“I don’t want you to leave me behind.”
That was so not Cassie. She was Miss Independent. Not afraid of anything. Much.
“Okay. But if I take you with me, you might become dizzy and nauseous again.” Then Alicia thought better of it. “Maybe not. I’m not too bad off if I go a short distance.” Still, she worried if there was trouble downstairs and they walked into it…then again, she could fae transport Cassie to her castle, her bedchamber.
“Okay, I was in the study on the first floor before I came here. I’ll take us there.” Alicia wrapped her arm around Cassie’s waist. “It’ll be dark for a moment, and then we’ll be there.”
Cassie nodded.
An instant later, they were in the study. It was dark in there now. She let go of Cassie and peered out through the doorway where lights were on in the hallway and listened. Cassie moved close to her and listened also. Alicia looked at her. Cassie shook her head, telling her she didn’t hear anything either. It was getting late. Had everyone gone to bed? She couldn’t believe Ena would have done so without seeing what Alicia wished to do about Cassie. She was sure Ena would have been delighted if Alicia had taken Cassie off her hands.
That’s when she felt an overwhelming foreboding. Nothing seemed right. The castle was too quiet. She had no reason to leave Cassie here. Ena certainly didn’t need the added burden of dealing with another human who had become mixed up with their kind.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Alicia whispered. “I’m going to take you to Crislis Castle where I live.”
Cassie whispered back, “Okay.”
Alicia was glad her friend was not crying her heart out any longer, but she felt her shivering as she wrapped her arm around her. Alicia was afraid she’d lose Cassie during fae travel if she didn’t get a better grip on her. She tried to fae travel to her home.
To her surprise and concern, they didn’t go anywhere.
Chapter 9
Feeling an overwhelming sense of dread, Alicia frowned when she hadn’t been able to move Cassie and her to her own castle.
“I’m ready,” Cassie said, her voice hushed.
“I know. I tried to take us outside the castle, but I couldn’t get anywhere.” Alicia chewed on her bottom lip. “Ritasia, that’s Deveron’s sister, you remember her, right?”
“Yes, we met at South Padre Island. She was really sweet.”
When Ritasia wanted to be. She had her moments when Alicia had seen the dark fae side of her. No sense in telling Cassie what she didn’t need to know.
“Well, Ritasia couldn’t escape an ancient fae castle because the walls were made up of iron ore. I had to come through the front door when I arrived because this isn’t an open castle. In other words, it’s like a private home in the human’s world. Did you see anyone arrive from outside the castle to the inside? Like just appearing, not coming through the doorway? It might be that smaller manors and castles and homes are built of stone that have iron content to offer protection against uninvited guests. Although some ward their homes against fae travel.”
“I’ve only seen people move from room to room. Micala and I used the front door. When Ena’s brother, Halloran, and her boyfriend left, they vanished, but they could have disappeared from the room we were in and reappeared next to the front door. I don’t know.”
“I just feel the castle is way too quiet.”
“I’ll go with you. I don’t want to be left behind,” Cassie said again.
Alicia took her hand. “Okay, quietly then.”
They left the study and slowly made their way down the corridor, listening for any sounds coming from any of the closed doors down the hall. They heard nothing. They continued until they reached a large room that was mostly empty, a common area where the corridors into the rest of the keep exited, a few benches sitting against the walls, a dragon tile mosaic taking center stage on the floor in the middle of the room. She glanced inside a room that appeared to be the keep’s great room where black leather couches and black leather chairs with elegantly hand carved legs ending in clawed feet filled the expansive space.
Everything was dark and quiet except for the lights on in the hallways in this part of the keep. They moved down one of the hallways that smelled of salmon and reached a kitchen and dining room. Everything was dark in this part of the castle also and Alicia produced fae light. She noticed Cassie staring at Alicia’s hand.
Cassie smiled at her and mouthed, “Wow.”
“Beats having to have a flashlight,” Alicia whispered back.
