Fae Games

by Sofia Daniel

I turned around. “Yes.”

  He stepped closer, engulfing me in the scent of orange blossoms and freshly fallen rain. “August was wrong about you.”

  My heart leapfrogged into my throat. “Why?”

  “You didn’t come here to taint the throne.” The sun peeked out from the clouds and streamed down on his cerise hair, glinting off his lighter strands the way light hits the edge of a sword.

  I straightened. “No, I didn’t.”

  “And my brothers would be lucky to have a mate with an understanding of all levels of our society.” His gaze lowered to my lips. “Not to mention your… appetites.”

  “What can I say?” My voice became breathy. “A girl has needs.”

  “Indeed?”

  “Yes.” I let my gaze linger on his gorgeous, full lips, before rising to amber eyes that burned with passion.

  “May I kiss you?” he asked.

  I slid my hands under his blazer and onto the hard pectoral muscles bulging through his white shirt. Prince Bradwell’s breathing quickened, and he edged closer until I felt the fan of his hot breath on my lips.

  Pausing for a heartbeat longer than necessary, I savored this moment. It was the first time one of the princes had approached me with an apology and permission for a kiss.

  Prince Rory had scooped me away from a perverted blacksmith and demanded a blowjob, while I had teased Prince Caulden into hardness and trapped his erection in a cock ring. This situation was completely different… almost romantic.

  Raising myself to my tiptoes, I slid my arm around the back of his neck and pulled him down.

  His lips were soft and tentative, as though he wasn’t sure what to do when the girl made the first move. Then he growled and pulled me into his hard body and even harder erection.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured into the kiss. “I tried hard to resist. To be true to the female I thought fate had chosen for my mate, but every time I was with her I kept thinking about you.”

  “Really?” I whispered.

  His tongue slid against mine in a series of toe-curling caresses that had my nipples tightening and my core clenching. As my wings fluttered with pleasure, they shifted the air, making Prince Bradwell’s long hair brush against mine,

  He drew back from the kiss. “And when I heard about what you did with my brothers, I could barely look at you because if I did, I would demand the same.”

  My eyes widened. I was impressed with his restraint.

  “Unity,” he said between panting breaths. “Please allow me to court you.”

  “I’m still going to mate with Princes Caulden and Rory.”

  “Please consider me to be your third.” He drew back and frowned. “Not now, but in the future. I knew about the conspiracy to have you sent to the Dark Fae Prison and didn’t act. If you can’t forgive that, I’ll under—”

  I placed a finger on his lips. “If tonight’s ritual doesn’t work, will you do everything you can to help me find Helen?”

  “I swear to you on all that’s precious,” he said.

  “That’s good enough.”

  Hope shone in his eyes. “You’ll consider me?”

  My belly made an excited flip, but I controlled my expression. The answer was three yeses, but I didn’t want to seem too eager or too forgiving. “Let’s give courting a try.” I pressed a chaste kiss on his lips and drew back. “See you tonight.”

  With a gallant bow, he stepped into the carriage. I stood at the doorway, watching the horses spread their white wings and launch themselves into the air. Pokeweed was right. Three faerie princes wanted me but somehow, I needed to win the fourth.

  “Where have you been?” a voice from behind snapped. “The last thing I saw before Prince Caulden whisked you away was someone trying to arrest you.”

  “Oh.” I turned around, wondering why she was so agitated. “I was safe in his suite, and then we went to the Mound.”

  Flora placed a hand on her chest and inhaled a deep breath. “Where is he now?”

  “He just left in a carriage, why?”

  “Every single one of the Fated has been arrested on charges of dark magic. The Duke of Medietas came here looking for you with a bunch of guardsmen. Leave now and get your princes to protect you!”

  Chapter 16

  I dashed out of the remedial building into the courtyard, where a pair of white horses trotted past, their wings folded into their back. My gaze rose to the glittering towers, but the carriage had already disappeared around the other side of the castle.

  The click of the tower door opening across the way made my heart jump into my throat. Before I could see who emerged, I stepped back into the remedial building, where Flora waited for me with two of the classmates who had stood at the dining room doors.

  “Why are you still here?” she snapped.

