Page 25 of Hunted By the Fae Warden

“Very well.” I draw in a huge breath. “Your speech was overly long and comically dramatic, and I’m afraid it didn’t hold my attention. However, it’s the sort of speech you were expected to give, so I cannot fault you for it.”

“There it is,” Prince Lucas says with a smile as he claps twice. “There is that honesty for which you’re renowned.” He pauses and glances at the soldiers who are filing out of the receiving hall, headed off to prepare for the march north. “I expect frequent letters concerning the goings-on in Trevos. Good luck to you.” He turns to leave.

“Wait,” I call out, and he turns back to face me. I clear my throat and wrack my mind for a way to make a deal with the royal. In the end, I decide he might appreciate a demand rather than a deal, since he seems enamored by my boldness. “I would like you to send four additional highborn guards to Linnshire to help maintain the wards and protect the regular faefolk. Furthermore, I want the authority to keep all eighthighborn guards in Linnshire indefinitely.” Surely a force of eight highborn fae, along with my father and uncles, wouldn’t have any difficulty keeping the greshhlins in check. Perhaps they would even manage to kill some of the stronger malevolent beings.

Tristan sucks in a rapid breath, clearly shocked by my demands. I hold the prince’s gaze, waiting for his response. I don’t blink and neither does he. I would guess my demands have surprised him, but he gives nothing away in his stern, calculating expression, a look I suppose he learned from his father.

“Very well,” the prince eventually answers, and it takes all my self-control not to sigh in relief. “Eight highborn guards in total, set to serve in Linnshire indefinitely. See that you keep the humans of Trevos in proper subjugation. I don’t want to hear about any uprisings, Warden.” He takes a few steps back while continuing to hold my gaze without blinking. Finally, he turns and joins several commanders as they exit the receiving hall.

“Have you gone mad?” Tristan asks as he steps in front of me, his huge body blocking my view of the departing prince. “I have never heard anyone make outright demands to the prince and live to tell the tale. Do you have a death wish?”

I scoff. “As if the prince could best me in battle.”

My friend’s eyes widen, and he glances from side to side, but no one is standing near enough to have heard my insult. “What is going on with you, Kaiden? I am truly growing worried.”

“I met my mate. Here in Trevos. She’s human. Yes, it’s the same woman I walked home last week, the same woman I’ve been spying on from rooftops and losing my godsblasted mind over.” I clear my throat. “You know how important Linnshire is to me, how badly I wish I could return and deal with the greshhlins myself. You also know about the prophecy from the priestess and my father’s belief about my mate’s importance in handling the greshhlins.”

A look of understanding crosses the general’s face. “My gods, you’ve met your mate.Your mate!” He clasps my shoulder briefly and gives a rare smile. “Yes, I remember the prophecy, and I know your father has been impatient for you to finally meet your mate. It’s why he’s sent you on so many scouting missions to the far reaches of the realm.”

“But it would appear the prophecy was wrong,” I say. “My human mate won’t have the powers needed to fight the greshhlins.”

“One might say the prophecy is working in a roundabout way,” Tristan says, “since while you were in Trevos, the very place you met your mate, you were able to acquire eight—eight!—of Prince Lucas’s highborn personal guards to protect Linnshire indefinitely.”

“I never thought I might hesitate to claim my mate when I met her. It was only the responsibility I have to the Linnshire faefolk that held me back.” Excitement and hope flow through me.

I’ve found a way to protect Linnshire and claim my human mate.

Mira. Sweet but stubborn Mira.

Oh Gods. I can’t believe I insinuated I might keep her as a concubine or a pleasure slave. She’s likely still fuming mad and pacing my quarters. If she throws a vase at my head upon my return, it will be well deserved.

“Go find your female,” Tristan says, “and perhaps say a prayer to the gods that I will find my mate soon as well.”

“I will.” I glance toward the stairs before giving the general a meaningful look, realizing it might be years before we cross paths again. The realm is vast, and as ussha continues spreading along with our new settlements, so will the fighting. “Good luck on the road, old friend. I wish you well and hope to see you soon. Farewell.”

He gives me a deep nod. “May the gods bless your new mating union. Farewell.” He turns and heads for the exit. Just after he steps outside, he summons his large, black wings and shoots upward.

I hasten toward the stairs, eager to reunite with Mira. I’m eager to set things right between us and reveal the full truth to her. She might be a human in possession of no magic, but she’s my mate and I adore her. I will have no other. What she lacks in fae magic, she more than makes up for in strength of character.

I climb the stairs three at a time until I reach the corridor where my quarters reside. But as I approach the warded door, I don’t sense the warmth I always feel when she’s in close proximity. Alarmed, I flash into my quarters and immediately scan the room.

She’s not here.

I study the ward I created around the door, but it’s still intact. No one entered or departed through the doorway. Not that any fae within hundreds of miles would be powerful enough to break the ward I’d erected. Not even Prince Lucas or General Dalgaard. Hundreds of years spent crafting wards against the greshhlins has given me an advantage.

I search every corner of the room, but Mira is nowhere to be found. It would seem she’s in the habit of disobeying me when I expect her to stay put. I would be angry with her if I wasn’t so worried. Where could she have gone? How could she escape in the first place?

My mouth goes dry as I step onto the balcony, knowing what a long drop it is to the ground. Oh gods. I pray she didn’t try climbing down the stone wall. I suck in a deep breath, preparing to peer down, when I notice thick vines curled around the railing. I move closer. Disbelief clutches me.

Fucking fires. She’s been taken. By one of my own people. By a fae capable of influencing plant growth, a skill I never quite mastered myself.

Rage heats my blood, and I release a thunderous roar.

I summon my wings and take to the skies.

CHAPTER 16

MIRA

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