In the dining hall, everything was neat, the table wiped down and sparkling with polish. The sideboard was empty except for a decanter of wine and wine glasses sitting on top, waiting to be used during the next evening meal.
The kitchen was spotless, the gray stone floor swept, the granite counters clean, all the copper pots hanging on wrought iron racks above a free-standing counter.
A solid oak door led out to the gardens from here. They peered through a window, but it was dark outside except for tiny purple lights twinkling along a brick pathway that meandered through the shrubs.
Alicia tried the doorknob, thinking to take them outside to transport, but the door was locked. “Key lock,” she said. Without a key, they couldn’t exit that way.
They back-tracked to another corridor off the kitchen and found several more rooms. Again, no sound could be heard in the rooms. All the doors were shut, but as they drew closer to the one at the end of the hall, they saw a light underneath the door. The room had a bolt on the outside. Then she heard someone walking back and forth, and shoes squeaking like the owner wore sneakers. Almost no fae wore sneakers in the fae kingdom. Was it Brett?
She heard the opening and closing of drawers. She knocked. The noises inside the room abruptly stopped.
“Hello,” she called out, her voice low.
“Hey,” a male voice said back.
“Brett,” both Alicia and Cassie said at the same time.
Alicia knew she shouldn’t unbolt the door as Brett wasn’t her prisoner. If she wanted to see the boy, she really should get permission. Then again, she was the princess and that came with some latitude. She loved that part. Still, she believed in encouraging friendships rather than dictating to others, most of the time, especially since Ena did save her life. She respected her for saving Brett’s life also.
Besides, she had to consider worst-case scenarios. What if Brett tried to grab Cassie and attempted to get concessions from Alicia—like return him home at once—or he’d hurt Cassie?
“Come on,” Alicia said, pulling Cassie with her down the hall.
“Hey!” Brett said, as if he thought someone was going to free him and the person changed her mind. “Hey, wait!”
Alicia ignored him and kept moving toward the kitchen and dining hall, and then back to the great hall. Nothing. She wasn’t used to being in a castle where there wasn’t a lot of hustle and bustle of servants moving about—working, socializing. Even late at night. It wasn’t until really late like around one or two in the morning that Crislis Castle was quiet throughout.
She hadn’t realized how much she had adjusted to that way of life, having come from just living with her mother in their single-family home. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to it. But now…this was just too unsettling.
They stalked toward the front door. She was really afraid of what they might find out there. A whole force of dark fae guards ready to take them both hostage—Cassie for screwing up Queen Irenis’s plans to arrange for a betrothal between Micala and a nice fae girl—preferably of royal blood, and Alicia, for daring to speak in such a hostile manner to the queen during her own dinner celebration.
She raised the viewing portal on the door, but didn’t see anyone.
“What do you see?” Cassie whispered.
“She sees nothing,” a male voice said behind them.
They both whipped around to see a black-haired man with pale green eyes smile at Alicia. He quickly b
owed. “Princess.”
“Where’s Ena?” Alicia said, frowning at him.
“She’s with the man she plans to marry. She needn’t have been here.”
“Who are you?” Alicia asked, demanding, getting the distinct impression that Ena did not leave on her own account or she would have first informed her that she was leaving.
“Halloran, Ena’s brother, and her protector, until she has a husband.”
“She doesn’t need a protector.” Alicia knew that for a fact after seeing Ena rescue her.
Halloran motioned toward Cassie. “She has ever since she began allowing humans into her castle.”
Not about to argue the point, Alicia said, “I don’t understand why you’re here and she isn’t.”
“As soon as Micala left to see to his queen, Alton and I knew Ena would have trouble. The dark fae queen wants this human. She can have her. Ena is not going to get herself mixed up in this feud any longer.”
“So you have decided this for her? She has no say in her own household?”
He folded his arms, chin tilted up, eyes glittering with malice. “I am her older brother.”
“And I am the princess, to be ruler one day of the dragon fae,” she reminded him. She never thought she’d have to tell anyone that in the dragon fae kingdom.
