Page 11 of The Crowned Fae Queen
“You, I’m talking about you. Doyouthink she is good?” I hand the pencil back, leaning against the back of the seat with one arm to prop up my head.
His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat before he speaks.
“Ithink she’s special. She’s loyal, keeps her word, she’s...” His voice trails off as he points his gaze away from me.
“Beautiful?”
“What? I didn’t say that.” He snatches the pencil out of my hand, hastily shoving it back into his pocket.
“You seem mesmerized by her.”
It’s the way his face softens when he talks about her, and how it hardens when he feels like she could be threatened. That doesn’t happen when someone talks about a person they don’t care about.
“Has this little witch of yours put a spell on you?” I mock, fussing with his hair until the curls sit nicely. “Was it a love spell?”
Miranda scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You make me out to be a fool. Only a foolish man would fall in love with a witch.”
“Or maybe a man who is daring and adventurous. Someone who just can’t quite walk the path that was designed for him; a man who has to forge his own path.”
Wait, I’m not trying to talk him into loving her. Or professing his love for her. Goddess above, someone take my tongue before I get myself into trouble.
No matter what, I’m really just describing my friend. Miranda is this person, and falling in love with a creature that fae kind can hardly even stand would be exactly something he would do.
His shoulders rise and fall with the easy nonchalance of a man who is lying to himself as the carriage rattles to a stop. My body lurches forward with the motion of the buggy itself. The world outside the splattered windows is a pitch-black void.
“Are you ready?” Miranda asks. Unoiled hinges squeal as Miranda pushes his door open. An unbecoming roar of thunder answers him in the distance.
“Of course I am.”I’m so fucking not.
The fires of the rebellion are long gone. Replaced with the barren streets on the edge of the city. From the carriage, I can see the trees of the forest, their branches weighted in snow. Bitterness clings to the air, a tart scent that makes me crinkle my nose.
“Let’s go.” Miranda urges. His eyes narrow at the sky and the tumble of dark clouds quickly making their way overhead. “It’s going to rain.”
Ihold my hands out to my sides, tiny raindrops hitting my skin like unwelcome kisses of snow. “Thanks for the forecast. I couldn’t figure that one out for myself.”
He purses his lips, turning back toward the far-too-ominous forest. Dark trees overcast by dark clouds, villainous thunder, and more shadows than I can count.
Iturn to watch the coachman adjust the reins and settle against his seat, the pearly outline of the moon turning him into his own shadow. Twisting back to face the forest, I wipe my palms against my trousers and tuck my hair behind my ear. Hair on the back of my neck seems to stand at attention, the suspicious feeling of being watched making me shuffle with uncertainty. Like a million eyes casting their gazes upon me, all of which remain invisible.
“It’s meant to make you uneasy,” Miranda says. “You will face many things as we travel: feelings, fears, obstacles. Just know most of it is only real to you.”
“She really has cast her witchy-woo magic on all of this forest, hasn’t she?” I fold my hands in front of me to hide the way they shake. “It feels as if a demon lives here, too. Or perhaps your witch is the demon?” Giving Miranda my best snarky smile, I cock my head and watch him.
“Now you’re starting to sound like that stuffy old Chaplain.” Miranda shakes his head, trampling over fragile layers of ice and thorny brush toward what feels like a fiendish forest. “I would try to play the part of the gentleman and allow you to precede me but, seeing as you’ve turned nearly green, I suspect I’ll need to lead the way.”
Have I really turned green? I give my cheeks a good pat, my skin feeling cold and clammy.
It’s only a spell. It’s only a spell. Nothing here will hurt you.Chanting the words, I muster up what courage remains after the magic that haunts the wavering limbs of the trees siphoned it away.You were the one that wanted to come here, remember?
“You can hardly see it now. Actually, I doubt you can see it at all, since you haven't a clue what you are looking for. But just beyond the largest pine tree is a wall.”
“Awall? Is there any way through it?” Snow crunches under my unsure feet. Wind curls and kisses my skin, blowing under my long dark cloak. I hold the fabric closer, tighter.
“Like a door? Goddess, no. This won't be that easy. We are going to climb it.” Air clouds before him, and I can almost see the words written in the cold.
“Climb it?” I force my jaw still as the cold and inexplicable fear leaves my body trembling, my lip quivering, and my mind foggy.
“Is there an echo in this forest?” Miranda tilts an eyebrow. “Did I not ask you to wear your best climbing shoes? Silly me, must have forgotten.”
