Page 75 of Destined for the Fae King

I sigh, glancing around at the assembled mass of women and fae where we stand on dew-soaked grass at the edge of the forest. The sun has barely risen, and more than one of companions look asleep on their feet.

“They couldn’t bring us coffee?” Grace groans, rubbing her eyes.

It’s time for the king’s hunt, and apparently those start early. Like, before breakfast early. Not that I’d want to tromp around in the woods on a full stomach, but doing it on an empty one isn’t any more appealing.

If there’s one thing I know about Vasilius, it’s his love of the hunt. I’ve heard enough stories about it during our dates. A few days ago, he announced we’d join him on one. Since so many of us shared our passions with him, he wants to share his with us. It makes sense from his perspective, though I’m not sure any of us are very excited for the outing.

“There’ll be refreshments later,” Adeline reminds her. She’s entirely too chipper this morning. Probably because her guard is nearby. I’ve caught more than one longing glance between them already. How does no one else notice?

I stretch on my toes, trying to see above those around us. The king isn’t here yet, but some of his advisors are. Apparently as soon as he arrives, we’ll be ready to go, which means no Lysandir unless he shows up soon.

“Is everything alright?” someone asks.

I jolt at the sudden question as Bailey comes to stand beside me. She’s the picture of calm elegance and looks so natural, with her hair braided back, a quiver of arrows on her back, and a bow in hand. So unlike the rest of us, who look like bad cosplayers. Katherine nearly stabbed herself with an arrow and looked at the bow like a mixed up Rubik’s Cube. Zoe outright refused the bow and arrows, saying that she could never hurt an animal, so why bother. In fact, she protested the whole event pretty hard. Her vegan lifestyle and love for animals really could lead to marital problems if she’s picked, since the king has expressed his great love for hunting the wild beasts of Faery. Not that it’s stopped her from trying to win his hand.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” I say.

“You’ve just seemed on edge lately,” Bailey replies.

“I guess the other courts being around the past few days and all the recent talk of Unseelie has left me a little unsettled. That’s all.” I shrug.

Bailey offers a comforting smile. “We’re safe here. The Court of Fire is strong, and the king won’t let anything happen to us.”

The pure admiration and respect shining in her eyes is sweet enough to hurt. She has no idea that the king really isn’t into humans. It’s a little painful to watch, but breaking her illusion would be even worse. Besides, if anyone has a shot at truly earning his love and respect in return, it seems to be her, and I want that for her; I really do. The sooner Vasilius sees that and picks her, the sooner the rest of us can move on.

Maybe I can help it along, give the king the little shove in her direction that he needs. Could changing fate be so simple?

“Mira?” Bailey’s head cocks to the side.

“Yes, you’re right,” I reply, coming back to the moment. “Of course there’s no need to worry. I’ll try to relax.”

“Good, I think Vasilius would be sad if he thought we doubted him.”

Oh good lord, she has it bad.I force myself to smile at her in return. Either I’m good at keeping my thoughts from my face, or she chooses to ignore them. Either way, I’m relieved when magic tingles across my skin and I see additional figures appear out of the corner of my eye.

The king, I expected, but my heart skips a beat at the sight of Lysandir next to him.He came.

I doubt I’ll get to spend much time with him today. I’m not that lucky, but seeing him is reassuring nonetheless, even more so when his searching gaze lands on me and holds, a small smile lifting at the corners of his lips. That’s all it takes. A tiny twitch of muscle and my worries are vanquished.

What a simple mess he’s made me.

We’re divided up into small groups, each of us women with a guard in case we should wound the creature and be unable to finish it off. Or we hurt ourselves. No one says the latter, but it’s obvious. The king joins Alex, much to her apparent shock, though he promises to shift around and spend time with as many of us as he can. The same is said about Lysandir, who joins Grace, and the two advisors joining us Memnon and Avara, who pair with Bailey and Cora and their guards to start. It’s both a relief and letdown not to be with Lysandir, though it would likely be suspicious if he’d picked me.

As it is, it’ll be just me and Tharin, of course. The hard look he’s given me all morning says he’d rather be with anyone else, but I have a feeling Lysandir has probably ordered him to keep an eye on me.

Today, we’re hunting a deer-like creature said to have a blazing crimson coat. Such a thing would stand out in a normal forest, but here where many of the trees have bright hued trunks and leaves and several glow with an unearthly fire, it should blend right in.

We’ll be lucky if any of us can hit a tree trunk, much less some poor creature. Thehonorof winning the hunt will most likely go to whichever of us is with the king when he inevitably makes the kill. Scouts have already located the unknowing victim and will be shifting us to various points around its location. All we really have to do is follow our guards, stay relatively quiet, and see if we spot the creature before it catches wind of us and flees.

The sun is still rising by the time we’re shifted to our starting locations. Tharin and I end up in a pretty flat and peaceful section of forest with limited undergrowth. The cool, crisp breeze is a welcome companion, as are the various pleasant bird calls and occasional hum of an insect. By some miracle of Faery, there areno mosquitos in this world, which already makes being in the woods a million times better than back home.

If Tharin has any idea where the beast is, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he’s content to follow behind me as I wander aimlessly through the woods, soaking in the sights and sounds of nature. He’s quiet enough that I might think him gone if not for the heavy weight of his scowl that’s impossible to escape. I don’t hear or spy anyone else, which either means I’m going in the absolute wrong direction or we’re further apart than expected. It doesn’t take long for boredom to set in, and I start humming a soft tune for lack of anything else to do while I wander.

“You’re going to scare it off before we ever get close,” Tharin says.

I halt, glancing back over one shoulder. He’s stopped about ten feet behind me, arms crossed over his chest.

“There’s zero chance of me killing it with this any way.” I tap the bow slung over my shoulder. It’s surprisingly light for its size. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it a toy made for kids.

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