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“Your High Mage gave it to him saying he would know exactly what to do with it. Your brother thought of me instantly, told me I needed something pretty and comfortable to wear when I’m not working.
If they mean to insult me, then they have failed miserably. I find myself charmed by the human who stands before me looking fragile in soft blue-green hues, highlighted by the silver and gold of my falcons. How did I ever mistake her for a goblin or a troll?
“I have a set of hnefatafl in my rooms. I shall teach you the game, and then you won’t get eaten by Kian.” “Kian doesn’t like to eat people!” A smile tugs my lips. “I believe he likes eating human girls a lot more than he enjoys playing board games.”
She laughs. “I’d be very interested to see where someone such as you lives,” she says as if I’m some seven-headed sea monster and she can’t imagine what I use for a pillow. “So, because I’m an extremely nosy person, I’ll accept your offer. But what about Kian, shall I—?” “No. You shan’t.”
When we enter my parlor, she gazes around through wide eyes. I try to imagine how she sees my chambers.
“You’re a fae prince. I hardly think you need comforting.”
I’m all too familiar with the sight she sees—the phosphorescent gleam of the waterfalls, the distant black line of the forest. Darkness. Loneliness. Eternity.
“As you can see, my sleeping chamber and parlor are joined, creating a greater sense of space, and I enjoy the view from my pillows. Here is where the game is already set up. Breathe easy. I have no plans to throw your feeble human body onto my bed furs.” A deep blush spreads over her cheeks,
“Good. I’m not in the mood to reject you again, Never. I need more friends and fewer enemies in your city.”
Inwardly, I roll my eyes at my words. Kings. Sacrifice. Winning at any cost. This is my mother’s life, and if she has her way, it will soon be mine.
For a beginner, her careful moves of measured risk aren’t too bad and tell me a lot about the way she thinks.
“I have questions and they’re not about hnefatafl.” The wine has clearly taken effect. “Oh? Lara has questions. How surprising,” I say,
“You speak to Balor and Jinn as though they understand you. Can they answer back?” A laugh chokes out of me. “No. But they’re fae creatures, so they do comprehend most things, sometimes even my thoughts.”
“What have humans done to deserve your low opinion?” “You may turn out to be an exception, Lara,
Motivated only by their hunger, they’re too stupid to better their lot. Their cruelty is base and unthinking.”
“The curse began with Prince Gadriel over nine hundred fae years ago, and I am the thirteenth Black Blood heir. Some heirs’ lives are short, some long. Some find their fated mate, and she reverses the poison. Then they become king, dooming their oldest son to repeat the same fate, and on it goes.”
“No. She is a stranger to me. But it has been foretold I’ll find her underneath the Crystalline Oak, which is where I journey to each month at full moon. Each queen bears a different mark, a symbol, so I will know her when she comes. Even so, some heirs did not find their mate in time, or rejected her and the poison killed them. If I have a choice, that is my preference.”
“Death is preferable than chaining my sons and grandsons to Aer’s selfish whims forever.
But I don’t speak any of those vicious, hateful things. When she reaches the main door, I say one powerless word, “Wait.”
I don’t understand her appeal, yet nonetheless I am mesmerized.
Finally, I ask, “Why would you risk yourself for the moss elves?”
I cannot fathom why she, a tiny human girl with nothing to gain, would put her life in peril for lower faeries. She’s a puzzle I can’t fig...
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When my head hits the pillows, my gaze lands on the checkered board, the rune shapes moving like liquid metal over the pieces, and I realize two equally disturbing things. One: In my mind before, I compared her to a fae lover as though it were an inevitable outcome. And two: She’s stolen my king.
On it rests a wooden hnefatafl board, the figures decorated with gold runes sparkling against baked-clay backgrounds, and the central piece is conspicuously missing. I can fix that. I quickly retrieve Ever’s king from where it lies under my pillow,
“It’ll be fine,” I call as I flee into the passageway that connects all the little rooms where the castle staff live. “He won’t hurt me.” At least I hope he won’t.
Kian is the first to rouse himself from his stupor. “Oh, good morning, Lara,” he says in a patronizing voice. “What an extraordinary pleasure it is to see you in our prince’s chambers.
“Balor,” yells Ever. “Get here.” Barking wildly, Balor ignores the order and ducks under the bed, taking the mire fox with him. Over everyone else’s raucous laughter, Ever calls the dog in a harsh voice, but there’s a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. Maybe he’s not completely humorless after all.
“Lara, with all the drama, I haven’t had a chance to greet you properly.” His voice dips low, and he whispers, “Take care. His mood this morning is mercurial at best. Check the sky.”
“You were obviously in a good mood earlier and now you’re not.”
“Well, what made you happy?” The large garnet in his ring glows like dark wine as he taps his chin before answering. “Hmm. Let me think. Earlier, you were not here. And now you are. Could your arrival have spoiled the atmosphere?”
I smirk at the fluttering curtains. “It’s so easy to tell when I’ve hit a nerve. Your power is also your weakness. Does the fact that you can’t fully control it make you smarter or dumber than me?” A sudden smile curves his lips. “Oh, shut up and have something to eat. I tire of arguing with you, mortal.”
His smile is crooked and surprisingly boyish. “I was the attacker. We use pointy things to maim or breech entrances.”
Without warning, everything crashes to the ground. I gasp and he laughs. The sound is warm and possibly the first genuine expression of good humor I’ve heard him make. “I thought you were meant to be in a bad mood.” “Me?” He points at his chest. “Did I say I was? Look out the window. The sun is shining again.”
I smile before I make an accusation. “Oh my God, you’re happy.”
“Why?” “I don’t know.” His grin disappears as he shifts to the edge of the sofa, leaning toward me. “Maybe I don’t dislike humans quite as much as I thought I did.”
“I can’t. The moss elves are expecting me around lunchtime.”
“How will your precious elves cope ...
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Your days in my land may very well be numbered.” Smoothing my tunic, I stand up. “No, my days here are sure to go on and on. You’ll win the contest, and I will still be yours.”
“I don’t need protection. If anyone were stupid enough to breech my chambers without permission, well, they wouldn’t be stupid for long. They wouldn’t be anything at all.” “Very scary. I’ll see you later, then.”
The prince latches onto my arm as I pass, pulling me to a stop.
Raff hikes an eyebrow at the sky. “You’ve been gone from his chambers for some time now, yes? And yet dark clouds are not threatening to smother us.”
“Ever is correct. You do look like a freckled wasp.”
“A very sweet and charming wasp,” he adds quickly. “At any rate, you certainly seem to have charmed him.”
Gold scorches my eyes as I stare at the sky. Big deal. The sun was shining when I woke up this morning.
My brother was relaying, in quite tedious detail, the events of your game last night. If one were to consider only Ever’s expression as he spoke, they would imagine the memory pained him greatly. However, the brilliant cyan sky told the true story of how thinking about last night affected him.”
“Yes, yes,” Raff says, frowning down at her. “Do not fret. We won’t be late. I must go, Lara. Please give my best wishes to your elves.”
“When Ever becomes king, you must speak to him about the moss elves. I believe he may even issue a full pardon if you ask nicely.”
I’ve noticed lately no one stops me when I wander around the castle, especially in the royal wings. It’s weird. The guards won’t even look at me. Why is that?” “Because he has told them not to, of course.”
What Raff is suggesting about the weather is beyond strange. As if I—an insignificant human—could possibly influence the Prince of Air and somehow make the sun shine. That’s insane.
Tonight, I will do everything in my power to keep Lara at our court. I’ll fight to keep her out of the Merits’ vile clutches. And I’ll fight to keep her for myself.
