For a moment, nothing changed. He stood as sure and as angry as before. Elora sucked in a breath, regretting her accusation about his feelings.
But then it happened. He flickered. His entire being vanished for a flash of a moment. He flickered again. She shoved him away and took several steps to the side. Her chest heaved as she tried to suck in calming breaths. She had to settle for shaky ones instead.
Glaring at his hand, she gripped her sword tight. “That was stupid.”
His hand flexed as he turned away from her. “No, stupid was falling in love with Queen Alessandra. Falling for you is merely an inconvenience.”
The words stabbed her, giving her the urge to run her sword through his heart. “An inconvenience?”
He shrugged her off, glancing anywhere but into her eyes. “There is nothing you can do to me. You are going home after the testing anyway. And then I will never have to look at you again.”
The anger boiling inside her she could handle. But the tears stinging in her throat? Even clenching her jaw as tight as she could, her chin still quivered. She threw him her darkest glare. “You’re lucky I like it here in Faerie because I’d never stay if it was only for you.”
If he reacted to her words, she didn’t know, because she had turned her back on him. She reached for the vine that opened the door to the armory. She shoved her sword into the glamoured sheath just before throwing open the door that led to the hallway.
Her hands burned as she curled them into fists. She stomped toward her room, leaving as much noise in her wake as she possibly could.
Maybe the prince liked her, but he hated himself for it. It was clear now that it would never change. She blinked away every tear that tried to escape from her eyes.
At least she hadn’t fallen in love with him. At least she wasn’t that stupid.
Her wooden door flew open when she pushed it. But the writhing anger had something to temper it now. Brannick could force her to leave Faerie, but maybe that didn’t matter.
Not if she could take a piece of Faerie with her when she left.
She glanced up at the glowing lights near the ceiling while hope for a new idea sprang to life inside. Grinning, she uttered a single word.
“Tansy?”
SEVEN
▲▼▲
ELORA’S PALM BUZZED WITH excitement as she held out her hand, giving the sprite a place to land. The tiny creature’s limbs were strong as her soft green shoes landed on the palm. Her sparkly pink dress gave a soft bounce. Expectancy filled her pink and green eyes.
The buzzing in her hand trailed up Elora’s entire arm and now consumed her whole being. When she spoke, she could barely contain the feeling. Her eyebrow tipped up. “You have wings.”
The sprite put her hands on her hips. “Yes.”
Reaching for one of the feathers tied in her hair, Elora took a deep breath. “I want you to teach me how to fly.”
Tansy let out a soft chuckle. “I wondered how long it would take you to ask.” She dropped down and folded her legs crisscross on Elora’s palm. Now the sprite curled her hands into fists and propped them under her chin. “Fae do not generally offer help without something in return.”
A yank twisted inside Elora’s gut. “I’m not making a bargain.” Her shoulders shook involuntarily as the memory of her bargains with both Brannick and King Huron haunted her. Squeezing the feather tight between her finger and thumb, she tried to push the thoughts away. “You said you might need my help in the future, right?”
Tansy’s wings glowed bright green as she nodded.
Faerie must have been getting to her because Elora flashed a devious smile. “Then it benefits you to help me now because then I will be more likely to help you in the future.”
With a chuckle, the sprite flapped her wings until she hovered in the air. “Now you’re starting to talk like a fae.”
The sprite tugged on Elora’s finger and used her own chin to point toward the window. Sucking in a breath, Elora released the wings from her back. As Brannick had promised in his bargain, the wings could be retracted or called forth at will. Feeling them flutter behind her still filled her with an indescribable sense of wonder.
When the sprite tugged her finger again, she allowed the wings at her back to lift her off the ground. Tansy led the way out of her window and down to the forest floor just outside Bitter Thorn Castle.
Elora remembered how tangible the dream of freedom had been when Brannick offered her the wings. Even when she thought it was nothing more than make believe, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse such a thrilling gift.
She landed on the mossy forest floor with lush trees all around. Nothing could have soured her mood in that moment. Nothing. Because now she’d learn to fly as well as a sprite could.
Once the sprite hovered in front of her again, Elora raised an eyebrow. “What first?”
Tansy smoothed her sparkly pink skirt. “First, fly up in a straight line as high as you can.”
Not wanting to upset her teacher, Elora forced an even expression onto her face. “Don’t you think we should start with something less basic? I just flew out here from my room.”
The sprite snorted. “I was helping you just now.”
Elora’s eyebrows flew up to her forehead. “Were you?” Now she shook her head even more sure than before. “What about when I flew to the Balance Cliffs to retrieve that shard?”
Another chuckle escaped Tansy’s lips as she raised an eyebrow. “I was helping you then too. And if you could fly better when you first got the wings, it was because Prince Brannick’s creation magic was still inside you. Trust me. Start by flying up as straight as you can.”
Wanting to reject the idea that she couldn’t fly at all, Elora gladly set her wings beating. The moment her feet lifted off the ground, her body jerked backward so fast her hair flew into her face.
She snapped her arms down at her sides, slapping one against the hidden sword and sheath. Gritting her teeth, she flapped her wings harder. Immediately, her body jerked forward. When she attempted to move upward, her wings slammed her down onto the ground instead.
Wet dirt sprayed upward when her hand slapped against the ground. She had to spit out the crumbs of it that landed in her mouth.
Tinkling laughter filled the air as Tansy zoomed down to eye level. She clutched her belly as the laughs erupted. “This is going to take more work than I thought.”
Dusting the damp earth off her palms, Elora stood up determined. Maybe flying would be harder than she expected, but it was the only thing about Faerie that she could take with her when she returned to the mortal realm. She wasn’t about to give up.
This wasn’t the first time she had attempted a new skill. Thinking back on her first days of sword fighting, an idea came to mind. With swords, it was important to start by learning stances. Practice could begin even before a sword ever touched the hand. Surely flying had a similar equivalent.
“What if I practice flapping my wings first? Can I figure out how to move them correctly without lifting off the ground?” Elora pinched her skirt, hoping the question didn’t come across too desperate.
“No.” Tansy gave an apologetic shrug. “Flapping your wings will lift you off the ground. The only way to learn how to fly is just to fly. You have to learn by doing.”