CHAPTER 14
Awareness slowly trickled into my senses as the scent of flowers hit me first. The sweet smell overwhelmed my nose and reminded me of jasmine and the spring blossoms that grew in the groves near my old school.
Then, mysterious colours and shapes swirled into my vision, blurry at first, but with every second that passed, they became more and more clear. Glowing violet orbs, flaming amber eyes, Raena’s strained face as she was torn away. Suddenly, my eyes sprung open, and a loud gasp escaped my throat.
I was no longer in the cobbled faery street.
“The sleeping beauty awakens,” a low, masculine voice sounded from nearby.
My head whipped around. I was lying down, sprawled across what felt like a giant silk bed. Above me, thick tree roots weaved through a dark burgundy ceiling as though this room was built beneath a large willow tree.
A large willow tree…
It was then that the memories came flooding back – the forest clearing, the hidden archway, the guards, theprince. Panicking, I hurried to push myself up, but a soft clinking sound stopped me as I realised my hands were suspended above my head, chained to the wooden bed frame.
“I would apologise for the restraints, but your friend did have a dagger.” The voice spoke again. This time, I realised who it was coming from.
Twisting my body, I was able to sit up on the giant bed, my wrists remaining fixed to the bed frame behind me. At the foot of the bed, lounging in an ornate wooden chair, was the dark-haired faery prince. My breath caught as I saw him. In the harsh light of the bedchamber, I could finally take in his sharp features and long, pointed ears. Though it didn’t take long for a smile to creep across his face as he noticed me staring.
“Like what you see?” he teased.
Oh Ancients, he’s even more insufferable than Lukas.
“Why am I here?” I demanded, ignoring his question.
The prince grinned. “So I can assess if you really are the true Princess of Corlixir, or if you are simply a very beautiful assassin. Although I’m betting on the latter.” He winked.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you.” Tearing my gaze away, I focused on the cold metal around my wrists. I tugged at them, testing their strength. “Do you interrogate all your prisoners like this?” I complained, realising that I wasn’t getting out of these without a key.
“Only the pretty ones who claim to be a princess.” His candid response made my cheeks feel warm.
Beside him on a small wooden table was a white goblet encrusted with violet jewels. Moving out of his seat, he scooped up the goblet and slowly made his way over to me, his footsteps echoing across the smooth quartz floor.
“In my hand is a truth serum,” he explained. “Once you take a sip, you will be compelled to speak only the truth for the next few minutes.” He lowered his tall frame and took a seat on the bed, his back only inches from my thighs.
I eyed the goblet suspiciously. “How do I know it’s not poison?”
A laugh rumbled from his chest. “It would be very foolish of me to poison the Princess of Corlixir now, wouldn’t it? Especially since, if you are telling the truth – which I very much doubt you are – my mother and father would be eager to meet you.”
“And I, them,” I reminded him.
“I must admit you are playing your role beautifully.” He pushed the goblet towards my lips. “But please, enough with the theatrics. You must drink this so I can find out who you really are.”
My jaw clenched as my lips remained sealed.
“Drink, pretty assassin,” he ordered again, but this time, something strange happened. His words seemed to echo in my mind as my eyelids lowered. “Drink…” he pressured once more, and then, without even wanting to, my own lips betrayed me as the honey-flavoured liquid pooled in my throat.
After a few seconds, he drew the goblet away, and I coughed, clarity flooding my mind.
“What was that?” I spluttered.
“Compulsion.” Another smirk crept over his face. “It’s a rare gift, but everyone in my family can do it.” A soft thud sounded as he placed the goblet on the bedside table. “Now,” he mused, drawing closer, “tell me your name.”
“My name is Naria Alderbrook.” I gasped as the words spilled out of me without any effort at all.
“Intriguing…” The prince swept a suspicious gaze over me. “But I suppose you could still have the same name as her… How about this, tell me why you’re here?”
Once again, the words tumbled out of me. “I am here because I absolutely cannot stand to marry Prince Lukas. King Ikelos seems to think it is best for my kingdom, and the prince is certainly handsome, but he has absolutely no manners or respect for me. He saw no issue with parading his lovers around the palace and told me very matter-of-factly that he has no intention of letting me rebuild Corlixir, and would probably rather all my people leave Honeymeade and find homes in other kingdoms.” My chest felt heavy as I spoke, but I couldn’t stop. The traitorous words kept tumbling out. “I met someone in the library, a healer, she told me about this place and how the fae had good connections with Corlixir. I thought I might be able to find another suitor here, or at least form some kind of alliance to help rebuild my kingdom. Then there would be no need for me to marry Lukas. I could save my kingdom and I’d never have to see his smug face again.”
The faery prince just stared with an open mouth, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “You really are her?” he breathed.
I nodded, my lower lip trembling.
“What do you know of the night of the fire? How did you escape?”
