21. The Princess
Iwas tempted to use my invisibility as we made our way to the palace, but Stella, Theron, and Denton would still be visible either way. Besides, I hadn’t had a sparkwood apple in over a day; with the poison spreading through my body, I couldn’t risk dying before we completed our mission. The apples had a tendency to stifle my invisibility, since they repelled fae magic. I could still use it, but it wasn’t as effective.
With a sigh, I withdrew an apple from my pack, my fingers brushing over the bundle of fabric that held the mirror.
Or… used to hold the mirror. It was significantly lighter. Then I remembered Theron still had it.
Somehow, the thought didn’t bother me. In fact, part of me felt it was safer with him than with me.
A small smile tugged at my lips as I took a bite of the apple.
“Are you out of your mind, Snow?” Denton hissed at my side.
I took my time chewing so I wouldn’t have to respond. But the fierce gaze he was spearing me with wouldn’t relent, so I swallowed and said, “What do you mean?”
“You and the assassin. You can’t be serious.”
I turned and fixed a steely stare on him. “You don’t know anything, Denton.”
“The hell I don’t. I saw you two earlier. You’re telling me that was nothing?”
“It was—” I broke off, my words faltering because I couldn’t lie. “None of your business,” I finally finished.
Denton swore and grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “You’re playing with fire, Eira. You aren’t thinking straight.”
I jerked my arm free of his grasp, my rage mounting. “Don’t tell me what I’m thinking. You don’t own me, Denton. And you never have.”
“I care about you! I don’t want to see you hurt. Or killed.” He stepped forward, this time grabbing both my arms and pinning me in place.
“Denton—”
With an “oof,” Denton was shoved off me, his hands releasing my arms. He fell forward, barely catching himself before his face hit the snow. With a grunt, he climbed to his feet, seething.
Theron stood before me, his expression dark with fury, his arms rigid at his sides.
In a flash, Denton was on his feet, teeth bared. “Want to try that again, hunter? You might not be so lucky.” He drew a blade I recognized—an iron dagger.
“Denton.” Stella stepped in front of him, palms raised. “Don’t be an idiot.”
But Denton was glaring at Theron. “What did you do to her, huh? Did you cast a spell on her?”
Theron said nothing. A muscle flickered in his jaw, and his nostrils flared. He looked like a predator about to strike.
Denton raised the blade.
“Denton!” I shouted, trying to insert myself between them, but Denton shoved me out of the way. I stumbled, righting myself just in time to see Theron swing his fist.
The blow sent Denton staggering. When Denton raised the blade again, Theron snatched his free arm and twisted, pulling the same maneuver he’d done to me when I’d threatened him. In seconds, the iron dagger clattered to the ground, and Denton’s back was against Theron’s chest. The assassin’s arm was around his throat.
“You won’t touch her again,” Theron said, his voice dangerously soft. “Unless she asks you to. Understand?”
Denton made a choking sound, but Theron maintained his grip. “She. Is. Not. Yours.” Theron enunciated each word with a low growl.
Something hot stirred in my chest, and a strange, wild part of me wanted Theron to say, She’s mine.
I shook the thought from my head and said loudly, “Theron! Let him go.” Denton’s face was turning purple.
Theron released his hold, and Denton doubled over, wheezing. For a long, tense moment, the three of us stood there stiffly, watching Denton catch his breath. Gradually, his face returned to its normal tan color, and he straightened, his expression contorted with anger. He wiped a trickle of blood from his nose and spat on the ground at Theron’s feet.
“She’s not yours, either, hunter,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not anyone’s, all right? Both of you, get a grip. We have a battle to fight, remember? And if you two don’t stop acting like children, we’re going to get caught before we even get to the palace.”
Denton muttered something unintelligible before swiping his dagger from the snow and sheathing it. Without another word, he marched forward, making his way down the street.
“He sometimes forgets that you’re half fae,” said a soft voice.
I turned to find Stella watching me with a concerned look. At my furrowed brow, she offered a small smile.
“It’s easy for him—for all of us—to forget that you aren’t a full blooded human like we are. That half of your heritage is…” She trailed off, waving a hand at Theron, who stared at her warily, not saying anything.
Even I didn’t know what to say at that.
