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Every child had heard the story of the goblin army, the fairy riders on giant animals, and the gate that sealed to hold back the horde of evil. Killian grinned, pleased to disprove another childhood tale. The only giant animal was Jax—well, and now an elk and a bear. But everyone knew his family had ties to the wolf just like his father and father’s father before him. Jax was as much a part of the castle as the very stones. “Yes. That gate.”
Phineas let out a breath. “You’re more of an idiot than I realized.”
“You said to go ride.”
“Yeah,around. Your lands are enormous. I didn’t say, ‘Go try to kill yourself and then drag me down with you.’ Your father will kill me. Why in the seven stars didn’t Jax stop you?”
“He came with me.”
Phineas was pacing now, gesturing broadly with his massive hands. “I should have known. I should have gone too. You’ve grown increasingly ridiculous and thickheaded this year. Talking nonsense about your marriage, somehow forgetting sparring techniques you’ve known for years, and now, flouncing historical, national, and very solidly laid rules and boundaries. You must prioritize your role as king!”
Killian’s smile dropped, and a flame lit in his chest. “Phin, watch your tongue.”
“I will not! You are a good man with good ideas for the kingdom, but lately you’ve been acting like, like … a ninny! A cotton-brained, pig-headed, single-minded, whiny little idiot.”
Killian surged away from the balcony railing. “You forget your place. You forget who you are talking to.”
Phineas’s expression darkened, and his shoulders shuddered under the restraint. “I am talking to my friend. Who I love. Who I don’t want to see acting like a blazing moron or ending up dead or accidentally releasing an ancient evil. You could be a great king. You’re a good man, but you’re losing your way. You’re … quitting …” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t want to watch you become someone I can’t trust.”
Killian’s anger lessened a fraction, and he sucked in a slow breath. Exhaling his frustration, he said quietly, “I don’t know why, Phin, but I needed to go in there. I saw a magical light, and it didn’t kill me. And then I saw someone.” Phineas’s brows furrowed as Killian spoke. “The most beautiful woman.”
Phineas rolled his eyes. “Another beautiful woman?” He gestured to the ballroom. “You’re surrounded by beautiful women.”
“That’s how I know this one was different! She didn’t recognize me or speak Common. She looked at me and ran!” Killian laughed at the absurdity. He’d never known such freeing anonymity. “Everyone here is a replica of all the others, pining for my attention, drooling over the metal circle on my head. She was different. You should have seen her. She was surrounded by forest animals … and she was singing, just like in a children’s tale!”
Phineas took a deep breath, as a spark of his normal good humor glinted in his eye. “And, just to be clear, you didn’t eat any funny mushrooms, right? Didn’t fall into any fairy circles and transport yourself somewhere cursed? You’re not a changeling? Haven’t licked any warty, dream-inducing frogs?”
“No, Phin. I really saw her. I wasn’t hallucinating.” He held Phineas’s gaze, hoping his friend would see his sincerity.
Shaking his head, Phineas asked, “So, what’s your plan?”
“Go to the forest. Get to know her. Teach her Common. Figure out who she is.”
“Your betrothal, Killian.” Phineas shot him a sideways glance, his voice carrying an unwanted warning.
Killian huffed under his breath as he turned to face Phineas. “I’m not marrying the girl, just getting to know her. Maybe the forest has water and resources that would benefit our people. Maybe there are others like her and someone can help us end the drought. The grass was so green in that meadow.”
Phineas placed his hand on the prince’s shoulder. “Killian, it’s against the law.”
Killian shrugged off his hand and stepped back a pace. “Phineas, I’m doing this. I have to do this.”
Phineas shook his head slowly, his brow etched with concern. “But why?”
Killian had been asking himself the same question all night. The woman had fixed herself before him, and he couldn’t look away. A slow breath seeped through his teeth. “It was like all this”—he gestured toward the ball—“was black and white, and when I saw her, I saw color for the first time. It was like I had a heart of stone, but simply looking at her, I felt…” He shrugged and turned toward the distant forest line, which was black despite the bright moon above them. “She made me feel like I could be more, not ladened with expectations, preconceived notions, or … or failure.”
Phineas paused and looked at Killian’s face. Killian wasn’t sure what he was searching for, but he felt exposed. He shifted his shoulders.
“I’m coming with you,” Phineas declared finally.
Killian gaped. “You can’t! Jax said if the beam of magical light doesn’t approve you, you’ll burn up!”
Phineas blinked twice but continued, “Well, that would certainly be awful, but I can’t let you frolic around in the magic forest without a chaperone.”
“Jax will be there.”
“Jax doesn’t understand human morals, betrothals, or policies. Nor can he speak with your father.”
It’s more that he will not speak with me.The two men looked down over the edge of the balcony where two green eyes gleamed from the shadows of the trees. Jax paced forward.I have tried, but he cannot yet hear me.Killian nodded. His father had stopped listening to Jax after his wife died. The grief, Jax thought, made him deaf.
