One kiss. They had only shared one kiss, and it was even a fake one only meant to convince the fae, Ansel, to leave Elora alone. But that one kiss had changed everything.
She didn’t know what Brannick hated more, the fact that he had been forced to explain his past to her or the fact that he revealed his feelings for her. Either way, the combination had turned him even colder than she had ever seen.
Then again, love had destroyed his life once before. He had given his heart to Queen Alessandra of Fairfrost. He made a bargain with her and promised to follow every order she ever gave him. He also promised he would never touch anyone besides Alessandra if he had romantic feelings for that being in his heart.
That was the most frightening thing about fae bargains. They couldn’t be broken. When he and Elora shared that one kiss, even though it had been a fake one, he still almost vanished from existence. Despite how he tried to deny it, Brannick had strong enough feelings for her that the bargain tried to destroy him when he touched her.
At first, Elora foolishly believed the truth would bring them closer together. She thought the prince might turn to her for advice or even comfort. Instead, he seemed intent on avoiding her altogether.
Before he could repeat his command, she raised herself up to the balls of her feet. “You promised to get me a new sheath for my sword. You said you would put a glamour on it that would make it invisible so I can carry my sword with me everywhere.”
His nose twitched again. As he moved his hand upward to pinch the bridge of his nose, a pair of black ears appeared from behind his woody throne.
A snout soon followed and then the wolf’s entire body could be seen. Only a moment later, he bounded forward and nuzzled into Elora’s leg.
“Hello, Blaz.” She grinned as she dug her fingers into his soft black fur. At least the wolf had missed her. Her knees dropped to the earthy woven rug under her feet, so she could more easily scratch behind Blaz’s ears.
Her eyes turned to the prince as she knelt. For the briefest moment, a soft smile adorned his face while he watched her with his wolf. The expression melted away so quickly, she almost thought she imagined it.
The thorns twisting around Brannick’s chair creaked as he let out a huff. “It is too dangerous for you to leave your room at night. Do I need to put an enchantment on your doorway as well as your window?”
She left a soft pat on top of Blaz’s head before glaring up at the prince. “Am I a prisoner?”
The words tumbled from her lips, as if they’d had this argument many times. The ease with which they quarreled came as naturally as it had between her own parents. With that thought, she felt her mouth twist up into a knot.
A matching snarl filled Brannick’s face. “You are not a prisoner. And do you think I actually care for your safety? It is your sword skill I need. My life will be much easier if you do not get injured or kidnapped before the final phase of testing.”
This was the first time she had seen the prince since he told her everything about his past with Alessandra.
So why did everything feel different?
Blaz padded across the woven rug to stand at the prince’s side. Brannick arched his hand over the arm of his chair to reach for the wolf’s head. At least two more vines of black briars had covered the arm since Elora entered the room.
That was part of the curse on the prince’s court of Bitter Thorn. Thorns followed him everywhere he went in his court. But was the curse getting worse? She had never seen the thorns grow around him so quickly.
Smoothing out the wrinkles in her purple skirt, Elora kept her gaze away from the prince. “Shouldn’t we begin training again then? It’s been days since we were in Dustdune and destroyed the shards, but I haven’t done any sword training with you at all. Aren’t we running out of time?”
The chuckle that left Brannick’s lips held no humor. “There is no time in Faerie. High King Romany will not announce the next phase until we are ready.”
It seemed like the perfect moment to roll her eyes. Knowing it would bother Brannick, she flopped herself onto the nearest chair. “Are we just going to forget the testing then? If you never prepare for it, then it will never happen. Is that your plan?”
As she lifted her eyes to roll them again, an unexpected sight met them.
A chandelier.
The sparkly crystals caught the light, showering the upper walls of the room with a rainbow of light. But it wasn’t just the crystals that caught her eye. Soft light glowed from the spot where candles should have been. The light was mostly white with a hint of pink, but it definitely wasn’t fire. Even more intriguing, it wasn’t green.
She glanced around the top of the room another time, finally recognizing why the room looked different. In every part of Faerie that she had ever been, small glowing green lights always floated up above. She now knew the glowing lights were actually sprites who sent messages throughout Faerie. She had even befriended a small sprite named Tansy.
But this room had no sprites. Instead, the only light source in the room came from the chandelier. It must have been from magic she hadn’t seen before.
When she finally turned back to the prince again, he glared even harder than before. With a wave of one hand, a swirling tunnel appeared at his side. Brown, green, and black smudges twirled around each other down the length of the tunnel. A cool and gentle breeze floated through the tunnel, bringing along with it the scent of wet earth, moss, and rain.
Just when the slightest hint of wild berries filled the air, Brannick cleared his throat. “That door will take you back to your room.”
Elora pouted as she leaned back into her chair. “But I don’t want to go back to my room. Once the testing is over, I have to return to the mortal realm. I’m anxious to explore Faerie and enjoy it as much as I can before I go.”
His shoulders stiffened as he sat taller in his chair. “Then explore it during the day and with an escort. At night, you must stay in your room.”
Glancing toward the door that led to the forest, she sat up straighter. “But I don’t have an offering for Fifer. I must leave him an offering, or he won’t bring me anything to eat in—”
As she spoke, the prince whirled one hand in a circle. A clump of purple wildflowers appeared at Elora’s feet by the time he finished. The flowers would make a perfect offering for her brownie.
She snatched them off the ground as she stood from her chair. Another night, she would have argued more. She would have reminded him again about the sheath he promised. But truthfully, she was getting tired and the thought of her warm bed was too nice to ignore.
Just for fun, she snarled at the prince as she moved toward his swirling tunnel.
He met her expression with a clenched jaw. “You should be safe inside the castle, but do not leave its walls again unless you have an escort. Your skills are too valuable in Faerie. You are not safe.”
She mostly ignored his words as she stomped toward his Faerie door. He could order her around as much as he liked, but she didn’t have to follow. She had learned something since being in Faerie, and that was how to take her life into her own hands.
He couldn’t stop her from enjoying Faerie. No matter how hard he tried.
TWO
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EVEN WITH AIR AS her only opponent, Elora loved practicing her sword skill. Her blade swished and sliced, glinting in the light of her room. Only after she’d been practicing for a while did a thin bead of sweat break out over her forehead.