm.
Screw this. I’ve never run from a fight. Never once fled something just because I was overwhelmed. But I’m not just scared. I feel cracked in half. Exposed. My mind drowning in a torrent of conflicting thoughts.
How could this happen? Why didn’t the prince tell me? But more than anything, I feel betrayal deep in my core.
I didn’t choose this. My parents were killed by the Fae. Aunt Vi and Aunt Zinnia’s families all died because of the Fae. How can I face them if I’m mated to the creature that ruined their lives?
How can I face myself?
So I flee. I think Eclipsa calls my name as I dart past her, both shoes tumbling free. I even think she might chase after me. But all these months of running laps and cardio training has finally paid off, and I find myself alone, sprinting barefoot through the snow.
50
“Oberon’s beard,” Mack growls as her cell phone lights up in the semi-darkness. “Can he not take a hint? You don’t want to talk to him right now.”
Ruby covers her ears with her hands. “Tell him to stop enraging that damnable device. It’s torturous.”
We’re all huddled together on the bottom bunk, under multiple layers of covers. After I fled the banquet, the weather dropped like thirty degrees. Now a full-scale blizzard pours from the sky.
Whatever the prince is feeling, it’s not good.
I ignore the phone and concentrate on the book in my lap. As soon as Ruby heard what happened, she disappeared. Ten minutes later, she reappeared with a textbook she swiped from a third year student.
I found what I needed on chapter twenty-seven, The Soulbonded. When a Fae is reborn, they take their powers with them. But sometimes, their connection to another Fae in their previous life is so strong that a magical bond transfers over.
That bond is sacred to the courts because it allows mates to share their powers through the bond. Soulbonded Fae mates usually end up in very important positions in each court because their combined magic is so strong. They’ve even been known to challenge kings.
But there’s only one problem with all of this.
I’m not a Fae.
And I have no magic. Zilch. Not even a smidge. Nor can I use the prince’s magic. I mean, I think I’d notice the ability to freeze people. In fact, that would really come in handy.
A loud smack against the windowpane draws my attention to a tiny form just outside. Eclipsa has been trying to reach me for hours. Her messenger, an obscenely happy sprite with teal wings and a rainbow mohawk, was chased away by Ruby.
Twice.
I feel a sense of pride in that. I might be a magicless human but my sprite is kick-ass.
Ruby lets out a war cry and zips through the air toward the other sprite. When Eclipsa’s sprite sees the light golden orb of magic in Ruby’s palm, she screeches and darts back into the night.
A part of me feels bad about Eclipsa, but I just can’t deal with any of this right now. Nor can I overlook how Eclipsa knew the truth and kept it from me. They both did.
At the thought of the prince, I suck in my lower lip. I’ve been turning snippets of conversation over in my mind for hours, piecing everything together. He’s known we were mates, maybe since the beginning. But he didn’t want me to know.
And he tried keeping me from the ceremony tonight because he didn’t want anyone else to know, either.
A thought occurs. What if his father is angry? The same father who had him whipped for showing any emotion. Could he be in danger?
A new round of nausea surges into my belly, and I groan.
“What did he say?” I whisper, hating myself for asking.
Mack lifts her eyebrows. “Sure you want to know?”
