CHAPTER 32
Blinding light filled my vision. So blinding, it was as if the Ancients themselves had decided that I’d suffered enough. Suddenly, all the little goblin hands vanished from my skin, and when I finally opened my eyes, all I could see was an endless white void. My hearing was gone, too, replaced by a constant whistling. Though I knew I was still in the forest. I could feel the wet leaves under my bare legs and the scraps of my gown falling away, leaving me in just my corset and bloomers.
“Run!” a nearby goblin screeched, piercing through the whistling. Then, there were the pitter-patter sounds of tiny feet scrambling away as I continued fumbling blindly on the forest floor.
“Grimlurd’s dead,” another goblin squealed. In the distance, I could hear the sawing noise of a rope being hacked apart.
“He’s fae!”That squeal made me flinch. Was Arenn here? Frantically, I blinked, desperate to clear the imprint from the lightning. Someone must’ve summoned a storm. It couldn’t have been natural. The weather was so calm until the second my gown was in pieces. Arenn’s sisters wielded fire, and he clearly could manipulate nature – so maybe he could summon lightning, too? He must’ve come for me after noticing I’d run away. Imagine chasing your bride into the woods and finding her with her gown being torn away by goblins. You’d be furious. Furious enough to conjure up a storm and strike down the goblin leader then and there.
Just then, a pair of strong arms lifted me from the ground.
“Arenn?” I questioned as my vision finally cleared.
“Who’s Arenn?” Lukas loomed over me. With a halo of brown hair circling his striking face, he appeared almost angelic against the backdrop of the night sky. And in that moment, something about him smelled sweeter too, like citrus fruits from the warmest parts of the realm.
As I continued to stare, his concerned eyes searched over my exposed arms and legs. “Did the lightning hit you? Are you confused?”
Confused didn’t even begin to describe the mess that scrambled my mind. But it wasn’t because I’d been struck by any bizarre lightning. Glancing past him, the sky was completely clear again. No trace of even a single wispy rain cloud. There was definitely magic at work here.
“What happened?” I stuttered. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” Lukas said dismissively as he hauled me to my feet. “Just a freak storm. We’ve had a lot of those recently.”
“But, the lightning… it came out of nowhere.”
“Like I said, a freak storm,” he repeated, frustration growing in his tone. “Now let’s go before the goblins realise that too.”
Surrounding us were hundreds of panicking goblins. They squealed and scampered around the camp in all different directions, a few bumping into each other and tumbling backwards. It was utter mayhem. A few metres away, lying on the ground in a smoking heap, was the charred body of Grimlurd. It must’ve been a direct hit from the lightning, as a horrific scar traversed down his mossy skin.
Suddenly, a crazed goblin slammed against my leg, and I yelped. But just as the little beast steadied himself, his gaze swung to Lukas, and all the green drained from his face. “It’s him!” he screeched. “He’s no o’oman, he’s fae!” The goblin collapsed backwards in fear, his chest heaving dramatically as if he were inches away from a horrific monster instead of two scared humans.
“It’s time to go.” Lukas tugged on my hand. In the chaos, I hadn’t even realised he’d taken it.
“But what does he mean?” I stammered, my gaze darting between Lukas and the petrified goblin. “Why do they keep saying you’re fae? What are you hiding?”
The prince’s jaw tightened as he turned away, his lips remaining sealed.
“Are you human?” I wasn’t even sure why I asked that question. He had to be. His ears were round, and there was nothing supernatural about his perfect face. Still, with his hand in mine, I could feel a strange sensation, as though something powerful was crackling beneath his skin.
“Was it you?” I insisted, louder this time. “Did you summon the lightning?”
“I don’t know!” He whipped around to face me. “Maybe… It just happens sometimes. I can’t control it, I can’t explain it, and there’s absolutely not enough time to try and figure it all out here. So let’s go.” Before I could ask any more questions, he stormed off towards the trees, dragging my hand and then my body along with him. I didn’t bother arguing. He was right; the goblins would probably come to their senses any minute now, and we needed to be long gone by then. But still, who was he really? Because the longer I felt the buzzing power radiating from his skin, the less I believed he was merely an ordinary human prince.
The goblin camp was much larger than both Lukas and I had anticipated. When we were bound to that tree, it was hard to see past the first ten or so tents, but standing, the ugly canvas tents and flickering campfires seemed to stretch on for miles. As we marched through the camp, Lukas used a stolen goblin blade to force aside any goblins that dared to cross our path. Though most of them bolted at the sight of him, screaming that the fae had come to strike them down with lightning just like he’d done with their precious Grimlurd.
