Chapter Fifteen
It was a long ride back to Anestas and Rhea was nervous about returning to her home.
Her mother was probably furious with her for leaving and she would have to face the consequences.
But she knew she had to return and inform the other fairies of the wildfire attacks on Taten and Labara and the impending attack on Junacave.
She had to convince them to return with her. Somehow.
She didn’t want to leave the castle that she had grown so accustomed to and she certainly didn’t want to travel alone but she knew she had no choice.
Had she told the queen where she was going, chances were good that Queen Breestlin would send someone to accompany her home.
Knowing how angry her mother was likely to be, she couldn’t risk bringing strangers into Anestas.
After Dagan and Sidonie had left for Odustis, she’d thought no one would notice if she snuck away.
Stealing clothes from the wardrobe had been the easiest part.
Her blue dress was modest enough for travel and wouldn’t so easily give away the fact that she was fae.
And with her hair pulled back into a braid, she didn’t draw nearly as much attention riding through the village as she had in the castle.
It had been easy to convince the stable boy to lend her a horse and saddle too.
But controlling the reins and remaining upright on the horse was difficult.
Rowan wasn’t there to grab hold of when she came close to falling off the saddle.
Thankfully, she’d gotten the hang of it after the first day of travel.
Rhea was almost there now. She could see the ridgeline on the horizon.
The valley of Anestas was just on the other side.
However, the sun was setting in the sky, and she would never make it there before dark.
So she tied her horse to a stump and climbed up into a tree.
It felt much safer than sleeping on the ground.
Even though it was incredibly uncomfortable, it reminded her of her home in Anestas, living in the trees.
She considered changing into sprite form but was already falling too deeply into sleep to bother.
When dawn came, she woke. Glancing at the ground, she was startled to see that her horse was gone.
She climbed down and looked around but didn’t see it.
Then she heard the horse make a snorting noise and she followed the sound through the forest. When she reached the edge of a bank and peered down at the creek, she saw her horse.
And it wasn’t alone.
“Did you follow me?” she called out before she could stop herself.
Reeve snapped his head up, surprised to hear the fairy’s voice. He’d been certain he hadn’t made any noise to wake her. So much for being stealthy. A spy, like his brother, he was not.
“Sorry. I thought you were asleep,” he said, frowning. “I saw the horse was tied up so I brought her down to drink. I was planning to bring her back before you woke.”
“Her? My horse is a female?” she asked as she slowly climbed down the bank. The gray horse was gulping water from the creek beside a dark brown horse which Rhea assumed was Reeve’s.
“Sure. Her name is Starlight. But she isn’t your horse. She’s my sister’s horse. Gabrielle. And she loves this horse more than she loves me some days, so you will have some explaining to do to Gabrielle when we return.”
“I can’t return. Not yet anyway.” She lifted her chin, determined to learn how he was there. “But you didn’t answer my question.”
“I followed you, yes. But I only did so because Queen Breestlin asked me to.”
“She knows I left?” So much for sneaking away…
“No. She doesn’t know.”
“Then how did she ask you to follow me?”
“I’ve been tasked with guarding you since the mages left,” Reeve admitted with a wince.
“Guarding me? Why?”
“The queen only said that you may be in danger. She didn’t feel the need to share any more details.”
Rhea wasn’t sure if she should believe him.
On one hand, she knew he was the brother of Rowan, so she wanted to trust him.
And he was a knight now, so would he lie?
On the other hand, how had he been able to guard her without her knowing and follow her this entire way without her noticing him?
Maybe she hadn’t been as smart about this as she’d thought.
“You were never supposed to see me,” Reeve said, taking Starlight’s reins and leading her away from the creek. “You’re welcome to continue to Anestas and pretend you didn’t.”
“Are you still going to follow me?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
“Wait. How do you know I’m going to Anestas?”
“I heard you speaking to yourself on the way to the village,” he said, smiling shyly.
“Oh.” She was a little embarrassed. Thinking aloud was a bad habit of hers. “Well, if you intend to follow me anyway, we may as well ride together. Besides, it isn’t much further.”
She couldn’t believe what she was saying.
