Page 44 of Chased By the Fairy

“Shhh,” a masculine voice hushed, before releasing him.

Sorrel turned and found himself face to face with a bird sprite wearing fur hides. His brows furrowed when the sprite looked familiar.

“You!” Sorrel shouted, before the swallow sprite covered his mouth with a wince.

“Shit. Shut up,” he whispered, looking past him to the ledge and the city beyond it.

“You’re the one who tried to save me from Mr Toad.” His eyes widened and Sorrel shoved up onto his knees. “You need to leave. The burrowing sprites hate flying creatures.”

The swallow’s feather brows narrowed. “I know. Which is why I’m wearing a fur cloak to look like them.” He eyed the cloak before it tipped to the side to reveal a wing that almost blended with it perfectly. “I’ve been looking for you. I heard of a fairy in the burrows, and I came to check to see if it was you or not.”

“You’ve been looking for me?”

“Of course, I have. I heard you escaped from the beetle sprite, and I was worried you were in the snow. I didn’t want to discover you were dead.” Sunny placed a hand on his shoulder, and for the first time in ages, that touch didn’t feel wrong. “I’m glad I was able to find you. I never got the chance to introduce myself, but I’m Sunny.”

“Well,” Sorrel laughed, giving him a small smile of false reassurance. “You found me. You can go back to your life knowing I’m safe.”

He appreciated the gesture regardless.I wish there was a way to repay him.

“Come with me,” Sunny offered.

“I can’t.” Sorrel shook his head while averting his eyes. Shame swirled like a cold wave. “I have to stay here.”

“The prince is looking for you. I can take you to him.”

“Cypress?” Sorrel’s heart clenched terribly in his chest, and just the mention of him brought on an overwhelming amount of sadness. He didn’t want to think of Cypress anymore. He wanted to forget about his very existence. “Why would he be looking for me?”

He’s marrying someone else. Why should he care what happens to me?

“I don’t know,” Sunny grumbled. “I just know that he is. He said he needed to fulfil some promise to take you home. I haven’t seen him since he went after the beetle sprite. I needed to heal my wing, so they left me behind.”

Sorrel’s laugh was empty.So, it was just because of that stupid promise.The one he’d broken by letting Sorrel be taken in the first place.

“Tell him to stop searching,” Sorrel said with a small, defeated voice. “I’m getting married on the last day of winter. I can’t leave the burrow.”

“Getting married?” His feathered brows came together tightly, making his forehead crease with the intensity of his frown. “Why? To who?”

Sorrel sighed as he turned his head downwards to watch himself fiddle with his own fingers. For some reason, he trusted this swallow sprite. Since he was taken, he was the first personhe’d met who didn’t truly seem to have some kind of ulterior motive.

He was a nice person, and maybe it would unburden his load if he shared part of his sorrow with him.

“To the mayor, Miss Mole. I don’t have a choice.” He flicked his finger over the edge of his nail as his head lowered further. “She said she’ll destroy my mother’s life if I don’t.”

“She sounds like a horrible person.” He grabbed Sorrel’s shoulder with one arm to shake him like he was trying to shake some sense into him. But Sorrel already knew what he was doing, even if he hated it. “You can’t marry someone like that. Come with me – I’ll take you home then.”

“I can’t.” He wanted to, though. More than anything, he wanted to go with this swallow sprite. “There’s nothing out there for me anymore. I was brought into this world to bring my mother happiness, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I was the cause of her suffering.”

“Let’s go to the fairy prince together,” Sunny offered gently, trying to coax Sorrel out of the burrow like he was a wild, frightened animal. “Maybe he can help you.”

He clenched his teeth tightly, wishing his heart wouldn’t feel as though it were shattering even further.

“No.” Sorrel didn’t think he could bear to look Cypress in the eye. He didn’t think he could handle seeing him while knowing he was about to bond with another. “Miss Mole is powerful. There’s nothing he can do to save me without breaking the treaty between their kinds.”

Sorrel had learnt much over the course of the two months in the underground city. There were written texts he’d been able to read, detailing the histories between the animal and flower fairies. The different kinds of magic they had, what their duties and roles in life were, and so on.

Sorrel was an abnormality within that structure.

He’d also come to learn just how thin the line between them was. Unless Cypress planned to start a war, which he wouldn’t do for someone he didn’t care for, nor would it be what Sorrel wanted for the kingdom, there was nothing that could be done.

---