After passing what felt like a hundred tents, we stumbled across a tall black horse secured to a tree. Spiky metal goblin armour protected its front and sides, while a long saddle was fastened to its back. With its broad, strong legs, it could probably carry at least five goblins into battle.
“We’ll get back to the palace faster with this,” Lukas noted, urging me towards the steed. Before I could protest, his hands found my waist, and he lifted me swiftly onto the horse’s saddle.
“But there’s only one horse, and I can’t ride without someone leading me,” I shot back, trying to ignore the tingling feeling that his touch had left on my skin.
Lukas untied the reins from the tree and moved to the horse’s side. “He’s big enough for both of us,” he said, casually vaulting himself up and sliding close behind me. My breath hitched. That tingling sensation was nothing compared to the way my skin now burned, especially when his hand brushed my bare thigh as he reached for the reins. I hadn’t realised until then, but my bloomers must’ve ridden up while I settled in the saddle. The snowy white fabric bunched around my upper thighs, leaving far too little to the imagination. Cheeks reddening, I shuffled in place, quickly smoothing out the fabric to cover as much skin as possible.
“There’s no need to be embarrassed, fiancée,” Lukas whispered. “We both know I’ll see much more than that when you’re my wife.” His lips brushed my ear as he kicked the horse into motion.
Scoffing, I opened my mouth to retort, but the horse’s sudden movement sent my backside sliding down the saddle. I squealed until my shoulders collided with his hard chest. A gasp slipped from my lips as one of Lukas’s arms wrapped around my waist, the other maintaining control of the horse. With my entire back tucked safely against his torso, it was almost impossible to hide my shaking breath. Silently, I prayed that he wouldn’t notice how much he affected me. Otherwise, this would be a very long journey home.
It was much easier to see the end of the goblin camp on horseback. Once we’d cleared it, Lukas used the position of the rising sun in the sky to figure out which direction led us towards the palace. I hadn’t realised how quickly the night had slipped away from us. We’d only just set off into the woods before the stars had twinkled out completely, and the once coal-black sky gave way to a hazy blue.
While we rode at a slow pace through the forest, a million questions kicked around my mind. There were so many, I didn’t know where to begin. And it certainly didn’t help that after a few minutes of holding the reins, Lukas’s arm had slipped down and now rested across my left thigh. After such an eventful night, it was already difficult enough to think without the distraction of his arm constantly brushing against such a sensitive area of my body.
His other distracting arm remained securely around my waist. Even though there was no risk of me falling now, I couldn’t bring myself to request that he let go. So instead, in my sleep-deprived state, I just let myself lean further into him. We were both filthy from the mud, but somehow he still smelled so pleasant. Letting my eyes flutter shut, I breathed in deeply then exhaled. There would be plenty of time for questions later. For once, I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
“Comfortable?” he murmured. His voice vibrated in my ear as I nuzzled against his chest. How was it possible for something so firm to also feel so warm and safe?
“Wake me up when we get to the palace,” I replied, not moving from my position.
“I thought you’d be bombarding me with questions right now,” he continued calmly. “You had quite a lot to say in the goblin camp.”
“I’m too tired for questions and besides, I don’t feel like arguing with you, I just want to sleep,” I answered with a sigh. “Sleep and pretend.”
“Pretend?” he mused.
What was I even saying? I must’ve been more exhausted than I thought.
Keeping my eyes closed, I explained, “Sometimes when everything gets too much, I close my eyes and pretend that I’m someone else, somewhere far away. Right now, I want to forget about Corlixir, and Drothmore, and the fae, and anything else that comes with a thousand responsibilities. I want to just pretend that we’re two ordinary people, taking an ordinary ride, and maybe we’re on our way back to your cottage – not a palace, or anything fancy. Just for a moment, I want to be only myself. Not a princess. Not a future queen or anything like that. Only Naria. And you can be just Lukas.”
I stayed pressed against him, listening to the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. He probably thought I’d lost my mind along with my gown back in the goblin camp, but I didn’t care. As long as he let me stay leaning into him, nothing else mattered.
Ancients, I really was tired.
“I understand,” he said finally after a minute of silence. “We don’t have to talk or argue about anything important.” His tone was soft, almost tender. Then, the arm that was around my waist tightened as he squeezed gently. “You can sleep now, forest princess. I’ll wake you when we’re back at the… cottage.”
A smile warmed my cheeks. Just for a moment, I’d never felt happier. And as I drifted off, the horse’s movements rocking me to sleep, I imagined the two of us were on a boat staring out at a vast endless ocean. Realms away from any ruined kingdoms and wicked faeries.
Only us.