Chapter 42
ALL THE EMOTIONS I’d held back over the last few days of unknowns came pouring out when she wrapped me in a hug. Embarrassed, I hid my face in Mom’s shoulder so Soren wouldn’t see.
When I dared lift my head to ask for a tissue, Soren stood ready with a handkerchief.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, forgetting the rule.
But Soren only rolled his eyes upward and held in whatever he wanted to say.
Sniffling, I tried to use only the edge of the fabric, giving it to Mom next, who needed it just as badly.
“Gross,” she said with a lopsided grin, making me laugh. She still sounded so human, despite me knowing she wasn’t. So . . . Mom.
“Did you see Dad? And Rissa and Olive?”
She nodded, sniffling. “I just spoke with them. They told me where to find you.”
I turned puffy eyes to Soren and then back to Mom. “Are you . . . a prisoner here?” The second the question came out, my anxiety spiked. What if she was? She didn’t seem like a zombie, but the idea of being this close only to lose her again made my chest feel like it was being ripped open.
“No.” She laughed, but then her face darkened with a fury I’d never seen before.
“Though they wouldn’t allow me to come for you.
When they first took me away, I threatened to break my contract and return to you all.
They haven’t given me my wings back yet for that reason.
But if I’d known before today that you’d all been taken, nothing would’ve stopped me from coming for you. ”
Soren’s brows rose slightly at her vehemence.
My brain caught on something different. “Did you say . . . your wings?”
Mom grinned. With a nod, she tipped her head deferentially to Soren, still smiling. “They’re not as strong as some, but they get me around fairly well. I imagine it’ll be an adjustment when they’re returned.”
Half laughing, half sighing, Soren rubbed a hand over his neck. “Oh, it will be. I’m already quite sore, I’ll admit. I’d forgotten the weight of them after so many years.”
“You’ll have to take it easy tomorrow,” she said, mothering him with a concerned look.
The shock on his face was comical.
Did his own family care that little for him?
“I will,” he finally replied.
I fought a smile. If Mom became a part of his life, he wouldn’t have that problem anymore. And then I flushed at the thought, because that would mean that I was part of his life too. And I startled when I realized that I wanted that.
Growing serious, Mom gently pulled me into her arms again, resting her chin on my head. “I owe a debt to your prince for bringing you here. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. You managed to do quite a lot with very little information.”
“About that,” I said sarcastically, twisting in her arms until I could pull back and glare at her. “More information would’ve been really nice.”
Her face fell. “I couldn’t tell you, Brynn. It was part of my contract before I ever came to the human world. But I always wanted to. Your father figured out a few small pieces of the truth, though I could never tell him directly, only confirm.”
That explained why Dad had seemed less surprised by the fae world. I’d have to give him a hard time next.
I sighed, dropping my head back onto her shoulder. “Technically, I didn’t really do anything,” I mumbled. “You got us out of the contracts, and Soren got us here.”
“False,” Soren’s deep voice rumbled from the side.
I jumped at his sharp tone, turning to face him more fully.
He softened but didn’t take his eyes off mine.
“Not only did you single-mindedly pursue your family in a strange court, but you are also the only reason I spoke up tonight. You made me realize I didn’t have to stay there anymore.
When you spoke up for yourself, you gave me the courage to do the same. ”
I didn’t know what to say.
You saved me, not the other way around, seemed a bit rude to say out loud. We never would’ve found our way here without him. In the end, I just scrunched my nose at him and shook my head, smiling a little.
Mom glanced between the two of us, looking pleased. She raised her eyebrows meaningfully at me.
I blushed.
Hopefully Soren hadn’t noticed her silent insinuation. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything out loud. Instead, she turned to me with a grin. “I arranged for us all to have connected rooms in the guest wing as soon as I heard you were here.”
“That’s one level below the royal rooms.” Soren’s shoulders relaxed slightly as he gave her an exhausted smile.
“Why aren’t we going where you live?” I asked Mom.
She winced. “We will. Eventually. I hope. But I’ve been staying in court myself, and the royal family always has room for more.” Now that I was aware of fae misdirection, I recognized she was hiding something.
“I’m glad you’re staying at court,” Soren admitted. But then he reluctantly stepped back, his voice more reserved. “If you need anything at all, I hope you’ll come find me.”
Mom nodded, and so did I.
But inside, I told myself no.
I couldn’t bother the prince of an entire fae court with my petty problems. He didn’t need a reason to regret helping me.
The idea of not seeing him anymore made me unreasonably sad, but I’d leave him alone.
Mom took one look at my face and snorted. “You should know that she’s not going to do that.”
“Mom!” I snapped, feeling my cheeks turn bright red.
Soren looked between us, clearly misunderstanding as his shoulders sagged. “Oh.”
“She won’t want to be a burden,” Mom clarified.
“Oh,” he said in a much lighter tone. Swinging around to face me, he scolded, “I mean it, Brynn. You should know by now I don’t say anything I don’t mean.”
“Okay, all right.” I flushed even more under the intensity of his stare, sure I was the color of a tomato at this point. I held my hands up in fake surrender. “I promise I’ll come bug you at least twice a day.”
Instead of getting the eye roll I’d expected at my sarcasm, Soren took me seriously, giving Alaric’s leather vest a satisfied tug as he said, “Good.”
He glanced toward the tall glass doors of the castle, where bright light poured out from within, and I snuck a glare at Mom.
She just gave me another grin. Her joy at having us here had her practically floating, even without wings.
“I want to go find your father and sisters.” She gave me another unexpected hug, squeezing tight before stepping back.
“I’ll leave you two alone and see you in the morning, Brynn.
I’m sure the prince can help you find your room, and you probably have lots to talk about. ”
With an unabashed wink, she completely abandoned me.
