“So which princess is your mother?” Raglan asked.
Alicia folded her arms. “Not that she is a princess, mind you, but her name is Viviana.”
Deveron’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Ritasia’s skin lost its color.
Raglan grinned. “A very rewarding alliance.”
CHAPTER 17
Alicia twisted a blond curl of hair between her fingers. “All right. Who do you think my mother is?”
“Princess Viviana, of the royal kingdom of Morcalon, daughter of the ruling dragon fae, King Tibero. His only child, I might add,” Deveron said.
Alicia looked at Ritasia who nodded. “His only child.”
“Meaning?” Alicia stood straighter, halfway believing Deveron and the others knew what they were talking about, halfway knowing they were mistaken. Her mother was a human, her father the fae.
“I thought maybe your mother might be a niece. King Tibero has six.” Deveron took a ragged breath. “But this changes things.”
“How?” Alicia sat down hard on a cushioned forest green chair. She couldn’t imagine things could get any worse for her.
“You would be the next in line to take the throne.”
“Not when I’m half—”
Deveron’s eyes widened and the rich brown color rapidly darkened.
Alicia closed her mouth, stopping what she almost inadvertently said in front of Raglan.
But Raglan noticed Ritasia’s and Deveron’s concerned expressions. Alicia’s unfinished statement further intrigued the sphinx fae. “Half what?” he prompted. His dark eyes shimmered with fascination.
Deveron came to her rescue. “Her mother left the dragon fae kingdom years ago and for all that time, she has been living in exile…unbeknownst to us.”
Raglan’s brows rose. “Ah. More intrigue. So who did she run off with?”
“That’s what we don’t know. Alicia’s father disappeared twelve years ago.”
Raglan rubbed his chin, then nodded. “So what do we do now?”
Deveron puffed out his chest. “You make up whatever story you need to convince the Denkar escort that the girl has vanished. We will—”
“See my mother.” Alicia raised her chin in obstinacy.
“Not at Crislis Castle,” Deveron said, matter-of-factly. He didn’t appear to be in the mood to change his mind.
“Is that where she would go?” Alicia couldn’t squash the worry that if she did go to the castle as the countess bade her to do, Alicia wouldn’t find her mother. And the dragon fae would not be happy to see Alicia. Would she end up in another dungeon?
“If she wishes help to locate you, I’m sure the princess would to go her father,” Deveron said, after thinking on the question for several seconds.
“Then I must go there.”
“Ahem,” Raglan said, “you can’t be seriously thinking of escorting her there. The dragon fae would take you prisoner at once, Deveron.”
“I have to go there, don’t you think, Deveron? I mean, if my mother convinces her father…” What was Alicia saying? She didn’t really believe all of this stuff, did she? Her father had written the journal about the fae. Her father, not her mother. Or did her mother tell him the stories and he wrote them down?
“The dragon fae may go to war over this,” Ritasia said, then paused.
“I have the perfect solution.” Raglan stiffened his spine. “I will go with you. The dragon fae have nothing against the sphinx as we are neutral in all matters. And perhaps they will see fit to make an alliance with my kind.” His lips rose in a silly smirk.
Alicia’s heart pounded. Raglan would surely expire on the spot if he knew she was half human.
“I’m not certain your going to Crislis Castle is the best solution,” Deveron said to Alicia.
“But your mother couldn’t send her people for me there. If I could just see my mother—if she’s even at Crislis—she would know what to do.”
“You can’t take her there,” Ritasia finally said. “Raglan’s right. The Denkar are the dragon fae’s greatest enemy. They would imprison you at once.”
“Just like I said.” Raglan grinned. “So I will take the princess.”
“No. If you insist on going to Crislis, I’ll escort you.” Deveron took Alicia’s hand. “I trust you will get me out of the dungeon if the dragon fae incarcerate me—if it’s within your power.”