“I’ll talk to him,” Stella promised, her gaze flitting to Theron, then back to me. “And I trust you to take care of yourself. Just… remember to be careful, Snow.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could, Stella turned and hurried after Denton, no doubt looking to smooth things over with him. She had always been the calm to my storm, and only now did I realize she played that role with Denton, too. As I watched her fall into step alongside him, his shoulders lowered just a fraction at her presence.
My heart lifted, and for the first time, I wondered if that was what Denton needed: a calmness to his storm. A safe harbor for rest. Not someone like me, who only stoked the fire even more. But someone like her, who balanced him out.
I felt Theron’s gaze on me, and I looked at him. Darkness still swirled in his eyes, though his fury had softened slightly. Right now, he looked like the fearsome hunter. The skilled assassin who never missed his mark.
And yet, I wasn’t afraid.
I drew closer to him. “You can’t do things like that.”
His brows knitted together. “He grabbed you, Eira.”
“I know. He’s an ass for doing that. But he’s my ally.” I paused. “Our ally.”
“Our?” he repeated, his eyebrows lifting.
I raised my chin to look him in the eye. “You’re with me, right?”
A flare of intensity ignited within his eyes, scorching me from the inside out. “Always,” he murmured.
“Good.” My voice came out a bit strained, and I stepped back, worried Denton would see us and throw another fit.
I strode forward, trailing after Stella and Denton. Theron fell into step beside me, his presence silent but comforting.
We still had no plan. I suspected Theron would ignore my pleas and try to give himself up as a diversion.
But perhaps I could use my invisibility to sneak in, and he wouldn’t have to. I refused to lose him. I wouldn’t lose anything else to Calista.
I pulled out another apple from my pack to munch on, but it was more out of nerves than anything else. I needed something to do with my hands, something to chew on besides the inside of my cheek, or I would go mad.
“You and those damn apples,” Theron muttered.
I grinned and held it out to him. “See for yourself. It’ll change your life.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“What, are you afraid?”
He snorted, then swiped the apple from my grasp and bit into it. He thrust it back into my hands, but not before I caught the slight widening of his eyes, or the way his tongue darted from his lips to catch the juice trickling down his chin.
The motion of his tongue sent a coil of heat through my belly.
I forced the image from my mind and smirked at him. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
He huffed a laugh but said nothing, which only confirmed my suspicions. I elbowed him with a chuckle. “Theron, the dreaded assassin, brought to his knees by a delicious apple.”
“I was not brought to my knees.”
“I don’t know, I saw the look on your face. This apple changed your life, didn’t it?”
“No.” A slow grin spread on his face.
I poked his arm. “It did. You love sparkwood apples, just like everyone else. Admit it!”
“I’ll do no such thing.” But his smile only grew, and more of that delicious heat flared in my core.
I wanted to keep teasing him, if only to make him smile and laugh, but Denton was shooting us a nasty glare over his shoulder, so I fell silent.
The four of us made our way slowly and quietly down the street. Just to be safe, I gave Denton a wide berth. Stella remained by his side, for which I was grateful. As we walked, something gnawed at my insides with unease. After a while, I realized what it was: the area was too quiet. It made my instincts scream at me that something was wrong.
It’s just the curfew, I told myself. That’s all. It’s quiet because everyone is shut in their homes right now.
Even so… with a curfew in effect, where were the soldiers patrolling the streets?
A sinking feeling settled low in my gut. Something was wrong.
I gripped Theron’s arm tightly, stopping him. His arm was already stiff, all corded muscle, as if his body were taut with awareness.
We shared a somber look. He, too, knew something was off.
His dark eyes suddenly went wide. Then he tackled me to the ground. I grunted as my head collided with something hard and lumpy.
Three arrows whizzed past us, embedding into the snow a few feet behind us. Right where I’d been standing moments before.
“Take cover!” Theron bellowed.
Stella and Denton glanced around in alarm before darting out of the street. I didn’t see where they fled to, but I assumed they were using the buildings as cover.
Theron and I, however, remained in a tangle of limbs in the middle of the street. A clear shot for anyone who wanted to harm us.
On instinct, I draped my invisibility around myself like a cloak, but a loud and familiar chuckle nearby told me it wouldn’t be any good.
Vikros.