Page 46 of To Wake a Kingdom

“Fine, but be careful. They are vicious creatures who will destroy a beautiful young thing like you.”

I bit down on the retort at the back of my throat, insulted she thought me so fragile, but arguing with her would do me no good, so I nodded.

“I’ll be careful.”

With reluctance, she told me where I might find them, and I thanked her before leaving.

I headed into the quiet streets, evidence of the night’s celebrations everywhere. The garlands that once hung merrily had been torn down, ends dragging in the muddy snow. People lay on the road, and my heart seized until I realized they were just passed out from too many glasses of ale—the normal sleep after a night of revelry, not the endless slumber of an unbreakable curse.

Following Verna’s directions, I made my way to the city center, finding an elegant stone townhome. Not giving myself a chance to change my mind, I knocked on the door and asked to see the Fae.

The servant who answered led me into an enclosed courtyard, where Maida was seated at a wrought-iron table sipping a mug of coffee. The servant was about to announce my presence when a pair of burned onyx eyes whipped in my direction. Maida’s stare was so hard it fossilized me in place, my muscles and tendons going rigid. This was a terrible idea. What had I been thinking?

“You may go,” Maida said, waving the girl away. I wanted to escape with her as Maida rose from his seat and regarded me with a licentious sweep of his eyes. He wore a dark gray tunic and leggings that molded to every muscled curve of his arms and chest. His features were savage—angled brows and razored cheekbones set against a thick pair of lips designed for cutting words and cruel intentions.

“What brings you here, Princess?” A smug sense of satisfaction twisted up the corners of his mouth, the weight of his gaze so heavy it felt like he could see straight through my clothing to every inch of my flesh. “Didn’t I say you’d come to me begging?”

My words stuck, so I cleared my throat and gathered the particles of my courage into a minuscule pile, lifting my chin and meeting his pitch-dark glare. “That’s not why I’m here.”

He huffed out a laugh that said he didn’t believe me, and maybe a small part of me was lying. Maida was pure smoke and raw sexual energy, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about the things he whispered to me in that darkened alley.

“Then what do you want?”

“You said it was your job to know who I am. What did you mean by that?”

His charcoal brows furrowed as he rolled his neck. “I don’t share my secrets with humans, darling.”

“But you know about the curse? You know who I am?”

“I do.” The words were clipped, broken off at the ends like he was trying not to say too much. I wasn’t sure how much to reveal to this ferocious male, but I had eighteen days left and time was draining away. I was rapidly running out of options. What was the worst that could happen at this point?

“Do you know what happened when I woke up?” I kept my question vague enough, wanting to keep the king’s presence in my castle a secret. Unless Maida already knew.

“Why would I know that?”

“Didn’t you say it’s your job?”

He rolled his eyes as though I were miles beneath him. Either he didn’t know or he was lying, so I forged ahead, throwing away my caution.

“I need to break a curse,” I said in a rush, like he might not really hear me if I spit the words out fast enough.

“Why should that be my concern?”

ThisI had anticipated. Maida didn’t seem like the sort to offer his help for nothing.

“I’ll give you anything you want. Anything in my power to give.”

A smile, one at half-measure, crept to his face, glee flaring in his eyes. “Oh, Princess. That is an exceedingly stupid thing to say to a Fae. What could have you so desperate?”

“Something went wrong and my family fell asleep too, and now I can’t wake them up.”

It was so slight I nearly missed it, but there was the barest widening of his eyes. That I’d caught him off guard with my admission unnerved me more than anything.

“So that’s what happened. Fascinating.”

He said nothing further, just kept staring at me like he was trying to figure something out.

“I’m asking for your help. Do you know how to break it?” My voice dropped to a whisper. “Please, I’m going to lose everything.” A ball of tension bobbed in my throat, threatening to unravel at my feet.

---