Page 109 of Destined for the Fae King

His eyes fly open, wide and glowing with that strange fae reaction to strong emotions.

“Mira.” He pants my name like a prayer, chest rising and falling as he pulls in one deep breath then another. Then his palms are on my hips, holding me close. His thumb rubs across his mark on my skin, and a shudder rolls through him as his eyes turn hooded and hungry. But then he flinches, and the look is gone, instead replaced by one of panic. “Something is wrong.”

“I know. I tried to wake you.” I slide off him and grab for my discarded blanket.

Modesty seems to be the last thing on Lysandir’s mind as he slips from the bed and rushes to the balcony railing. I hurry after him. He grips the railing so hard it cracks.

A fae curse slips from his lips. “The wards are failing. I feel it.”

“What?” I squeak. “How is that possible?

“I don’t know.” Lysandir whirls around. “We have to go. Quickly.”

No sooner have the words left his mouth than a plume of fire soars into the sky from the center of Calida. I gasp, frozen at the sight of flames stretching into the sky.

Lysandir whips his head back toward the pillar of fiery light. “We’re under attack.”

Any lingering warmth in my body falls away. Horror threatens to root me to the ground, but I force myself to hurry inside and search for my clothes. Lysandir is already shoving his feet into his pants.

“The Unseelie?” I ask, tugging my dress over my head.

“Most likely.”

Lysandir is there the moment I’m done, taking my hands in his, and I know we’re about to shift. But he stops and says, “I need to go to the city, and it may not be safe for you to stay here.”

“I’m coming with you.” There’s no way I’m getting left behind.

He doesn’t argue, just gives a short nod. “I’ll keep you safe, Mira.” His hands flex on mine. “Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not.” Not with his hands in mine. I know he’ll protect me. We’ve conquered fate and found a way to be together. No Unseelie is going to keep us apart. Not now.

“Good.”

And then we’re shifting, vanishing from our slice of paradise and into war.

Chapter 42

We reappear into chaos.Sound fills the halls. Fae rush this way and that. Lysandir leads up off the intricate patterns on the floor of the central hall—a honing point, the fae call it. The designs channel magic which lets them shift to certain places more quickly and easily. It’s the same place we arrived several days ago. Not too far from our quarters, if I recall correctly.

Lysandir grabs a passing guard and draws her to a halt.

Her eyes widen as she takes him in. “My prince.”

“My mother and the human women?”

“Gathered in the queen’s rooms for safety,” she reports.

“The king?” Lysandir asks quickly.

“Gone to meet the enemy.”

Lysandir curses and releases the guard.

“We are to—” she continues, but Lysandir has already turned away, hurrying toward a nearby hall and taking me with him. I have to jog to keep up his pace.

“I want you to stay with the others,” he says as we rush through the halls. “It’s the safest place for you.”

“And you?” I ask.

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