Page 23 of Destined for the Fae King

“Eh, they’ll be fine,” Cora says, gesturing at the young ones in the tree. “It’s important to let kids have some fun in life. Actually…” A fierce grin breaks across her face. “I might join them.”

To the surprise of…well, probably all of us, Cora rushes toward the tree.

“Cora!” Katherine whines, but it doesn’t stop her. Cora doesn’t even bother to acknowledge her friend.

“At least we’ll get a break from hearing about her date. Dios mío.” Gabriella rubs her temples like she’s fighting off a headache, and I can’t blame her. I was tired of hearing about it in the first two seconds, and from the expression on Gabriella’s face when I walked out of my room and into their conversation in the hallway before coming here, I have a feeling she’s been forced to endure much more than me.

“You don’t really think they kissed already, do you?” Zoe asks no one in particular.

My smile transforms into a grimace. “I hope not.”

It’s hard to say. I wouldn’t put it past Cora to go for the first kiss, even if she had to steal one, just to get a leg up on all of us. Plus, she made it clear enough that she’s willing to use all her wiles to get what she wants, even if Elaine discouraged such things.

“I didn’t get a kiss,” Gabriella pouts. She’d had a breakfast date this morning, one that didn’t go as well as she’d hoped, it seems.

The fae younglings stop and stare at Cora as she advances toward the tree. Some of them finally find the rest of us where we’re gathered near the edge of the courtyard. Squeals of joy andconversation break off as awareness rolls through the gathered fae like a wave and they turn toward us. A few of the little ones back toward one of the many caretakers. I guess they teach stranger danger here too, and a gaggle of human women aren’t something they see every day. Truthfully, humans and fae don’t look that different. They’re generally taller with more lithe figures, but that’s not always the case. They also have just as much diversity in their hair and skin colors—more, actually. We’re a bit dull and ordinary by comparison.

Some of the younglings, especially the older ones who look around six or seven in human years, leave their little groups to rush toward us, beaming with excitement.

I generally like kids—part of being an older sibling—even if I don’t have much experience with little ones anymore. But even I brace for impact as they advance, rather than dropping down to welcome them with open arms and excitement like Bailey and Adeline.

We weren’t given any specific instructions for today. Not yet anyway. Spending time with the younglings, that’s all. But when it comes to excited young ones, instructions aren’t necessary and would probably be cast aside in moments anyway.

The kids take the lead as the more outgoing ones pick their favorite human and lead them off toward various activities. Bailey and I get corralled by the same group and talked into building towers out of blocks of some foamy substance that manage to be light and soft yet sturdy enough for construction at the same time. In fact, erecting a tower and jumping into it to knock it down seems to be the favored game.

Bailey is a natural, and the kids seem to know it, swarming about her, taking her hand, and immediately climbing in her lap the one time she sits down.

“You’re really good at this,” I say, adding another block to the masterpiece in progress.

She pushes a few strands of brown hair that have fallen loose from her braid behind one ear and glances over at me. “I come from a big family.” She shrugs one shoulder. “When you’re the oldest of about a dozen siblings and cousins that always hang out together, you have to be good with kids.”

“So many,” I say. And yet, I’d heard there weren’t many gifted in her family line. Strange for that to be the case when they’re so prolific. Yet more and more gifted families struggle to pass on the gift these days. Some have had the gift skip the latest generation completely.

“They’re a handful, especially my cousin’s twins.” She shakes her head. “I swear, one of them would have found a way to get hurt by now, even with how soft these blocks are. And don’t get me started on the teenagers…” She gives me a meaningful look.

I grimace in return. “ThatI know something about.”

If fae teenagers are even half as moody as human ones, then I’m glad it’s just the younger ones we’re spending time with today. Bailey and I add a few more blocks near the top, and the younglingsdeem it complete.

Askar, a fae youngling with seemingly boundless energy, jumps into the latest tower with Kispet, whose black hair is tied back in braids entwined with silver ribbons. They go down together in a heap of blocks and giggles as Bailey and I cheer with the other kids around us and their caretakers. Apparently, this game is safe enough, where tree climbing wasn’t. When the two boys finally come down, they have to sit on a bench for a little while and miss some of the fun, though from the way I saw them whispering and gently shoving one another, I gather they find joy no matter the situation.

I’ve just started to place the beginning blocks of a new structure when a familiar brush of sensation sweeps across my back. Askar’s giggles shut off abruptly. His golden eyes fly wide before a toothy grin breaks across his face. There’s no time to even glance around before he’s up and sprinting past me.

My heart stutters a little in my chest when I finally see who he did. Vasilius and Lysandir walk side by side toward the oval, slipping between the outstretched fronds of the odd palm trees. They’re not dressed like royals today, or rather, they’re not in the formal attire they’ve donned before. The brothers are similarly dressed in loose pants and flowy tunics, not all that different in color from those worn by the caretakers. Geometric designs are embroidered in slightly darker thread along the edges and give a more refined look. The ends of the pants are tucked into brown boots laced up their calves, and though the long sleeves of the shirts and their flowy material hide most of their muscular statures, a small split in the middle top of the shirt gives just a hint of what lies beneath. And people say low-cut shirts on women are tempting. I nearly snort. A low-cut blouse has nothing on that tease of golden muscle.

In fact, with their attire, it looks like they’re here to…play.

I wave at Vasilius, hopeful he’ll join us, but his gaze slips straight over me and settles on where Zoe and Gabriella play a ball game with a number of younglings. Damn.

He breaks off from his brother, striding toward them with determined steps while a handful of younglings trail in his wake. I watch him with wistful longing until Bailey whispers, “Don’t look too forlorn. We’ve got company.”

“Who—” The question catches in my throat as I look in the direction she bobs her head. With all my attention on Vasilius, I’dmanaged to lose sight of Lysandir. Just my luck that Askar certainly didn’t.

“Look who I got, Lady Mira!” Askar raises his and Lysandir’s joined hands as he leads the prince near. The boy is absolutely beaming, chin raised with pride like he’s just dug up a diamond from the dirt.

I force a smile for Askar’s benefit. Poor little guy can’t know that Lysandir seems to like me just about as much as I like him, as in, not at all.

The kids in our group squeal with glee. Even the caretakers seem to have brightened up with genuine joy and excitement. Two little girls dance around the prince as he nears, and he has to quickly sidestep to avoid tripping over one of them. But he doesn’t seem to mind. The opposite actually—he laughs and ruffles the hair on top of her head. In fact, his whole face is lit up as bright as the kids.

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