Chapter 32
A t first, I was concerned with Wylen’s words. I was in danger? Why would he let me come here if I might end up dead? I mean, we made promises to lots of people that I would return home safe and with all my body parts intact. Me plus one fae.
But as we rode through the forest and crossed streams that danced with fish, I started to care less and less.
Maybe I could convince the queen to let me stay and be her servant instead of being killed outright.
I wouldn’t mind living in a world where the trees were a hundred feet high and the animals didn’t scurry away when we passed.
I could play with the pixies that liked to fly through my hair.
They’d braided and re-braided it three times already.
Wylen had tried to scare them away, but I made him stop.
Their high-pitched voices and tiny wings were an amazement to me.
Never in a million years could I have imagined things like this really existed.
I was calm and content. I didn’t even feel the pain in my butt anymore. Wylen said it was probably because I was numb. I thought it was because this place was full of magic. When we passed through a forest of pink trees, it took everything I had not to jump down and play in the leaves.
And when we finally reached the city, I knew this was a realm I could live in if I had to.
Wylen had been right when he said the fae only used the natural to build.
Unlike New Rothwick and its brick and mortar buildings and concrete roads, this city blended into the hillside as though it were a part of it.
Buildings made of trees and roofs built with grass comprised most of the skyline I could see.
Near the top of the mountain and backed up against an impressive sheet of solid rock cliff was a castle.
And this wasn’t like any castle I’d read about before.
The spires twisted out of the ground in an impressive mix of stone and vines.
A massive arched opening made of bent pine trees that looked like they were braided together marked the entrance to the palace.
Large boulders carefully set in place comprised the walls nearly five stories high.
“Is that your home?” I whispered to Wylen.
When he laughed, we both bounced. “No. That is not my home. That is where the queen lives.”
“Is your castle like that?” My voice still carried the whispers of amazement at the sheer beauty of this land.
“No, Sosie. Not exactly.”
Maybe one day I would get to see where Wylen lived. My brain wasn’t able to process exactly how that might be possible, but I smiled at the idea anyway.
We had just cleared the forest and were now heading down a gently sloped hill into the town that sat beneath the castle.
Smoke drifted up into the air from chimneys built out of mud and stone.
Many of the homes were what I would call huts made out of wood—either twisted vines or harvested from trees.
There were a few larger homes built from stone the closer we got to the castle.
And I even noticed several tree houses that every child in my world would have loved to see in their backyards.
The soldiers surrounded us in a tight formation while we rode through the town.
At first, I thought it might just be a logistical decision.
I mean, the road was pretty narrow and only two or three horses could fit across it comfortably.
But as we got closer and closer to the castle, the crowds started to gather in the streets.
I heard the whispers. People wanted to know what I was, and then they recognized Wylen for who he was. Although most of the citizens were speaking a different language, I kept hearing his name drift out over the din.
“Uh, are you famous in your world?” I asked over my shoulder.
“Not in the sense you are thinking.”
“Is there a different definition of famous here? Because I can hear them talking about you, and their obsession is a lot like what famous people deal with at my home.”
Wylen shifted on the seat behind me. A part of the fae’s whispers probably included his clothes.
He’d chosen his jeans, T-shirt, and flip flops that he’d originally traveled over with.
But no one here wore clothes like that. Everything was fashioned from something natural.
Lots of leather and wool. No jeans. And definitely no flip flops.
But that hadn’t deterred the ladies. Up and down both sides of the dirt road, the women smiled and waved at the prince sitting behind me. I got a few nasty looks myself, but I tried to ignore them. This place was way too mesmerizing to let a couple of angry women pick away at my enjoyment.
Wylen waved back a few times. Said something nice in his beautiful language.
And even accepted several gifts. I needed to hold on to some of them as his hands started filling up.
Fresh-baked bread wrapped in silk. Apples sitting inside a handmade wooden box.
And even a device of sorts in a wool sack that looked a lot like the toys Gil sold at his club.
Giving Wylen a questioning look at that one, I saw a hint of blush creep up his neck. “I may know her,” he admitted.
“I bet you do,” I teased.
The crowd thinned away once we reached the gate to the castle.
I was still marveling at how the fae could have possibly gotten the pines to bend like this when the large doors made of tree trunks began to open.
The lead soldier shouted something over his shoulder, and all the men got their horses to stop moving as they saluted the person they were about to see.
Our horse followed suit without being directed, but Wylen slipped off the saddle and held out his hand.
I passed him the armful of goodies, and he set them on the ground.
Reaching up again, he smiled. “Come on, I will help you down.”
I didn’t argue. I placed my hands on his shoulders, and he grabbed my waist to help lift me off the back of the horse. I managed to swing my leg around again, nearly kicking the horse in the head, and then allowed Wylen to gently ease me to the ground.
“Oh,” I breathed when my knees screamed at me. “I hurt.”
Wylen chuckled, as did a few of the soldiers around us. Helping me stand up straight, Wylen whispered in my ear, “It gets better the more you do it.”
