Then I would run like a mad woman until I was far away from here.
My plan worked well, until the moment I took one step past the gates.
Pain shot straight from my core, making me double over and my vision too blurry. I was about to fall on my knees when one of the guards snatched my arms.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his tone not that caring. He pulled me back a little, and the pain was gone.
What the …
I disentangled myself from him and stepped forward again.
The pain came back, hitting me harder this time. I not only doubled over, but I fell on my knees and threw up.
“What is going on with you?” the other guard asked me, eyeing me with repulsion.
Groaning, I scooted back inside the fortress.
The pain was gone and I inhaled deeply, savoring the reprieve.
Baffled, I looked down at the bracelet on my wrist and I suddenly realized what was going on. The bracelet wasn’t a gift from Lark, it was a curse. If I tried to leave, the magic in the bracelet was activated. If I really left, it would kill me.
I was stuck here forever.
16
Wyatt
Exiting the courtyard was easy. The problem now was to navigate the fortress without being caught, since all the servants were supposed to be at the courtyard, being interrogated for what happened to prince Lark.
Someone tried poisoning the prince. That sent the wheels of my mind turning, but I really didn’t have fucking time to think about him and what that could mean. I had to find Farrah as soon as possible.
Luck struck on my side when a young female fae crossed my path. She was dressed in the servant’s uniform and she wasn’t locked in the courtyard with the others.
“Excuse me,” I said, wondering how would a fae servant talk to another. It didn’t matter now. “Hm, I’m new here and I was sent to check on the princess, though I’ve been getting easily lost around the fortress. Could you please tell me the way to her chambers?”
She eyed me with wariness, but after a short hesitation, she pointed down the hallway and gave me directions to the third floor. I thanked her and rushed through the hallways, following her directions.
At the landing of the third floor, I bumped into two fae guards.
Momentarily caught off guard, their reaction time was slow. So I acted faster.
I pounced on one of the guards, swiped his spear from him, and pushed it into his chest, across his heart. The second guard was already on me, his spear coming for my back. Wishing I had time to shift into my wolf, I spun to the side, missing the spear’s blade by one inch. But I didn’t stop. I moved my arm up, punching the spear, making the fae loose his grip on it. I grabbed it hard and landed a nice elbow strike on the fae’s nose. He dropped his hands to touch his nose, and I turned the spear around, the blade pointed at him. Before he could react, I drove the spear through his neck.
A gurgling noise came from his throat right before his body thudded on the floor.
I dragged the bodies into the nearest room. I cleaned my hands on the tunic of one of the guards, then stole the pants and shirt of the other one. I didn’t forget about the stone I was carrying and tucked it safely away in my pocket. Hoping my glamour was still in place after this fight, I slipped from the room and continued on my path.
It didn’t take long for me to find the double doors at the end of the hallway—Farrah’s bedroom.
My heart started beating faster as I turned the knob and pushed the door open. My breath caught as my eyes found her.
Heartbreakingly beautiful as always, Farrah stood before the large window on the other side of the room, the warm light from the sunrise kissing her porcelain skin and silver hair.
She turned wary eyes at me. “Who are you?”
I closed and locked the door. “Lift my glamour,” I told her.
Frowning, she waved her hands, using her magic to turn off my glamour. I felt the moment the magic slipped away from me.
Farrah’s bright blue eyes went wide. “Wyatt,” she whispered in disbelief.
I stood there, watching her, afraid of moving. But she moved first. She launched herself in my arms. With a deep inhale, I held her tight against me, relishing in the feeling of her with me, in her scent filling my nostrils.
Then she stiffened and pulled back to look at me. “What are you doing here?”
I held on to her arms, refusing to let her put distance between us. “I came for you, to rescue from this place.”
The defeated shine in her eyes squeezed at my heart. “I can’t.” She lifted her arm and showed me the black bracelet in her wrist. “Lark put this on me earlier today. I tried escaping after. This bracelet will kill me if I leave the fortress.” I grabbed her arm and tried pulling the bracelet off. She shook her head. “I’ve already tried that and more. The bracelet is enchanted. It won’t come off.”
“There must be a way,” I whispered. “I can’t leave my mate trapped here.”
Her eyes rounded for a moment, then a small smile appeared over her lips. “You felt it too?”
I nodded. “I wasn’t sure if you had.” I pulled her back to me. “Farrah, I love you. I have always loved you. I can’t let you stay here.”
Gently, Farrah cupped my face, and standing on tiptoes, she pressed her lips to mine. I groaned, not content with just a peck. I closed my mouth over hers and kissed her, showing her just how much I wanted her, I needed her, I loved her.
Farrah kissed me back, moving her lips in rhythm with mine, her tongue entwining with mine. I wrapped my arms around her, like a lock that wouldn’t break, no matter what.
But then Farrah stepped back, breaking our kiss before I could take it further. “Wyatt, you need to go. It’s not safe here. You’ll be found out and killed.”
I held to her hand. “I won’t leave you.”
She pressed a hand to my chest. “You need to. Listen to me. Lark lied. He didn’t let Daleigh and my people go. They are imprisoned somewhere in the fae realm. Go there. Find them, free them. Rescue Daleigh. I know he’ll be mad now and will want vengeance. He’ll know what to do.”
A wave of rage coursed for me. That fucking fae prince … I sucked in a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I would lose my temper, but not now. Later, when I faced off the prince. I would put an end to him. But right now, I had to stay levelheaded. Even though I didn’t like it, Farrah seemed to know what she was saying. If she trusted Daleigh for this, I would too.
I nodded. “I hate leaving you, but I’ll go after Daleigh. Then we’ll come back for you.” I leaned into her and kissed her deep and hard one more time. “I promise it,” I whispered against her lips.
“Now go,” she said, pushing me toward the door.
Reluctantly, I let go of her. But as I was turning from her, I remembered something. “Oh, I have something for you.” I pulled the blue pendant Spencer had given me from my pocket and handed it to her.
She took the blue stone “What is this?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just promised I would give it to you.”
17
Farrah
One hour after Wyatt left, I finally stopped crying. Seeing my mate, touching him, and not being able to leave with him was not only heartbreaking, but it was also slowly killing me.