Page 93 of Faerie Fate
“Well, we have time,” Elfhame prompted. She was so open with her pregnant belly and her children howling with laughter around us.
So we ate, drank, and talked like old pals.
If I closed my eyes, it was easy enough to pretend that the last few months hadn’t happened, or even the last few years. And once we finished lunch, we continued traveling.
The sun set beyond the horizon and Elfhame and her mate caught up to me.
“We should be getting close at this point,” she explained. “Another few miles and EverRose will come into view.”
“We lost the path a long time ago.” It was safer to stay off the road but cutting through the forest made for slow going.
“I’m sure it’s going to be fine.” Elfhame’s mate certainly sounded sure. “It’s a stronghold. It’s hard to miss.”
My senses were screaming at me to sit up and pay attention. The moonless dark made it difficult to discern the faint trail through the trees even when I shifted my eyes.
I bent and whispered to Noren, “Can you go ahead and find the way?”
He grunted in acknowledgement before taking off but it didn’t make me feel better. There was something brewing and the feeling grew like a seed, starting at the base of my spine.
“We may need to stop and discuss this, my love,” Elfhame said to her mate.
“What is there to discuss?” he chided gently. “The older pixies know the way. They’ll guide us home.”
I wished I had his confidence. I glanced back at Bronwen, who was able to see in the dark the same way I did, her gazeluminescent in the quick flash of starlight. Mike faltered behind her and I stopped to loop my arm through his.
A loud baying sound cut through the trees to the right and my skin tingled, my ears pulsing.
Mike’s chest heaved when his gaze collided with mine. “That’s Noren.”
There were no broken tree limbs, no sudden shouts, nothing to signal the arrival of the fae outside of a sword to my throat. The tip of the metal pressed against my jugular.
We were surrounded.
Chapter Twenty-Six
It twisted something in my soul to have the fae turn against me, even though I’d expected it.
Shifters weren’t allowed in the Fae Academy for Halflings, after all. I’d had to sell a favor to a witch for a potion to hide my identity.
In this case, Mike must have felt a thousand times worse than I did as the fae soldiers pressed closer, corralling us.
“Look at what we’ve got here! Blood traitors. Disgrace to the crown,” one of the soldiers muttered with another step.
Moonlight glittered over their armor, polished to a sheen. The intricate pieces were heavy enough to withstand a powerful blow but made no sound when they moved.
Mike faced them all with his expression stern, his eyes steely. “Stand down. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
The soldiers paid no attention to him, pressing forward until the tips of their weapons nicked our skin. The slightest wrong move would gut us. Bronwen slowly lifted her hands into the air.
“I don’t think you have any authority here, Michael,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.
“Round them up,” the nearest soldier grunted. “We’ll take them back to the palace. Let the king decide what to do with them.”
One of the soldiers laughed. “It will be the same as he does to all of them.” His tone indicated it would be something painful and fun for them. Not for us.
Body shaking, I faced them, forcing frost into my eyes. Bronwen squeezed her own shut.
I never expected to go down without a fight, and I definitely had no intention of going anywhere with these men.