I tried so desperately to keep my jaw clamped shut. Answering his questions in this way felt like such an invasion into my mind. But of course, even with my teeth biting down my tongue, the reply still forced its way through. “I don’t remember exactly.” A hot tear rolled down my cheek. “I was only a baby. But I was told by the village mother that King Ikelos saved me that night and took me to Drothmore. He caught me after my parents dropped me out of their window.” I tried to pause and chew my lip, but the words wouldn’t stop. “Apparently their screams rang through the entire kingdom after King Ikelos took me away and the… the fire consumed them.” The last words pierced my chest like a dagger.
When I was a child, I used to spend hours lying awake wondering about my family. I liked to imagine, as morbid as it sounds, that they passed away peacefully in their sleep from the thick smoke of the Great Blaze. Or perhaps the fire took them cleanly and quickly without too much pain. To know how they really died made everything feel so much worse. Some days, I wished the village mother had never told me anything at all.
Silence filled the room as the prince’s gaze remained fixed on me. His taunting smile had faded into a look of pity. I hated that. Let me feel sad, let me mourn for them, but do not make me feel helpless.
Eventually, he straightened, clearing his throat as he reached into a pocket by this thigh. A small silver key appeared in his palm.
“I once again apologise for the restraints, Your Highness.” His tone was different now. He spoke with a new air of respect. “And I apologise for not believing your story when you first came to us. I hope you can understand that the circumstances of your arrival were… unique.” He leaned forward to reach for the cold metal rings around my wrists. As he searched for the keyhole, his hands brushed mine, sending something fluttering in my chest. He was so close that I could see the muscles in his neck. The smell of wildflowers with cinnamon undertones crept into my nose, and I noticed my bodice felt unusually tight. Perhaps this was just the truth serum wearing off.
Eventually, with a soft click, the restraints fell away, and I lowered my hands to massage my tingling wrists. The prince remained leaning forward until, without any warning, he carefully took one of my hands and pressed the back of it to his lips. After planting a soft kiss on my skin, he lowered my hand then met my confused gaze.
“I realise that we haven’t been formally introduced.” Another smile tugged at his lips. “My name is Prince Arenn Dalsidian of Faelenna, but please, just call me Arenn.” He returned my hand gently to the silk bed sheets. “It’s so good to meet you, Naria… I trust it’s acceptable for me to call you that?”
I nodded slowly as unease settled in my stomach. This was so far from how I imagined meeting the prince would be. A small part of me wondered how Lukas would feel if he knew I was here right now – with my face inches away from a beautiful amber-eyed faery. I blinked, casting the thought aside. It didn’t matter what he thought, and if this night went well, I might never have to think of him again.
“I would like to speak with the Faery King and Queen as soon as possible,” I requested while trying to steady my shaking breath. “I also need Lady Raena to be released. She is innocent. I had no idea she brought a dagger, but you must believe me when I say that I trust the dagger was only for our protection.”
The prince straightened and nodded once. “She will be released immediately. I will have a guard escort her to the throne room.” He rose from the bed, turning to extend a hand out to me. “In the meantime, I’ll take you to the King and Queen. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to meet you.” Excitement flashed across his sharp features.
“Thank you,” I said as I carefully accepted his hand.
The moment I stepped out of the silk bed, my legs wobbled beneath me, and suddenly the room began to spin. Quickly, Arenn slipped an arm around my waist, steadying me before I could fall. A soft gasp leapt from my throat as his hand pressed against my lower back. No one had ever touched me in that way before. The feeling made my cheeks burn redder than roses.
“Sorry,” I whispered, resting my palm against his chest to support myself.
“You needn’t apologise.” His arm remained firmly around my waist as he continued to hold me. “It’s most likely from the spell I used to bring you here. Though I must insist, had I known you were a princess, I can assure you I would’ve taken you straight to the King and Queen.”
“It’s not your fault. We should’ve come more prepared. This was actually quite a rushed decision,” I said, pressing a hand to my forehead in an attempt to ease the dizziness.
“Of course. You’ll have to tell me all about this foolish human prince that you ran away from,” he replied with a curious smile.
“I’m afraid he’s far from foolish,” I sighed, closing my eyes to stop the room swirling around me. “Just incredibly arrogant.”
“Arrogant or not,” the prince shot back in a teasing tone, “he’d have to be foolish to let someone as pretty as you slip away from his palace in the middle of the night.”
My cheeks burned once more as I opened my eyes to glance up at him. When standing beside me, he was at least a head taller than I was. “You’re quite the charmer,” I commented with a shy smile. “Am I to discover that you also have several lovers that you parade around the streets here?”
Arenn grinned, showing a line of perfect white teeth. “If I did, would you still want to form an alliance with my family? Or would you run to the next kingdom? Perhaps to the goblins? Though I’ve heard they can be a little beastly and they’re quite… well… small.”
A laugh bubbled in my throat. “I’d gladly marry the smallest goblin if I could trust him to be loyal to myself and my kingdom.”
“How intriguing,” he mused playfully. “But please, I request that while I am courting you, you don’t let anyone catch you sneaking off with any goblins. It would certainly ruin my reputation.”
“So you plan on courting me?” I retorted, heart fluttering in my chest.
He leaned closer and in a low voice said, “You are a mysterious human princess… I would be a very foolish prince not to.”