The Princess #2
A loud snort burst from me, and several others joined in with their laughter. Even Denton cracked a smile.
Once we were all inside, I glanced out the window to check that the animals were safe. Frisk was hovering near the porch—to eavesdrop, no doubt. He shot me a look of pure innocence through the window.
Ordinarily I let him come and go in the cottage, along with some of the smaller animals, like Kendra. But too many creatures would be a distraction.
And today, we needed to focus.
Just in case, I slid open the window. It kept me at ease, knowing I could hear them close by just in case trouble came calling, as it often did for me.
With a deep breath, I turned and faced my seven friends.
Seven human nobles, one from each province.
Even though they were technically nobility, their titles meant nothing.
They were merely a charade, to keep up the appearance of peace.
Decades ago, fae and humans were considered equals.
But then the fae seized the lands from the humans, and we were left with nothing but anger, resentment, and fake titles.
Even my title as princess meant nothing with my father dead and Calista hunting me.
But if my plan succeeded, we would overthrow Calista and give the land back to the humans.
My friends were seated around the table, eyeing the pile of gold. Gareth continued stroking his beard, but I recognized the bleak look in his eyes.
He heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry, darlin’. But it’s not enough.”
I’d been expecting this. But even so, I hadn’t anticipated the crushing weight of disappointment. I felt myself deflating, and I couldn’t even manage a halfheartedly chipper response.
My father’s legacy. The rebellion. Our entire plan. It was as if it was all disintegrating before my eyes.
“We’ve been gathering coin for months,” Stella objected, sitting forward and bracing her arms on her legs “How can it not be enough?”
“Mercenaries are expensive,” said Gareth, his mouth puckered in a frown. “We knew going into this that it would be a long shot.”
“Are we even close?” I asked, my voice tinged with desperation. If we were only off by a few coins, all I had to do was rob a few more carriages, and—
“No,” said Huck in his clipped voice as he crossed his thin arms over his chest. “We aren’t close. We would need to double this amount before we could hire any, and even then, it might not be enough to overthrow the queen.”
I shot him an annoyed look. Huck was always the most pessimistic of us all, although he would argue he was realistic. “We can’t just give up!” I protested. “We’ve come so far already.”
“Eira,” said Denton softly. “We need a new plan.”
I forced myself to meet his gaze. It was still difficult to look him in the eye since we’d decided to end our complicated and undefinable romance.
For weeks, we’d met for secret trysts in the woods, the thrill of our undiscovered dalliances only fueling the fire between us. But we had both agreed it couldn’t last, and after Huck had almost discovered us taking each other against an oak tree, we decided it was time to end it.
It was uncomfortable now. Mostly because I could tell he wanted more.
And I didn’t.
But, of course, I had to pretend things were perfectly normal, because no one knew what transpired between us.
I was the princess, and he was a noble of the Dahl Province.
Our goal was to usurp my stepmother and establish myself as the rightful queen of the Winter Court.
The last thing we needed was for word to spread of the Snow Princess and her secret human lover.
So I kept my gaze steady as I looked at him, my eyes roving over his tan skin, his milky brown eyes, and the light stubble on his chin that often tickled me when we kissed. “What do you suggest?” I asked him.
“Each of the provinces has a small band of followers,” said Denton. “And we’re human. We can lie, and we can avoid faerie bargains. Surely, that should amount to something. Can’t we try to sneak into the palace and start a riot from the inside?”
I spread my hands and scoffed. “How? The queen has tripled the guard since we started robbing her coffers. And you may be immune to faerie bargains, but I’m not.
” I self-consciously tucked my dark hair behind my rounded ears.
Sometimes, I blended in with my human friends.
Other times, I was reminded of how different we were.
I was half fae, which meant that, biologically, I was bound by fae laws. Even if I looked like a human.
“But you have your magic,” Stella pointed out, her eyebrows raised. Her pale eyes appraised me with part amusement, part awe.
“Yes, and as soon as one soldier discovers me, everyone will know what I can do,” I said. “I can’t risk it. It’s the only thing I have over the queen.”
“And what good is having an advantage over the queen if you never use it?” Denton said.
My nostrils flared in frustration. I opened my mouth to argue, but Tansy interjected. “Snow, aren’t you friends with the King and Queen of the Shadow Court? Can’t they help us?”
“Shadow Fae are scary,” Lark said seriously.
“Definitely scary enough to chase the false queen away,” Stella agreed.
But I shook my head. “Sybelle can’t help. Their court is still at odds with the Earthen Court. If they send soldiers to us, it will leave them exposed, and the Earthen Court might attack.”
No one spoke for a long moment. I glanced over the dejected expressions of my friends, feeling my hope dwindle.
Then, a soft voice to my right said, “I have an idea.”
My gaze shifted to Penelope. Her cheeks immediately flushed when every eye turned to her.
“We utilize our connections,” Penelope said simply.
Silence met her words. I cleared my throat. “What connections?”