“Your kind hunted our mother and father down. Our uncles and aunts and grandparents. Why should I bow down to your rule—though, as you say—it will be in the far distant future?”
She stared at him, unable to form any words to express her alarm. Why had she not read about this in all the blasted books the dragon fae scholars had forced her to read? “I…didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Your grandfather started the moratorium on killing dragon shifters. But it is an uneasy peace.”
“Dragon shifters,” Cassie said under her breath.
Halloran glanced at Cassie as if he’d forgotten she was there, then said to Alicia, “They are waiting for you to turn her over to them.”
“I saw no one outside.”
“They believe you’ll leave through the front door with your human friend, or try to, and they’ll take Cassie from you. So they’re not showing themselves until necessary.”
“Who?”
“The dark fae. Who else?”
“Is Deveron there?”
“How would I know who they all are?”
“Where is Ena’s staff?”
“Gone. I dismissed them for the rest of the night so they wouldn’t be hurt in case you caused trouble.”
“The human prisoner is still here.”
Halloran smiled a little evilly at that.
“You can’t harm him. He’s not yours to do with as you wish,” she quickly said, concerned for his safety.
“I have promised Ena that I will not harm the boy. Though I did not appreciate my sister threatening to kill me if I did. She didn’t even warn me to protect you or the human girl in the event the dark fae got carried away and you or the girl didn’t cooperate.” He looked Cassie over and smiled. “She…is much more…worthy of protection.” He turned to Alicia. “She hasn’t killed any of the fae.”
“My grandfather will be furious that you treated me with such disregard.” She couldn’t think of anything else to come up with that might convince him to change his mind and help her to protect her friend. The thing of it was Alicia and Halloran were both dragon fae, and they should have been on the same side!
“Your grandfather sanctioned my coming here and taking charge of the situation. Which is the reason that Ena went quietly with Alton and didn’t fight me in this,” Halloran said.
Her grandfather. And what did that really mean? She was afraid he’d put her in a fae collar like he’d done to her mother—just to ensure he didn’t lose her.
“Then we stay here until they get tired of waiting on us and leave,” Alicia said.
“Then I’ll have to open the door and let them take her. But I’d hoped you would just take her outside and get this over with that way.”
Alicia’s sweet friend, Cassie, who never thought of anyone as being a stranger, rushed up to Halloran and kneed him in the groin. The big bad dragon shifter cried out, clutched his crotch, and fell to his knees. Cassie grabbed Alicia’s arm and ran with her toward the back of the keep. Alicia glanced over her shoulder and couldn’t believe her human friend had dropped the dragon fae.
“Where?” Alicia mouthed.
“Kitchen window,” Cassie mouthed back.
“When did you learn to do that?”
“Micala. He taught me how to fight with a sword, too, but I didn’t figure I’d ever have a sword available if I needed one.”
Halloran roared.
“Oh…my…God. Hurry, Cassie,” Alicia said, as they dashed into the kitchen and both of them tried to jerk the kitchen window open.
Another roar. It was getting closer, but not in a rush as if Halloran was having trouble moving quickly.
They slid the window up and it made a grinding noise. Alicia cringed, feeling as though whoever was at the front of the keep would be alerted that they were attempting to escape out the back way.
“What about Brett?” Cassie asked.
Alicia climbed out through the window. “Hurry. Halloran said he wouldn’t harm him. But we’re another story.”
“You’re the princess.”
“Doesn’t seem to matter. And you hurt him well enough he probably isn’t too interested in your health either.”
They both dropped to the stone patio. Alicia grabbed Cassie’s arm just as she saw shadowy fae forms begin to materialize out of the garden in the dark and rush toward them. She couldn’t make out who they were. She wasn’t waiting around to find out.
But she didn’t know where to go. She vanished into the black void and hoped they didn’t have a bunch of trackers after them, but was afraid they would. And felt someone seize her free arm.
She screamed.