“Like a lot of things,” I countered and then immediately snapped my lips shut. “Not what I meant to say.”
Wylen simply shook his head and widened the grin on his face. “Queen Fiadh is…well, she’s got a strong personality. Much like you.”
He’d said her name like Fee-ah , but I just knew it was spelled much differently. That was something I probably should research more—how to speak in the tongue of the fae.
I was smiling at that when the doors stopped moving and revealed a woman with tan skin, long dark hair, and a crown that glistened in the sunlight.
She wore a white gown that flowed over her body in a way I’d never seen before.
The top of the dress cut down sharply in front, showing off her ample chest and bony sternum.
The straps running over her shoulders were woven with a mix of silk and gold threads.
And the bottom of the gown flared out around her but left a high slit on the sides where everyone could see her very toned legs.
“Wylen Jerrah Keldi,” she cooed at the man.
“You have returned to me.” Holding out her arms, she sauntered toward him.
Wylen closed the gap and allowed her to grab his face between her long hands and manicured nails.
She was tall, but he still towered over her by at least six inches. “I have missed you, little prince.”
Wylen didn’t have a chance to respond before she crushed her lips against his and kissed him like he held the secret to her youth. Wylen responded in kind, and I dropped my gaze to give them some privacy. I mean, maybe it was different over here. Maybe that’s how everyone greeted each other.
When their make-out session was finally over, Wylen stepped to the side and discreetly wiped his mouth free of her lipstick. He looked appropriately embarrassed when we made eye contact, but he didn’t have time to say anything before I was caught in the queen’s radar.
“My, my,” she cooed as she got closer. “You are a spitting image.”
“What?”
Her eyes narrowed when I spoke. Was I not supposed to say anything in her presence? “You have come for your father, correct?”
I stiffened. I guess we were going to get right to the point. “Yes, I have.”
“Well, then,” she breathed. “I should welcome you to my kingdom.”
Before I knew what was happening, she bent down and kissed me on the lips. Her soft, moist skin tingled against mine in the same manner Wylen had been able to press his calming energy into me. She pulled away sharply and licked her lips, my face still pressed between her hands.
“My prince?” she snapped at Wylen. “What have you done?”
A healthy dose of fear shot through me when she squeezed me a little harder. Was this what Wylen had been talking about? Was I in danger?
“My queen?” he questioned, but I could see it in his eyes. He knew we were about to get scolded. Or worse .
She dropped her hands and gave both of us a shameful look. “I sent you on a quest. Not on a mission to share your blood with a halfling.”
Wylen stood taller. “You sent me on a hunting trip you knew I would fail at.”
“You are here, are you not?” The twinkle in her light blue eyes screamed of power and mischief.
“You had him the whole time,” Wylen said. He was pressing his lips together and holding back his anger. “I almost died at the mercy of your whims.”
She tsked at him. “You seem quite well to me.” Directing her glare back in my direction, she added, “Plus, you brought me his kin.” The tone was malevolent and strategic at the same time, and my blood froze.
“So, you admit that you have my father?” I asked, voice shaking just as much as my hands.
She grinned. “I do.”
“Is he alive?”
“He is.”
I snapped my head around to look at Wylen, silently asking him to help. He stepped forward and pulled the queen’s attention back to him.
“My Queen, may we see The Bladesmith?”
The beautiful fae studied us for a long time.
So long, in fact, I started to bounce on my feet so I could feel my legs again.
Under her glare, it felt like my whole body kept freezing up.
After a prolonged period of uncomfortable silence, she spoke to the soldiers in her own language.
They immediately started spreading out, creating two columns or barriers.
We were in the middle, and we weren’t getting out.
Trapped like animals.
I had no doubt this was part of the queen’s intimidation plan, and I would be the first to tell her that it was working. My heart pounded against my chest, and I had a permanent ball of dread dancing in my stomach right now. In a place so breathtaking, it felt odd to have such fear.
As though sensing it, Wylen gently set his hand on my lower back.
The queen glared at the movement. But Wylen’s hand didn’t move, and I wondered if he’d just made the situation worse.
His calming warmth flowed into me and instantly helped settle my heart.
I grinned my thanks as we waited for the queen to answer.
In response, he bent forward and whispered in my ear.
“Do not use your power in front of this court.”
What? Why? Wylen squeezed my hip and then dropped his hand, not allowing me to ask any questions.
But I trusted him, as strange as that felt, and he wouldn’t warn me if he didn’t have a valid reason.
He knew this world, and he knew this queen.
I gave him a slight nod of understanding, and his shoulders sank a little in relief.
Queen Fiadh narrowed her eyes for just a moment before placing that stoic expression back on her face. “You shall join me in two nights for the Vernissary Ball. After that, I will allow you to visit with your father.”
I didn’t have a chance to ask another question before the guards yanked me and Wylen apart and started dragging us in two different directions.