“The creatures.” Penelope gestured to the window, through which I could barely make out a trio of black-capped chickadees circling each other.
Behind them, Mauro the great white stag pawed at the snow at his feet.
Rogun still snoozed softly, with Kendra perched on his back.
I knew Frisk was out there, too, though he was hidden by his snowy surroundings.
“I’m fairly certain sending a stampede of forest animals would draw a bit of attention,” said Huck, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Shut it, Huck,” Gareth said. “Let her speak. Go on, darlin’.”
Penelope’s face flushed a deeper scarlet, but she plowed on. “Our goal is to give the lands back to the humans. But humans aren’t the only ones the queen has outcast. She also hates the unseelie.” Once more, she pointed toward the window.
I flinched, then despised myself for it. Unseelie fae were known for being feral, unhinged, and often dangerous. But some of my best friends—these sentient creatures who lived in the forest with me—were technically unseelie. And I trusted them with my life.
Penelope had a point; Calista was determined to create the perfect empire of seelie fae. Which meant disposing of the humans and unseelie, who would taint the bloodlines.
The cruelest irony of all was that Calista was a Demon Fae. Which meant she was tainting the bloodline with her black magic.
Unseelie fae were as gentle as lambs compared to the Demon Fae.
“We already have connections to the unseelie, thanks to Frisk and the others,” Penelope continued. “I suggest we utilize those connections. Call in our allies, and reach out to others. Band together with those who have been shunned by Calista.”
Tansy was nodding eagerly, and Stella had a spark in her eyes. I felt my own heart lifting at the thought of rallying more forces.
Allies can come to us in the most unlikely of places, my father had said.
But the hope within me faded at the same moment Gareth shook his head.
“In theory, it’s a good idea. But forming an army takes time. Not to mention how dangerous some of the unseelie forces can be. They don’t trust us. Many of them would kill us on sight.”
“It would also be difficult to convince them to fight for us,” I added. “If we don’t have enough gold for seelie soldiers, we certainly don’t have enough for the unseelie.”
“Unseelie fae wouldn’t want to get too close to the Winter Palace anyway,” said Huck. “They are repelled by the queen’s blood magic.”
“For good reason,” muttered Lark, rubbing his bloodshot eyes and taking another drink from his flask.
“The smaller creatures aren’t as affected,” Penelope said. “And they have the advantage of appearing like ordinary animals. As long as they don’t talk, no one will suspect them. Then they could slip into the palace undetected. Like Frisk. He’s good at that.”
“No way am I going in there.”
We all jumped and turned to find Frisk coiled on the carpet by the front door. How he’d gotten inside, I had no idea, but the sight of him curled up on the floor like that brought a smile to my face.
He rose up on his legs and stretched with a long, lazy yawn. “Lark is right, there’s a good reason we don’t go near the castle. Her magic reeks. Even those of us who are small hate that smell.”
“Frisk, what are you doing here?” I asked with a sigh. “As soon as the others find out you snuck in, they’ll want to join, too. It’ll be chaos.”
“Oh, I just thought you would want to hear my brilliant plan. But, if you prefer, I can leave.” He lifted his nose in the air.
I rolled my eyes. “What’s your plan, then?”
His dark eyes surveyed me for a long moment before he said, “I propose we make a move on the queen’s assassin.”
A hushed whisper fell among those of us seated at the table.
Denton spoke first. “The hunter? That’s the worst plan I’ve ever heard. He’s unbeatable. How are we supposed to make a move on him?”
Frisk flashed his teeth, his eyes glinting. “You know what the villagers are buzzing about? They caught sight of the fearsome hunter not too far from here.”
I held my breath. The assassin was here? In Knockspur? The fae never traveled this far into the human lands unless they had to.
Which could only mean one thing: the hunter was on assignment for the queen.
I exchanged a glance with Stella, who smirked knowingly at Tansy, who raised her eyebrows at Huck. Huck scoffed and crossed his arms again, clearly unconvinced, but Denton was nodding eagerly. Lark had fallen asleep, and Gareth gazed out the window as if no longer interested in our conversation.
No one was closer to the queen than her assassin. He knew her secrets, and he was powerful enough to give us an edge against her.
He could be our secret weapon.
Penelope shifted nervously in her seat. “How do we approach this without getting ourselves killed?”
“Well, there’s eight of us,” Stella said. “And only one of him.”
“He’s taken on fifteen opponents at a time and still won,” I said as if reciting from a textbook. I’d never actually met the feared assassin—Calista always ensured I was far removed from her court dealings—but I knew enough about him to know he shouldn’t be underestimated.
Yet Penelope’s suggestion sparked a plan in my mind.
Fae creatures disguising themselves as ordinary animals…
I tapped my chin, a slow smile spreading across my face.
“But you’re right. As humans—or half human, in my case—we do have an advantage.
” I leaned forward, bracing my palms on the table.
“All right, friends. I have an idea. And this one will work.”