Alicia looked from Deveron’s dark expression to Raglan’s hopeful one. “You don’t think the dragon fae will harm you, Raglan?” She couldn’t have Deveron hurt over her.
“Certainly not. I’ll take you. We’ll see the king and your mother and all will be well.”
Deveron pulled Alicia from the chair. “I promised to keep you safe.” He wrapped his arm around her waist. “I always keep my promises.”
“But…,” Ritasia said.
It was the last sound Alicia heard before darkness engulfed her. She realized at once—though her mind swirled slightly in confusion—Deveron would endanger his own freedom rather than allow the sphinx fae to assist her alone.
She tilted her chin up to where she thought his face might be and leaned forward to kiss the dark fae. Immediately his warm velvet lips rose in a smile against her mouth. But only for a second. Then he tightened his hold on her and kissed her for all it was worth. She swore she saw a sprinkling of bright lights in the darkness. But she knew she had to be dreaming.
“Alicia,” he said. Her name sounded like it drifted on a ribbon of silk, caressing, gentle, and totally sensual.
“Deveron,” she said back, scolding, but his kiss deepened, silencing whatever else she meant to say.
She gave in to the swirling blackness, the warmth of his touch, and the feeling that she’d found her soul mate, whether anyone in the fae or human worlds would believe her. She believed and that’s all that mattered for now.
When the dark began to lighten, she lay beneath a forest of pine, the floor cushioned by orange pine needles, discarded fresh three seasons before. The pine fragrance scented the air, making it smell like it had just received a fresh rain cleansing.
Deveron lay beside her and touched her cheek. “We are not far from Crislis Castle. If you wish to change your mind, however, Alicia—”
“I wish we could sneak in just to see my mother and then take her with us without anyone being aware. But I’m afraid—”
“If wishes only could come true.” He sighed deeply, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek. “I will escort you to the gates. But know this. They will arrest me on the spot.”
Alicia touched his arm. “They may do the same to me. Maybe we should approach this differently. You wait for me here. I’ll attempt to find my mother and return here with her. Then we can leave.”
He shook his head.
“But Deveron, listen. If they lock me up, you would be free to come rescue me. What if they lock us both up? Then how would we manage to get free?”
“They would not imprison you.”
“No? I’m half human. My mother protected me, if she is who you think she is. Why would she not return to Crislis if she wasn’t worried about my safety?” Alicia groaned with a new thought. “You don’t think they’ve imprisoned my mother, do you?”
“Possibly, but only to keep her from leaving again.”
“Great.” Alicia glanced at a well-worn path leading through the woods nearby. “We won’t be able to find out anything if I don’t go.”
Deveron stood, then pulled her from the ground. She stumbled with dizziness. He slipped his arm around her waist. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Yes, it’s the fae travel. I haven’t done it for a while.”
“We stick together for as long as we can.”
“Wait.” Alicia touched Deveron’s gold lion medallion. “Here, you take the sphinx one I’m wearing. Since they are a neutral fae kingdom, you should be okay.”
Deveron felt his medallion. She could tell he didn’t want to wear another kingdom??
?s emblem.
“Do it for me, Deveron. They may allow you safe passage. They may want you to leave, but they wouldn’t arrest you. Then you’ll know how they treat me, too. And whether I’ll need rescuing.”
He pulled his medallion over his head, then slipped it into his breech’s pocket. “The things I do for you.”
She smiled and handed him the sphinx medallion. He might have been of the dark fae hunter class, but she’d found a true friend with the fae. “Let’s go, before I change my mind.”
“We’ll walk slowly to give you time.”
She chuckled. “I’ll walk slowly so I don’t collapse. When will I ever get used to fae travel?”
Before either of them could say another word, boots crashed through the underbrush from seemingly every direction, surrounding them.
The predominantly blond male fae appeared, every one of them armed with bows and arrows. Of these, five wore golden medallions embossed with the dragon—dragon fae royalty.
