Page 44 of Fae Unleashed
Alvin lowered his head and snarled in warning. When he tossed his head, perhaps a gesture for me to run, I laughed. Confusion lit his eyes. The fact that Alvin didn’t immediately leap on me was a sign that this wasn’t real.
I pulled my arcana around me and used it to cage the beastly wolf. The twisting tree roots took on Celtic knot forms to strengthen the bars of his cage. It was a pretty thing with a feral monster trapped inside.
With Alvin caged, I let myself fall back and savor the solid stability of the ground. The grass and twigs and leaves all felt too real for it to be nothing more than a dream. This reminded me of how I’d visited the Seelie Castle in my dreams. It was a realm bound to me in sleep.
When I realized that, the beast inside the cage turned back into a spirit. Its edges glimmered with a pale blue light while the rest of it became an inky black void. There were others here in Faust’s domain, but if I took it as my own, I would be able to cast them out.
Faust quickly realized what I was doing. More inky spirits appeared as I shoved my arcana into the earth. For a moment, I thought I was done. I watched their flickering blades descend in slowed, molasses-like time towards my prone body.
The crawling flow of time allowed me a moment to think. An idea hit me. It could have been brilliant, or it could have been very dumb. I didn’t have a whole lot of other options.
And so, I let the earth open up and swallow me. I plummeted into a kind of grave and closed it over myself so that I was in the complete darkness. I liked to imagine the spectral blades piercing the ground above only for the spirits to look at one another in confusion.
Meanwhile, I gathered my arcana like I had in the Seelie Castle domain and turned it into another seed that would take root here. I could hear Faust’s distant roar of frustration.
Was this the power of royal blood? I could take domains and knit them together. Here, I reached for the seed at the Seelie Castle domain and bound the roots there to the ones I’d created here. The forest-scape became an extension of my own home.
When I unburied myself, I stood and brushed my clothes clean.
I wasn’t going to be bullied anymore.
* * *
There wasa wetness on my face that I didn’t think belonged to me. Rhoan’s face hovered over mine when I opened my eyes. The glassy redness of his own told me that those were tears on my skin.
I reached up and cupped his cheek. “Was I gone for long?”
He pressed his lips into a firm line, his entire expression twisting into concern and relief all at once.
Tal cleared his throat. “I do believe we are late for our meeting with Lord Foxglove.”
Rhoan lifted a furious glare in Tal’s direction. “She almost died! And this is how you behave?”
“Princess Cerridwen broke the curse of her own accord.” Tal checked his wristwatch. “In record time, too. I mean, we’re still late, but it was an impressive feat.”
Feri nodded from Tal’s shoulder. The small creature had been in an out so much lately. I’d hardly remembered his presence in my life. It made me wonder how the glass shard had gotten into my boot in the first place. It seemed a strange thing to find in such a well-protected apartment.
Rhoan helped me up to my feet and kept a hand on mine like he couldn’t bear to let me go. However, I had to put my shoes on still, and I wasn’t going to do that without shaking them this time. He seemed reluctant to let me go, but I stayed close because I didn’t want to leave his side yet either.
Tal kept a discerning eye on us. I knew there were thoughts churning behind those closed lips. If I could bear to leave Rhoan for a moment, I would corner Tal and get the truth from him. There was something about the disapproval in his expression that set off warning bells in my mind.
I assumed it was something stupid. Since Rhoan had taken a vow of celibacy, Tal likely wanted to warn me that I wouldn’t be able to produce heirs with him. If I let Rhoan take my heart, I would want no other and my bloodline would end with me.
To that, I would shrug and move on. There was no way I was going to let anyone tell me what to do with my womb. Even if I wanted children—which I hadn’t really given much thought to in the past—it wasn’t Tal’s place to tell me how to go about it.
Cleaned up and ready, we set out. This time, we used the in-between to head to a familiar side of the city. This wasn’t Lakesedge anymore. We weren’t in the supernatural part of Syracuse. This was Luca’s side of town—the rich side of town.
We approached a sprawling estate with trees that rained bright red maple leaves down onto the driveway. The house at the end stood tall with several elegant columns wrapped in foxglove plants.
I gave Tal a side-eye, because the plants told me that this man liked to have his name on everything. He was going to be a treat to work with. Tal’s face darkened and he looked away.
Something one of the men had said before occurred to me. “Youdatedthis man?”
Tal waved me off and stormed ahead of us to announce our presence. That gave Rhoan time to sidle up beside me. I cursed myself because I’d wanted a moment alone with Tal, and I’d ruined it.
Rhoan leaned in and whispered, “They didn’t exactly break up. It’s been a mess for more than five hundred years. Fox…Fox made Tal who he is.”
What the hell was I getting into?