***
Deveron loved Alicia despite how frustrating she could be. She was not going to get away from him again! Right as she slipped into the black void of fae travel, he managed to seize her arm and heard her shriek. He grinned and pulled her tight. Micala had managed to get hold of Cassie and yanked her away from Alicia and into his own embrace. He heard Cassie scream, and then she was silent.
“No!” Alicia cried out.
“Micala’s got her,” Deveron whispered against Alicia’s ear. “I’ve got you.” And he wasn’t letting her go. His mother wasn’t real happy with Alicia right now. And her grandfather—well, Deveron wasn’t letting him get hold of her either.
Deveron nearly had heart failure when he heard the dragon shifter, Halloran, roaring inside the keep. He had to have turned dragon, and only one reason Deveron could come up with—Halloran had shapeshifted because he was angry enough that he was ready to kill someone. So what in the world had happened in there?
Deveron was glad Alicia was coming into more of her fae abilities, but he really wished she was not able to fae travel. He feared her grandfather would clamp her in a fae retaining collar if she returned to her castle.
“Where…,” Alicia said breathlessly against his ear.
He worried she wasn’t feeling well with the fae travel, but he had to take her as far away from Ena’s castle and his own and Alicia’s also, to hopefully make this work.
“A faery faire,” he said. “They have them all over the country and in other parts of the world. Instead of like the Renaissance faire in Texas that you’ve visited, these are more all fae. It’s the gathering of faerie enthusiasts—artists, authors, and musicians. And of course, the fae, both the unseelie and seelie, cannot stay away. When humans pretend to be us, we have to add our own take on what the fae are all about.”
“Fae seers,” she whispered.
Deveron realized then she must have been traumatized over her ordeal. He hated for her to feel she couldn’t safely return to the human world. “Hmm, we cannot worry a
bout them all the time. If we do, we’ll never visit the human world. And that wouldn’t do. They need us as much as we do them.”
She snorted.
“Well, maybe we need them more than they need us.”
“Cassie…”
“She and Micala will be with us.” Then Deveron settled deep in the midst of the faire. A few people gasped to see them appear. But they were supposed to be the fae, after all, and they should have expected such a thing. “We are here, Alicia. You can open your eyes now.”
She opened them and looked like she was going to pass out.
“I’m sorry.” He held onto her waist and attempted to ignore the people pointing at them and staring, most likely some of the crowd who had seen them materialize out of thin air because he didn’t think that he and his companions looked so out of the ordinary.
Alicia was wearing the green velvet gown that he loved on her—not that he didn’t love anything she wore, but this one was perfect for practicing archery, with splits down the side to show off her leather boots and her shapely legs. And the bodice was deliciously low cut enough to show off her other appealing features. Emerald-studded hair pins partly held her blond curls on top of her head. The rest had come undone and whipped about her face in the cool breeze.
Somewhere a fake fae queen would be wandering around the faire, but Alicia should have the honors. Even though she still wasn’t queen, she was his queen and always would be. He was still wearing his royal blue tunic with gold embroidery that embellished it to show off his crown prince status, black trewes and black boots to match. He thought they looked to be an elegant couple in their exquisite fae finery.
He glanced around for Micala. He was nearby, rushing with Cassie to join them. Cassie looked as though she was as much under the weather as Alicia, her face just as pale.
“We don’t look like we fit in,” Alicia said, holding her stomach, glancing around at the people visiting or shopping at the various fae booths.
Alicia might be right, Deveron thought as a woman walked by wearing a pink wig, while another had royal blue dyed hair, and one had blond hair streaked with hot pink. Another dozen or so men and women wore pointy elf-like ears. Several of the faire goers wore face paint around their eyes, feathers in their hair, or flower wreaths or funny hats crowning their heads. One man had painted his beard green and wore a mask of green leaves. Some wore silky translucent wings, others solid heavy fabrics that made him shake his head. Those wings were not in the least bit aerodynamic. Not that he knew of any real winged faeries who could fly, either.