CHAPTER 18
A woman called out amongst the dragon fae as the men quickly surrounded Alicia and Deveron—weapons readied. “She’s the one. Princess Alicia. Don’t harm her.”
Countess Salimina?
Alicia and Deveron stood their ground on the path to Crislis Castle, their hands locked together as if that could save them now.
One of the male royals snickered. “She doesn’t look like the princess to me.”
“She looks just like her mother, Prince Grotto. And the king will have your head if you harm her,” the countess said.
The countess curtsied to Alicia, and she returned the gesture, hoping she’d mastered the gesture with some dignity. “Thank goodness you finally arrived. King Tibero had ordered his soldiers to attack the sphinx castle…” The countess finally seemed to take notice of Deveron. “Who is he?”
“He’s my friend, Deveron.” Alicia squeezed his hand. “If it were not for him, I wouldn’t have ever made it here. I can’t fae travel like you can.”
The countess’s lips parted, then she frowned. “Oh, my heavens. I should have realized you were…” She paused, then said, “Seventeen. Oh…oh…oh, I could have started a war all because I left you behind and…”
Alicia shook her head. “It’s all right. Deveron brought me. All is well.” If she could get her mother and be out of here, then all would be truly well.
The countess glared at Deveron, which surprised Alicia. Weren’t the sphinx fae supposed to be neutral? Then she realized that the sphinx fae had imprisoned both she and the countess. “He had nothing to do with imprisoning us,” Alicia quickly said, hoping to dispel the notion that Deveron was their enemy. “And once he found me trying to escape, he aided me.”
The countess’s expression toward Deveron didn’t change. Alicia’s skin chilled.
“We must get you inside the castle before anything else goes wrong.”
“To see my mother? She is here, right?” If she wasn’t, Alicia would have Deveron transport her back to the sphinx castle at once.
“She is.”
Alicia breathed a guarded sigh of relief.
“But it is King Tibero who wishes to see you at once, first of all.”
The party walked down the path leading to Crislis Castle. Then she had a thought. She turned to Deveron. “Thank you for escorting me here. Maybe I can see you again soon.”
“King Tibero will want to thank him personally.” The countess’s tone of voice was icy.
Alicia tugged at Deveron’s hand. Then she whispered in his ear. “Go, Deveron. I fear this will not go well for you, but I must see my mother.”
His face remained grim and unyielding. “I have to know what they intend to do with you,” he whispered back.
Stubborn dark fae.
They reached the outskirts of the forest and beyond this, a castle loomed, surrounded by a blue stone wall that reached upward more than sixty feet. It nearly blended with the cloudless sky. Flags embossed with the emblem of the golden dragon waved above thirteen towers. All along the guard walk, soldiers dressed in golden tunics watched them approach. Courtiers, too, some of them female, dressed in colorful silky gowns, stood high above, observing the spectacle.
So Alicia served once again as the entertainment for a fae court. Only this time for her own kind…so it would seem. Or at least her fae kind half.
She held her head high as the countess walked on one side of her and Deveron stayed on her right side. He held on tightly to her hand and she envisioned he not only wished to comfort her—certainly she felt distressed—but also might have the notion to transport her away from harm if need be.
She imagined the dragon fae would not like to see her friendship with any fae that was not dragon at the moment however.
The countess motioned to the blond haired, green-eyed man who had said Alicia didn’t look like the princess as he led the cavalcade. “Prince Grotto is your cousin, once removed, Princess Alicia. One of your mother’s aunts’ sons.”
Before this, Alicia had thought her mother was an only child…and she learned she was, but she also never thought she had any uncles or aunts…and therefore no cousins, removed or otherwise.
The countess added, “He was the next in line to inherit the throne until your mother returned. Now you are.”
Right. As soon as…
Or did the king, her grandfather, already know she was half human? He had to. That’s undoubtedly why her mother had run away from home.
And here to think Alicia believed only her father had run away from them. Who would have thought her mother had left her own family? Because she fell in love with a human. But why hadn’t her mother returned home with Alicia when her father abandoned them?
