Page 3 of Destined for the Fae King

My aunt and uncle wait at the base of the largest tree. Its branches reach toward the one next to it and form an archway just the right size for us to pass under. As we near the threshold of trees, the tightness in my chest releases and flows through my veins in tingling anticipation.

I finally get to go to Faery.

My dreams are coming true.

Aunt Dalia turns toward me. “Are you sure you have everything you need?”

No.How could I be when I’ve never been? I know the basics. Technology doesn’t work there, some kind of interference from the magic of the world. They’ll give us some dresses and jewelry befitting the role we’re trying for. But those won’t be ready until their tailors can measure us and such, so we’re left to our own fashion choices until then—hence my suitcase filled with some of my nicest outfits. I packed my makeup and my favorite perfume, but I have a feeling they might want us to use fae versions of those too. We’ll see.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say my aunt is stalling. But that’s so not like her. She’s never been one to say no to a party, which is what we’re going to. Humans and fae alike will be gathered to see the women presented before the king for The Choosing.

Despite my uncertainties, I say, “Of course.”

I refuse to give them any reason to believe I can’t do this or that it’ll be a disaster. They already think that, what with my inexperience and being my mother’s daughter. It’s in everything they don’t say, the silent looks they share, and the way their gazes cut to me. After all, I wasn’t trained for this, and I’d bet my pinkyfinger some of the women I’ll be up against were. It’s not uncommon in gifted families to groom a child to send to Faery, especially if they have more than one with the gift.

Pretty sure that’s what my aunt and uncle intended with Selena, but their desire only shoved her further in the opposite direction. I guess that’s the thing about putting all your eggs in one basket: sometimes you drop that basket and then you’re fucked.

Or they would be, if not for me. Even if I didn’t want to go, I don’t have much of a choice. I don’t doubt that Uncle Matias would pull back his support of my family if I didn’t abide by his wishes, and there’s no way I’d let that happen.

“Well then.” Aunt Dalia gives me a tight-lipped smile, but something in her eyes shines a little too bright. “Let’s go.”

I blink at her for a moment, still in disbelief that those could possibly be tears in her eyes, before I paste on a smile of my own and step through the circle of trees with Selena at my side.

Chapter 2

Ihold my breathand act like I’ve done this a hundred times, like it’s not my first venture into Faery.

You just have to want to be there to go through the door,I’ve been told. It sounds so easy. I never expected it to actually be so simple in practice. But one moment, I’m stepping across the grass under the boughs of the trees, and the next, my shoe lands on stone.

The warmth hits me first, like a blast of humid August air that curls around me like a blanket fresh from the dryer. Breath lodges in my throat, despite my mouth gaping open.

I pull away from Selena and turn in a circle, wide-eyed at the world around me.

We’re still in a forest of sorts, but the trees soar twice as high as before. Nor are they green and lush like I’m used to. These trees have thick, coppery trunks that pulse with an inner light, almost like they’re on fire. Leaves of purple, crimson, and gold hang from spindly branches. Vines of rich brown twirl around them, looping and hanging like a tropical jungle. Here and there, bright pink blooms the size of dinner plates dip their petals toward the ground.

Selena bumps her shoulder into mine, knocking me from my reverie. “Pretty impressive, right?”

“No kidding, I just— Wow.” I do my best to rein in my wonder and not look like the stunned newbie human that I am. I’m probably the only person here today who hasn’t seen this before, and acting like a fish out of water isn’t likely to earn me any points toward becoming the king’s bride.

While I know my mom isn’t gifted and couldn’t have seen this, I’m starting to suspect my dad told her all about it when he was alive and that’s probably why she never wanted me to come. She knew if I’d seen something like this in person, I wouldn’t have been able to not dream about it and want to see more. Right now, I have to fight the urge to run up to the nearest tree trunk and inspect it to see if I can understand how it glows from within, pulsing like it’s burning when the forest surely can’t be on fire.

A number of people—no, fae—wait around the large clearing we stand in. Large pieces of flat, white stone with dark purple moss in between create a mosaic landing of sorts. Two white marble pillars mark an exit leading to a worn dirt pathway through the trees, though no one seems to be walking it as far as I can see.

A pair of fae come toward us, both wearing tunics of crimson marked with a golden flame in the center—the same outfit worn by all the fae present in this moment. This, I know. It’s the symbol of the Court of Fire. Nearby, Uncle Matias hands off our luggage to fae male who vanishes with them, there one minute and gone the next. I blink at the spot where he was standing, trying to wrap my head around it. Logically, I know what he did. He shifted, the fae method of moving from one place to another through space in moments, but to see it firsthand is something else.

Suddenly, Aunt Dalia is in front of me, smoothing a lock of hair behind my ear before taking my face between her palms.

“Be calm. Smile. Do your best,” she whispers.

I can’t help but nod along. She’s told me the same thing at least a dozen times over the last twenty-four hours, as if somehow those three things will make all the difference.

“Good,” she adds, that hint of glassiness returning to her eyes. She turns and steps to my side as the fae reach us.

“We’re here to take you to the throne room,” the taller of the two says.

This, I’m prepared for…sort of. We expected they’d shift us there to save time, right into the waiting throng of fae where the contestants will be presented for the king and officially entered into the tournament for his hand. Despite knowing what comes next, my stomach still turns over and twists in on itself. My fragile grin becomes hard to hold, and it’d be a lie to say I’m not second-guessing everything that led to this point.

Even so, I somehow manage to take the skirts of my dress in hand and flare them out like some kind of fair maiden from a storybook as I give a little curtsy and reply, “Thank you.”

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