Page 6 of The Dark Fae Princess
“Tough cookie, aren’t you,” he murmurs, gripping my chin tighter and tilting my head up so that he can brush his lips close to mine. “Why don’t you take me to her?”
“Never,” I snarl at him. “She doesn’t want to see you.” He knows he can’t reach her at the castle without assistance. Full-blooded Light Fae are persona non grata for this very reason. I have no idea why he wants her so badly, but it’s something to do with “unfinished business”. Unfortunately for me, he takes this out on me whenever he can. However, I will protect my mother from him at all costs. This power is insidious, and I know that she has had trouble with it before, even though I don’t know the details. My parents can be the biggest assholes when it comes to ‘need-to-know’.
“Get your hands off the Princess,” Jerrick says so quietly, appearing in a puff of smoke next to Anders.
My savior.
I’ve thrown off the compulsion, but the King is still so much stronger than me.
The Light Fae King looks at Jerrick with utter disdain. “Who are you to tellmewhat to do?”
“The Princess’s protector,” Jerrick replies, his vibrant, purple eyes swirling with unfettered rage. “Now remove your hands before I inform her grandfather of your disrespect. I’m sure you don’t want that.”
Anders licks his lips and drops his hand from my chin. He may be a King, but he is a baby compared to my grandfather. “There’s no need for that,” he says smoothly. “Savannah and I were just talking, weren’t we, Princess?”
I clench my jaw so tight, I hurt myself.
“Now you are finished,” Jerrick says and folds his arms across his massive chest as he glares at the King to get a move on.
I take in a deep breath when he finally steps back and with a small bow to me, he moves on.
“Still chasing your mother?” Jerrick asks me.
I nod. “What happened between them?”
He shrugs, as expected. I don’t know if he knows and has been ordered not to tell me.
I drop it and smile. “Show me your paintings?”
His grim face brightens considerably, and he nods.
We amble out of the palace in silence, out into the dark night. There are no moon or stars in this part of the Realm as there is on Earth. The only light in the sky over the Dark Fae lands are the flickers of lightning that occur every few seconds. It is the basis of our magick. Electricity, lightning, along with ice and wind.
I hear the soft call of the ravens, nestled in their barn for the night and smile.
Jerrick leads me over to the barracks that are situated on the far-left side of the palace grounds. I have never been here before and start to get a bit nervous. Usually, Jerrick and I meet in the barn where he paints, or somewhere in the extensive gardens. It seems now that he is taking me to his lodgings.
I gulp as he pushes open a solid wooden door and steps inside.
He looks back over his shoulder at me in question, but then he gets a knowing look on his face. “I won’t bite,” he says with a small smile.
I relax and smile back. I’m being silly. I know that he won’t hurt me, but I have to be so cautious of everyone’s motives, even my friend’s, all of the time, because of who I am to this Kingdom.
I step inside and he leaves the door open in a show of making me feel more at ease. He crosses over to the small wooden table in the corner and flicks a small bolt of lightning at the lamp. It fires up and sets the room with a warm glow. I can take it in now that I can see a bit better.
It’s sparse.
A small wooden bed with a thin mattress and a single blanket. Two uncomfortable looking wooden chairs, a wooden table and a thin rug on the stone floor.
I look up at him in surprise, the guilt whelming up in me as my room is the exact opposite of this. Vast opulence, bordering on decadence.
“This is nice,” I murmur, but he snorts and shakes his head.
“No, it’s not,” he replies. “But it’ll do for me.”
I bite the inside of my lip and gesture to the easel in the corner by the lamp. “Show me.”
He nods and steps closer to the easel. It is covered with a cloth which he doesn’t remove as he picks up a painting and moves it to prop up on the floor against the wall.
