Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Briar
I jumped back, but not in time to avoid the powdery substance from blowing over me after it hit him. I stood, too astonished to move as it clung to my face and dress. Uncertain of what it was, I didn’t dare breathe in case it was poison.
Knox didn’t have the same reservations as me as he exploded. “Son of a bitch! I’m going to choke all of you!”
His words surprised me as my lungs burned. It didn’t matter if I wanted to inhale this stuff or not; I wouldn’t have a choice soon.
More laughter came from the archway over the door; the patter of footsteps scampering away followed it. Judging by the sound, they were tiny feet, but I had no idea where they were hiding or what they belonged to.
Unable to hold my breath anymore, it burst from my lungs. I inhaled and then coughed when some of the white substance went up my nose. My coughing drew it into my mouth, and once I stopped flicking my tongue in a useless attempt to dislodge it, I calmed enough to detect the earthy taste of flour.
“What…?” I muttered as I looked down at the white powder clinging to me.
I hadn’t been covered anywhere near as badly as Knox, who still had a pile of flour sitting on his head while more of it coated his body. I tried not to laugh when he shook his head, flinging it everywhere, but while I knew laughter would only draw his ire, I couldn’t hold back a giggle.
When Knox’s gaze flew to me, his eyes burned with the same intensity as the fire they resembled. My chuckle faded, but I couldn’t stop grinning.
From behind him, Dromon cursed as Lyra muttered threats of death. More laughter came from the lengths of timber running across the cathedral ceiling as the footfalls continued. Whatever was laughing and running remained hidden.
“Fucking sprites,” Lyra muttered. “Annoying little bastards.”
“There are sprites here!” I blurted. No wonder I couldn’t see them; sprites were known for their playful, prank-loving nature, as well as their ability to become invisible. “How amazing!”
Six eyes burned angrily into me while Pierce remained with the horses. They weren’t anywhere near as happy about this revelation as me, but their dour moods wouldn’t dampen my excitement.
I’d never encountered sprites before but had always wanted to. I’d heard tales of their mischievousness and was eager to learn more about them, but they usually could only be found in forests or near water.
They didn’t typically like being around other eternals and often hid from them. Before I was locked away, I did explore our kingdom some, but I’d never encountered one in the woods, and there was nothing for them in No Man’s Land. That dead place would be a blight to their nature-loving souls.
“They moved in after the curse,” Dromon said as he brushed past the others. He brushed away the small amount of flour clinging to his shirt. “And they’ve been assholes ever since.”
“But you need us assholes, and you love us,” a small, feminine voice with a lilting accent said before a dainty female materialized on one of the rafters.
She sat with her hands perched on the wood as she kicked her feet back and forth.
Her beautiful, orange butterfly wings fluttered before she folded them against her back.
“Fuck off, Bertie,” Dromon responded.
At around a foot tall, the sprite’s silvery blonde hair brushed the rafter when she tipped her head to look at me. Her sparkling blue dress matched her eyes.
“Who’s the girl?” she asked.
“I’m Briar,” I replied with a wave. “It’s nice to meet you.”
At least there was something good in this kingdom, and I was excited to get to know the sprites better.
She beamed as she waved back at me. “Finally, someone who’s not a moody hairball.”
Giggles came from the rafters around her.
“What is she?” a tiny voice whispered.
Knox wiped more flour off his face and flicked it away. He scowled at Bertie before stalking toward me, grasping my elbow, and leading me across the great hall with its wide planked floors and high, wooden ceiling.
Scattered rosebushes speckled the room and the expansive stairs across from us. Like the ones in the bailey, these roses were healthier than the ones in town.
What little sunlight there was in this kingdom spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows on each side of the room. It illuminated patches of the floor and the plants, positioned to get as much exposure to it as possible.
Despite Knox’s brisk strides, my head craned around as I tried to take in everything at once, and my feet stumbled more than they walked. This place was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and I wanted to drink in every detail of it.
It was more of a castle entwined and at one with nature. In the center of the room, a tree rose from the floor and stretched toward a hole in the ceiling. Its sweeping limbs spread across the room and, at some points, entangled with the thick beams.
Any rain that fell was funneled down the branches to the hole in the center of the floor. An assortment of stones edged the hole; I couldn’t make out the carvings on the rocks, but something was etched there.