How had she found the courage to speak so freely to a stranger?
Especially a man? The longer she looked at him though, the more she felt herself relaxing.
He looked so much like his brother, and she wondered if that was why she found it easier to trust him. Was it wrong to?
“Okay, then,” he said. “I’m ready when you are.”
He handed her the reins then bent down, ready to help her mount the horse.
She hesitated for a moment before placing her foot in his hand.
Then she pushed off from the ground and swung her other foot over the saddle, adjusting her skirts once she was settled.
Once Reeve was on his horse, Rhea followed him up the creek bank and through the forest until they reached the trail that she had been following to Anestas. He slowed down to ride alongside her.
“I’ve never seen this trail before,” he said, trying to strike up a conversation.
What was a man supposed to say to a fairy?
You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and please don’t curse me?
Somehow, he didn’t think she’d want to hear either of those things from him, whether he thought them or not.
“Not many people have. At one time, it was the most traveled road from Junacave to Vale. Now, however…” She didn’t need to continue. It was well known that people avoided this trail so that they didn’t come too close to the Valley of the Fae.
“Is it true? What they say?” he asked. “If a man enters the valley, he’s never seen again?”
“Mostly. Except for one. Your brother.”
Reeve laughed but when he glanced over at her serious expression, he realized she wasn’t joking. “Are you serious? Rowan actually went into the valley? When?”
“Yes, he did. He came to seek assistance from my mother to heal the pixies of Windermere.”
Reeve looked intrigued so Rhea told the story of how Rowan came to the valley and how the Queen Fairy refused to help.
Then she spoke about the trip to Vale and the pixies and how Bree’s uncle almost woke them up.
She did leave out a few parts of the story.
Mainly, that her mother offered her hand in marriage and Rowan refused.
Surprisingly, she was finding that talking to Reeve was enjoyable.
He seemed interested in everything she had to say.
When she heard his stomach growling, she shared a piece of bread with him.
He told her about his sister and the recent death of his mother.
She found she could listen to him talk all day.
He had such an interesting voice. Deep but expressive. Almost soothing.
They were so distracted by their conversation that she didn’t realize how far into the valley they had ridden until it was too late…
A fairy flew by and scared the horses, followed by another and another.
Soon, they were surrounded by fairies in their sprite forms, circling them.
Reeve reached out and grabbed Starlight’s reins while trying desperately to hold his own and remain on the horse at the same time.
Rhea tried to shout, to warn Reeve to flee, but several fairies were grabbing onto her arms, pulling her up and off the horse.
“Stop it! Don’t you recognize me? Stop!” she shouted. But it did no good. They couldn’t hear her over the buzzing caused by the dozens of fluttering wings.
Suddenly, Reeve was lifted off his horse and carried away. She couldn’t let them harm him. He hadn’t meant to enter the valley. This was all her fault.
Even though she knew she might hurt them, she started flinging the fairies off her. If she could just get them to let go, she could change into sprite form and show them who she was, but they just kept pulling at her. She finally let them take her.
She landed with a thud outside their tree hollows. She saw Reeve, several feet away from her. He was being held down but struggling, trying to break free.
“Stop!” Rhea demanded. “Set him free. Now!”
One of the fairies flew up right to her face. Rhea didn’t flinch. It was Raven, her aunt. She changed into human form and stood in front of Rhea.
“We wondered when you would return. I didn’t recognize you in your hideous human clothing,” Raven said, looking Rhea over. “As if your state of dress wasn’t enough, you bring a man into our valley? Have you no sense, Rhea? You know what your mother will do to him.”
Rhea searched for a way to explain but even though it was an accident, she doubted the other fairies would care. He would still be punished. She had to come up with a plan and quick. “He isn’t just a man. He’s… He’s the one from before. The one who saved me.”
Raven turned around. “You! What is your name?”
“Reeve. His name is Reeve,” Rhea interjected.
“That sounds vaguely familiar, but I could have sworn that man’s name was something else. Roman or…”
“It was Reeve. Honestly, Raven, your memory is terrible for a guard.” It was either brave or incredibly unwise to call Raven’s bluff. Rhea was sure it wouldn’t work.