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“And where is this companion of yours, and why has he left you to fend for yourself in the wild and hostile woods?”
As I swagger into the clearing whistling jauntily, he glances up, his sly smile spreading. “Ah, what have we here? If my eyes do not deceive me, I believe it is a powerful huntsman called Ever.”
“A human, Ever? You’ve captured a human girl! What a prize. I can hardly believe what I see. And, tell me, do you take her back to your court?” “Yes. That’s the plan.”
“I will do you a favor and take her off your hands, Ever. You may thank me immediately if you wish.”
“Indeed, you may.” The human gasps. “But, Never, I don’t want—” “Shh,” I command. “Hold your tongue if you want to keep it.” The vile prince laughs. “Never? Is this the name you gave her instead of your own? It is too amusing.” “No, she took it upon herself to gift me with this new one.”
“As do you, Ever. As do you. By the way, how is your heart fairing? Tick tock, my friend. Don’t tarry. Better hurry up and find your mate.”
As we take off, the girl whips her hand behind us and, unable to help myself, my gaze follows its trajectory. It’s an odd kind of wave she’s offering him—hand clenched and one lone finger proudly pointing at the Merit prince. I like the rebellious look of it and pitch my own version in his direction. She laughs. “Do you have any idea what that gesture means?” “Goodbye, you hateful prick?” “That’s a very good guess.”
Her back stiffens against me, and she grips my forearm tightly.
They wake my captive from her trance. And, of course, she immediately begins to speak.
Hopefully, Temnen is wise enough to guess I won’t give the human up without a fight, and since I am the Prince of Air, there is none better with a sword than I.
If he wants her today, he will die for indulging his impatience.
On the other hand, it will please Mother no end to have another creature to torment. She may even be too distracted to lecture me to take my duty to the throne more seriously and to hurry up and find my queen. If only she knew how deadly serious I am.
“Never? Can we stop soon? I’m starving.” Balor immediately sits and barks, and Jinn halts abruptly, both obeying the wasp’s request. What is this mutiny?
I have a bone-deep premonition this girl is going to cause me the worst kind of trouble—infinite and unfathomable. But on the positive side, at least I’m not bored anymore.
“What were you thinking of that made you smile like that? The first time you drowned a puppy?”
“As I said, I did not smile. Smiling is the enterprise of sycophants and lunatics.”
“If you wish to bathe in the river, human, you may do so. The water here is shallow and the current slow. It’s unlikely you’ll drown. But, of course, I can’t guarantee you won’t.”
“Not there!” Ever yells as Balor barks and Jinn whinnies.
And speaking of stupidity, would it be beyond you to turn the wind down a bit or let some sun shine through the clouds for a few minutes?”
“Oh, forget it. I’d have better luck getting a piranha to file its own teeth blunt than I would convincing you to do something nice for a change.”
Stripped down to my bare skin, arms crossed over my chest, and teeth chattering, I step into the icy water—one foot, now two. Shock steals the breath from my lungs, reminding me of Ever’s cruelty. I won’t cry.
Refusing to give in to terror, I blink back tears. Fear means weakness, which leads to death.
A volley of barking cuts through the silence, the sound moving closer until Balor appears on the bank. The moment he spies me, he gives an extra-loud yip and dives into the river, legs splayed and tongue flapping.
but I can’t help giggling at him frolicking knee-deep and splashing water everywhere. He looks so happy.
“You must really love swimming if you’re braving a dip when it’s this cold,” I tell him.
Splashing water over my chest, I hum an old Native American tune to distract myself from the cold. It’s a song about how a river is like a mother, carrying her child down to the sea. Singing it lulls me into a trance. It’s medicine for my soul, instantly calming and reassuring. As my voice amplifies in the wild space, the graceful willow branches seem to sway along. A ray of sunshine bursts through a break in the clouds, warming my skin and raising my spirits.
“Were you watching me bathe, you snake? What the hell is wrong with you?” He laughs. “I was merely curious. Do humans have a fear of appearing unclothed in front of others? If so, I did not know it.” I refuse to comment and continue dressing.
“Oh, you’re a beast of a man.” “Strictly speaking, I am not precisely a man.”
“What were you humming while you bathed? It was… unusual and made my limbs heavy. I wanted to move badly, but I found I couldn’t.”
“No one’s ever pushed me off anything before,” he says in an awed voice.
“I think you might have a concussion. Shouldn’t you be sucking all the air out of my lungs right now?” “Would you like me to? If you wish, I can try a different method.”
Gripping my shoulder, he spins me like a top, shoving me against a tree trunk that’s rough and gnarled and probably as old as the Earth itself. Then I can’t breathe, and not because he’s doing his wacko air magic on me. It’s because his whole body is aligned against mine, leather and sword hilt digging into my flesh, and his lips are a mere inch away.
Soft lips gently brush mine and reality shifts and spins, dropping me into total blackness.
I force a smirk. “You, an Elemental fae huntsman, are attracted to me, a human who you’ve just spent at least twenty-four hours calling a troll, a goblin, and a spotted wasp. What does that say about you, Never? Personally, I think it strongly hints that you’re a hypocrite. And, also, why have your eyes turned blue?”
“My eyes turned blue?” he asks,
I watch and wring my hands together, wondering if I should have kissed him back.
Unconscious, he looks young and sweet. His sulky top lip pouts attractively, lending him a kissable innocence. As I watch his chest’s rhythmic rise and fall, something draws deep in my gut, and I yearn to reach out and touch his cheekbone, test the texture of his skin. This magnetic pull shakes me to the core.
Aunt Clare’s words come back to taunt me: Handsome is as handsome does, Lara. Don’t believe pretty lies from pretty mouths. Instead, let their actions speak to your heart. The truth shines in deeds, always has and always will.
“Never, would you be able to find me if I ran away?” His fists tighten on his thighs. “Of course. I am a hunter. I have air magic, and I shall never forget your scent. There is nowhere you could hide where I could not follow.”
“I can’t hear anything.” “That’s because you never stop talking.
Any gratitude I felt toward him for saving my life last night vanishes, torched in hot flames of anger. “Never, you’ve ended the deer’s life for what purpose? Hunting to eat makes sense, I understand that, but for sport… I don’t get that. I thought your kind respected animals.”
“Most fae hunt. Usually for food, but we like to practice and improve our skills, and some of us enjoying killing for the sake of it.”
I’m not leaving until I’ve paid my respects to the deer. A song seems appropriate.
As I continue to stroke the deer’s fur, tears run down my face. I can’t help feeling connected, seeing a glimpse of my future in its limp and ruined body—a hapless victim of the huntsman, just as I’m surely doomed to be.
When the song is over, I bend and press a kiss to the deer’s forehead, then lift my furious gaze to Ever’s. Chest pumping, his breath pants out in ragged bursts.
“What? Where’s the pain? In your arm or your chest?” Fae physiology must be similar enough to ours, so perhaps he’s having a heart attack. And if he is, I should be glad of it. “I don’t know. My chest. My stomach. What is this feeling?”
“You did something to the forest, changed its pulse. I felt it.”
You’re not used to feeling empathy. You’re sorry for what you did, killing an innocent creature for no good reason. That’s all. The song moved you.”
“I’ve already told you I have no wish to take a human lover. Besides, I wouldn’t risk it. I’d break you.”
Metal tinkles and clothes rustle. “Come and stand, human. From here you can see three of the four rivers of my kingdom.”
