Page 148 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

I roll my eyes, buckling my sword at my waist. “She’s not here, Prae.”

My cousin looks so crestfallen that I have to hold back a laugh.

“Are you sure?”

“Metaphysical bond in my chest says she’s currently a far way northeast of us,” I retort dryly. “So yes, I’m sure.”

Prae looks so disappointed it’s hilarious, but it doesn’t last more than ten seconds before her mind goes back to working at ten thousand miles a minute.

“I guess they’re not making shit up about the Wild Hunt, then.” She heads for the stairs. “Fascinating. So there are fairies floating around who have literally seen the afterlife.”

“No, we can’t set a trap for one so you can interrogate them.” I’m so used to her thought process by now that I don’t even have to ask where her mind went. “Let’s just… get out of here.”

“We don’t have to leave,” Prae objects. “We can break into the Nicnevin’s rooms while she’s gone, wait for her, and then snatch her away come morning.”

“Yes, let’s hide out in her room until morning when everyone will be out and about to witness us kidnapping the queen.”

“We can knock her—”

My hand is at her throat before I realise what I’m doing. “No one harms her.”

Prae scratches at my wrist, making gagging noises.

It’s only when she finally claws deep enough to draw blood that I snap myself out of it. My hand jerks open, and I stagger backwards.

“Wow.” Prae coughs, using the wall to hold herself up as she struggles for breath. “Those fae instincts are finally coming out to play, huh?”

“No.” I’m more Fomorian than fae. I’ve spent years fighting to prove it.

Prae smirks like a lunatic. “At least you can still lie—even if you do suck at it.” She turns on her heel and heads for the stairs. “Come on, we’re not leaving here without you and the pretty queen, otherwise your father will have both our heads.”

She’s not wrong. Getting captured without having anything to show for it is just about worthy of execution.

We reach the top of the stairs, and I exchange nods with Gron and Aran. I’m not surprised Prae chose them. She’s a smart female who doesn’t mesh well with anyone who comes close to her level of intelligence—sometimes to her own detriment.

If these two meatheads could string together half a sentence, she wouldn’t like having them around so much.

“There’s no point in making a play for her now,” I argue, absently touching the healed skin of Rose’s mark.

“Have you forgotten the plan?” Prae demands. “We’ve been here for years, waiting for our moment to collect this spoiled little princess. This is the closest we’ve ever been. At the very least, we need to search the place for anything regarding their plan of attack, maybe cut the throat of their bastard commander in his bed if we can manage it.”

“No,” I snap, and her head jerks up in response. Good. She knows I’m serious.

“What the hell did she do to you?” Prae hisses. “You’ve lost your mind. Is this some enchantment?” She digs into her bag—probably searching out some remedy for my perceived insanity—and I grab her wrist to stop her.

“It’s not an enchantment. There’s just—” I look sideways at Gron and Aran and groan in frustration. “Look, we’re getting out of here. And that’s final.” I look around, glad for the deserted candlelit hallway. “Now.”

I’ll handle the repercussions of my actions when I get home.

“Well, unfortunately for your sudden case of cold feet,” Prae retorts, snarling. “Our exit strategy requires us to get high. Really high. So it’s a good thing we know of a high up bedroom that’s currently entirely unoccupied, isn’t it?”

Oh, of all the…

“The metal wings?” I demand. “Really? You thought this was a good opportunity to test one of your creations?”

“You have a better way to get back over a hundred-foot wall? Do you realise how much effort it took me to scale it in the first place without being spotted? None of the rest of us have glamour.”

And the meagre amount of illusion magic I inherited from my mother’s blood won’t stretch to all four of us.

---