A sickening feeling worked its way into the pit of Alicia’s stomach. Her grandfather wouldn’t wish to welcome Alicia since she was half fae. Maybe her grandfather had changed his mind after her mother had been gone for so many years.
Still, Alicia couldn’t shake the feeling that she was now being escorted into the Roman legions arena where a lion would soon attack her and chew her to pieces.
Guards stood on either side of the gates to the castle, pointing their lances forward as if in salute.
But as soon as Alicia and her escort stepped inside the courtyard, guards rushed forth to close the gates. Just as quickly, others bolted out of the guardhouse, carrying shackles.
“Go, Deveron!” Alicia shouted, her heart tripping with fear.
“I promised to protect you.” Before he could transport her, two guards yanked him away from her, breaking their physical contact.
She assumed he was trying to take her from there, but couldn’t in time, and then, though he could have still managed to save himself, he stayed for her sake.
She fought the tears that welled up in her eyes. Angered he wouldn’t leave, then try to come back for her, she slugged one of the guards who snapped the special manacles over Deveron’s wrists.
The guards began to drag him toward one of the towers as two others grabbed her wrists, pulling her away from him. “No!” Alicia screamed. “He brought me here. Free him at once! Without his aid, I’d still be at the sphinx castle.”
Her words fell on deaf ears. Some smiled at her comments, others frowned.
Grotto motioned to another guard. “Go ahead and manacle her, too.”
“No,” the countess said, blocking the guard’s path, who took a step in Alicia’s direction. “She’s underage. She can’t fae transport.”
So Alicia was to be a prisoner.
The countess spoke to Alicia next. “Come. I’ll take you to my chambers where you can wash, tidy up a bit, and then I’ll escort you to see King Tibero.”
“With a guard escort,” Grotto said.
The countess glared at him.
Alicia watched the direction the guards took Deveron, the northernmost tower. Somehow she had to see her mother. Maybe she could help Alicia to free Deveron. He glanced back at her before the guards shoved him inside the to
wer. She lunged after him, dragging her own guards a step or two before they had her under control. Her heart sank to see him shackled and roughly treated especially when she had been the cause of it. And now she felt useless to help him…for the moment.
“What about my mother?”
The countess guided her across the courtyard and into the main entrance of the castle. She led her into a hall and up a broad flight of stairs next. “I’m certain you’ll get to see your mother at the nooning meal.”
“But she’s wearing a retaining collar,” Grotto said, following behind them. “To think the king’s only child would have to be prevented from using her fae magic to escape her kingdom again. And to think the king still has a soft spot for her even after she disobeyed him and married the sphinx fae.”
Alicia stumbled on the stairs as her heart nearly gave out. Her father was a sphinx fae?
The guards tried to lift her, but Alicia’s legs had turned to rubber again, and she collapsed, unable to go any further.
“What’s wrong?” the countess asked. “Your face is as white as the full moon. Oh was it the fae transport that unsettled you so?”
Alicia didn’t want to discuss her father in front of Prince Grotto, not when he was obviously angry with her for turning up at Crislis Castle and ruining his chance at ruling the kingdom. Though she doubted the king had it in mind that she would rule in his place when the time came.
Her head swirled with confusion. She knew her father was a fae. But she’d never guessed her mother was also. Now that meant she wasn’t even half human?
“Princess?” the countess said, trying to help her up.
Alicia’s stomach revolted. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Carry her to my bedchambers,” the countess ordered one of the guards.
The man lifted Alicia off the stairs and carried her the rest of the way up and then down the hall.
Tapestries of dragons and dragon fae hung against the stone walls. A gold carpet ran the length of the hall. And from the ceiling, crystal chandeliers lighted their way.
“You look awfully pale,” the countess said as she ran her hand over Alicia’s arm. She motioned to another guard. “Tell the king Princess Alicia is unwell. We may take a bit longer to see him.”