Page 60 of The Prince and His Stolen Throne
Fuck. Monsters, I could handle. Weird forest magic? Not so much.
Fitz sat cross-legged on the ground and pulled his map out. “What are we doing wrong?” he mumbled, tracing a finger over the route.
Looking at the map was useless. As much as I hated to admit it, our best way out of whatever trap we’d stumbled into was to consult someone who understood magic. “I’ll be right back.”
“No, no, no!” Delilah shrieked, grabbing my hand. “What if there’s another monster?” Her collar jangled as she shuddered.
“It’s not safe to separate from the group,” Fitz replied sternly. “Especially if we don’t know what’s going on.”
“Why do you always want to go off alone?” Angelica demanded.
A host of excuses flitted through my brain, none of them good enough. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for an explanation. What could I say? ‘I’m secretly working with an evil mage’s apprentice to guide you through the forest?’ I might as well replace the last part with ‘guide you to your doom’, because that’s all they would believe. The moment I opened my mouth to explain, I blurted out, “I need to talk to my boyfriend.” The spicy aftertaste of the geas coated my tongue.
“Yourwhat?” Delilahshrieked, yanking on my arm so she could yell directly into my ear. “When did you get a boyfriend?”
“And who would ever voluntarily dateyou?” Angelica sneered. “Oh, there’s a thought. Perhaps you blackmailed the poor man?”
Gods dammit, why did it have to be ‘boyfriend?’Usually, the geas made me spit out secrets, not outlandish lies.I struggled to think of an explanation as I yanked my arm out of Delilah’s grasp. “I—I didn’t mean—he’s hot, but he’s not—” I bit my own tongue before the geas could spill any other bullshit.
“Is that why you wanted to go on a quest?” Maximus asked, his eyes downcast.
“Oh, because you wouldn’t want to marry one of us while you’re in love with someone else,” Fitz finished, nodding along.
“I’m not in—it’s recent, alright?”
“How do you contact him?” Delilah demanded.
“Maybe he doesn’t actually exist,” Angelica replied. “In fact, that makes more sense than blackmail. Only an imaginary man would put up with Trey.”
Wasting time hiking in circles would have been better than this interrogation. I put my head in my hands and let their criticisms and speculation flow over me. Once they quieted, I asked, “Are you finished?”
“No,” Delilah replied. Her ears perked up and her tail flicked behind her in excitement. If she pounced on me, I would toss her into the stream. “You haven’t told us how you communicate with him.”
I sighed and pulled the compact out of my pocket. “He’s a mage’s apprentice.” Not that I could explainwhichmage. “When I told him about the quest, he made this for me so we could keep in contact.” It was almost embarrassing how well Wilde’s actions fit the boyfriend story.
“That’s so sweet! Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“Because you’re a nosy little sneak who would try to listen in on our conversations.”
She gasped in affront. “How could you accuse me of something like that?” After a few seconds, she added, “You’re right, but it still hurts.”
“Yes, so, can I please have some privacy to talk to him now?”
“No,” Fitz said. “We shouldn’t separate. Besides, if he’s a mage, I’d like a word with him as well.”
Howwas I supposed to say the summoning spell with them listening? Wilde would be furious if I revealed his name. “He might be busy, so if he doesn’t answer, I’ll just … try again later.”
They all crowded around me. When I opened the compact, I saw pieces of them in the reflection—Delilah and Fitz on my right, Angelica and Maximus on my left.
I cleared my throat and said, “I call on thee, Wil—Will, as your … boyfriend?”
The mirror’s reflection remained unchanged.
“See? He’s busy, doing apprentice things.” I started to shut the compact. “I’ll try later—”
“Treasure?”
I squeezed my eyes shut.Please don’t look obviously evil.Taking a deep breath, I opened the compact the rest of the way. “Hi, honey.” I scanned the image, my eyes widening in shock.