Like the other trees in the kingdom, this one didn’t have any leaves yet, but its buds were thicker and healthier than the ones in the woods. Some of them had started to unfurl enough to reveal an assortment of reds, greens, yellows, and oranges. It must be magnificent when fully leafed out.
I understood why the sprites liked it here.
It looked as if the forest had come inside as ivy circled the banisters all the way up the stairs and entwined around the balconies above.
The plants created a cascade of green as they spilled down to the lower levels.
And the smell was rich and earthy like the woods after rain. I loved it.
The sprites had to be the ones maintaining the plants. They must use their abilities to keep everything inside the castle healthier.
I suspected that’s why Knox let them stay, even if he looked murderous over their prank.
This castle was where he grew up; it most likely contained his family and everyone he knew best when the curse happened.
And for the sprites, this residence was a reprieve from the despair outside and a haven from any predators.
“Who is she, Knox?” Bertie called.
“I hope you plan on cleaning up this mess, Bertie,” he said instead of answering her.
When more giggles came from the rafters and dozens of sprites revealed themselves, Knox stopped walking.
All the sprites were about a foot tall, but their wings and appearances varied greatly.
Some individuals had darker skin and hair, while others had hair in various shades of blue, purple, and pink.
Several had orange or blue butterfly wings, while others possessed delicate, see-through wings with silver edges. Various ones had wings in the shape of a dragonfly and were see-through or multihued.
I gawked at them as dozens more materialized in the rafters. They spread across the vast hall, and a few perched in the tree’s branches and on the balcony railings.
“Do we ever leave a mess, Knox?” Bertie inquired sweetly.
“Yes.”
When the sprites all tittered, their laughter sounded like musical bells. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at the beautiful sound.
“Does it look like we trash the place?” a male sprite asked.
“You just dumped a pound of flour on my head,” Knox retorted.
“That was to make you laugh.”
“It was to make you laugh.”
The sprites all giggled as their heads bobbed up and down.
“Clean up this mess,” Knox commanded.
“Always so grouchy and moody now,” Bertie muttered. “You used to be a lot more fun.”
The sadness in her voice tugged at my heart, and I pondered how well she’d known Seth before he became this.
“I used to be a lot of things,” he retorted, “and now I’m not.”
He started walking again, and I stumbled to keep up. “I’m putting her in the west tower,” he shot over his shoulder. “I expect you to see to her needs.”
My heart sank, and my heels dug into the floor as panic assailed me. No, not another tower.
“We’re not your servants!” another sprite called after us.
“No, you’re not, but she’s the key to breaking this curse, and if you want it lifted, then you’ll help keep her alive,” Knox called back.
All amusement vanished from the sprites, the smiles slipped from their faces, and their heads turned to watch us.
Bertie rose from the rafters and swooped down to the ground.
Her tiny feet thudded across the floor as she followed us, but I had no idea what she was saying as Knox’s words kept ringing in my head.
I jerked on my arm, but it was like trying to pry a soul free from the gods. “I’m not going in a tower!”
Knox ignored me as he easily pulled me onward. With all my common sense flying out the window, I jerked harder on my arm before giving up and letting insanity take over. I slapped at his hand, and when he didn’t so much as acknowledge me, I started punching his arm as I tried to break free.
“I’m not going in a tower!” I yelled.
I’d spent a year locked in one of my mother’s towers, gazing at the land and shut off from the world. While it hadn’t been the punishment of the harem, I still had nightmares about the clicking sound of the lock turning into place.
I couldn’t be trapped like that again. I might die if the racing of my heart was any indication. Unfortunately, I was useless against him, and none of them were paying attention to me.
“How is she the key?” Bertie demanded. “Who is she?”
“She’s Queen Marina’s daughter,” Knox replied.
Bertie, whom I suspected was rarely clumsy, tripped over her feet and almost face-planted. She righted herself as a gasp ran through the rest of the sprites.
“It’s her,” some of them whispered to each other. “She’s the reason for the curse.”
The laughter and warmth I’d sensed from the sprites when I first arrived vanished. In its place was the open curiosity and animosity I’d become familiar with since Knox found me in the harem.
Great, he’s just taken the one thing I enjoyed about this kingdom from me. And now he’s going to lock me away again.
“Where did you find her?” Bertie demanded.
“In the harem,” Knox stated.
“You went back there! Are you insane?”