Okay, fine, it wasn’t really abandonment when Soren looked like he might never leave my side. But she shouldn’t assume. Actually, I shouldn’t assume. I could be reading him totally wrong.
Though some fae magic seemed to warm the air, a gust of icy wind slipped through and stroked my spine, causing a full-body shiver. My teeth chattered. We’d left that blazing bonfire behind when I ran toward Mom.
“You’re cold,” Soren murmured. “Let’s head inside, if you’re ready?”
I nodded, because saying, “Nope, not in the slightest,” would only delay the inevitable.
Through the tall glass double doors, we entered a vast hall with impossibly high ceilings—meant for wings? The fae here varied in size, shape, and coloring, just like the Hollow Court, but even at a glance, a much higher percentage had wings.
As the doors boomed closed, a fractional pause rippled through the crowd. They stared openly. Wings twitched. No one gasped, but no one stepped forward either.
“Is that the prince?” a short fae in solemn blue muttered.
A herald stepped forward across the polished black stone floor. “Prince Soren of the Shadow Court,” he trumpeted in a clear, resonant voice, and something amplified it across the room.
Wide curving staircases along both walls led to a second-floor balcony where the royals mingled, but none of them deigned to look down besides Soren’s sister.
The herald turned to me and hesitated, asking in a more normal volume, “Prince Soren, how may I announce your . . . companion?”
Soren looked to me. “Do you wish to share your name?”
I tilted my head, unsure. Though names didn’t seem to hold as much power over me, maybe I’d hold back until I got a sense of the fae here. “Just Brynn.”
The herald immediately called out, “And his guest, Just Brynn.”
I pulled my lips into my mouth so I wouldn’t laugh into the echoing silence. Tucking my hair behind my ear self-consciously, I regretted it instantly when a nearby fae gasped.
“It’s another human—with the prince!”
A faint collective intake of breath crossed the room, followed by whispers.
Someone nearby muttered, “It looks so fragile.”
I flushed.
Ignoring them, Soren offered me his arm, and the crowd parted for us as we swept through the room, heads held high. A few fae smiled at their prince, but most wide eyes remained glued to me.
I let loose a heavy breath once we finally stepped through a set of double doors and out of sight. Glowing sconces lit the smooth stone walls of the hallway, similar to the Hollow Court. If my skin weren’t still icy from the flight, I’d have thought we’d never left.
But soon, the differences became obvious.
Every dozen or so feet, huge glass windows displayed thousands of stars in the night sky. At closer glance, the windows had doorknobs. I supposed, with so many wings here, any opening could become an exit.
“Wait until you see the Shadow Court in the daylight,” Soren told me as we made our way down a hall that went deeper into the mountain. “The views are stunning.”
“I can imagine,” I murmured, trying to picture the steep drop when I’d never even been to the top of a skyscraper in my life, much less the peak of a mountain. “Is the whole court on the mountainside?”
“Most do build into the rock, yes. Those with means, like my family, have carved into the mountain quite a bit as well, which is why we have all this.” He gestured to the brightly lit hall.
“All of this belongs to your family?” I gestured behind and ahead. I shouldn’t have been so surprised. Royals usually had castles. Of course his family took up the whole top of a mountain.
“We maintain a large staff, and my father is always hosting guests, but yes, we do occupy a large portion of this particular mountain, as well as a second home at the base of another nearby.”
“Oh, so only two mountains?” I teased. “Poor little prince.”
He frowned at first, then snorted.
I smiled. He was adjusting to my sarcasm. And I felt brave enough around him to show it.
“Would you like to go somewhere more quiet?” Soren asked softly, almost shy. “Or perhaps I should show you to your room? You’re probably exhausted.”
The mere thought of a bed should’ve made me want to crash after everything that’d happened. But adrenaline still spiked my blood, keeping me wide awake.
“I can stay with you.” Eyes widening at my assumption, I added, “I mean, if you want. It’s up to you. I can go to my room if you’re tired.”
Soren grinned. It transformed his face. Getting away from the Hollow Court had lifted a weight off him, making the smiles come easier and more often. “Not in the slightest. Come, this way.”
Less than a minute later, Soren stopped outside a tall ivory door in the black granite walls. “This is my room, if you’d like to come in and talk a bit longer?”
Of course I wanted that. I didn’t want to leave his side because the moment I did, I was terrified he’d forget about me. He’d remember that he was a prince who shouldn’t bother with mortals, as his father had made abundantly clear. Bottling up those worries, I just nodded.
Opening the door, Soren revealed a huge open space with a low bed the size of our entire bedroom back home. On the opposite side was a tall fireplace, already lit like someone had prepared the room for his arrival.
The ceiling rose high enough that Soren could’ve flown at least ten feet into the air.
For all I knew, maybe he did sometimes. But it was the windows that took over the entire far side of the room that made me gasp.
Pure black sky sparkled with bright stars.
Pretty designs in the wood framed the tall windows, all the way down to the soft cushioned window seat below.
Wandering into the space, I stopped to take off Gwen’s boots, worried that I’d get his floor dirty. The thick, soft rug cushioned my bare feet as I moved toward the window, drawn to the view. Massive silhouettes of nearby mountains blacked out large chunks of the horizon.
“I hope . . .” Soren started to speak into the silence, then stopped.
Turning to face him, I watched him struggle for the right words.
“I know you wanted to go home, and I’m sure you still do, once the veil lifts again . . . But I hope you’ll eventually feel safe here.”
“I already do.” I stepped closer to him. Drawing a deep breath, gathering my nerve, I reached out to take his hand.
He curled his long, slender fingers through my own in response.
I blew out that same breath and dared to be vulnerable. “You know. . . now that my family is safe, I’m actually not in a hurry to go back.”