  “Princes Caulden and Bradwell have gone,” I replied. “Left in a horse-drawn carriage.”

  The boy on her left frowned. “Don’t go back out there. By now, they’ll work out you’re with them and will stake out their tower.”

  “Or contact their guards to arrest you,” Flora muttered. “I’m surprised they didn’t do that already.”

  I shook my head. “It isn’t as though I told anyone where I went.” My gaze darted down the hallway to the back door. “Do you think I can sneak out?”

  Flora exchanged a look with the boy, and they shrugged. She turned back to me. “They spent an hour searching all the rooms in this building for you, even though Mr. Whittaker said you never returned from the beauty contest. I suppose they’re happy that you left.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the door, trying not to imagine a crowd of white-clad soldiers standing behind it. “What if they’re lurking outside?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Flora shoved one of the boys forward, who stumbled toward the door. She turned to me, determination shining in her dark eyes.

  She placed a hand between my wings. “Come up to the dorm and put something on.”

  We hurried up the wooden staircase, our footsteps echoing against the stone walls. My mind raced back to this morning’s arrest when that awful guard had whispered threats in my ears. If Prince Rory hadn’t found and dealt with him, I might end up stuck in a cell with that bastard.

  Flora shoved open the dormitory door and rushed to the foot of her bed.

  I followed after her and frowned. “What are you doing?”

  She flipped the lid of her trunk and pulled out a black, hooded cloak. “Put this on. My father used it for sneaking up on kelpies and other wild mounts.”

  I stepped back, raising both palms. This was such a precious heirloom. If I lost it or it got confiscated on my arrest, Flora would lose a piece of her father. “Why are you going so far to help me?”

  “Lady Gala is an evil cow, but her father’s ten-times worse. When she got arrested, she was cozying up to Prince August, looking like she was angling for the throne. If she ever succeeds, it will be the Duke of Nevermore ruling us with an iron fist.”

  “Thanks.” I accepted the cloak and slipped it over my shoulders.

  “It only works if you pull up the hood,” said Flora.

  “Right.” I reached back and pulled the massive piece of fabric over my head.

  Flora gave me an approving nod. “Completely invisible. Now, stay on my heels and try to move in time with me. We could be lucky, and the guards have gone, or someone already spotted you, and the Duke of Medietas is on his way.”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  The walk through the building was uneventful, and no one suspected I was walking behind Flora. I probably should have asked where we were going, but I didn’t want to cause any fuss by being a disembodied voice.

  Flora walked down the hallway and out through the back doors, where the sun shone on the white patio, making it glimmer like polished stone encrusted with tiny diamonds. I kept pace with her as she strolled between the tables and chairs toward a black horse that stared at us with
its head tilted to the side.

  “Where are you going?” asked a voice from behind that made my spine stiffen. “Lessons haven’t finished.”

  Flora turned around and placed her hands on her hips. “Sorry, who are you?”

  I pivoted on one foot and glanced over my shoulder. A faerie clad in white stood behind us with his dragonfly wings spread wide. Given that he hadn’t retracted his wings, he was probably a half-blood like Elijah.

  He folded his arms across his chest. “Corporal Darners. And who might you be?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” Flora snapped.

  “I would, actually,” he said with a chuckle. “Why don’t we have a sit-down and get to know each other.”

  “No, no, no. You’re probably better off leaving,” she said in a meaningful voice that could only have been for me.

  The guard chuckled. “And why would I walk away from such a pretty fae?”

  “Half-blood,” she said.

  His lips curved into a smile. “I know.”

  I stepped back, giving Flora a silent word of thanks for holding up the guard, and walked to the end of the patio. The black horse peered at me with mahogany eyes, and I wondered if it could see some displacement in the air. None of that mattered. As long as it didn’t speak or whinny or warn the guard.

  “Very nice,” he drawled.

  After scrambling over the fence, I glanced at the scene playing out on the patio. The guard had one arm around Flora’s waist, pulling her close, and he wrapped his other hand around her wrist and guided it to his crotch.

  I bared my teeth in a snarl. What the fuck was wrong with these guys, thinking half-bloods were easy and less worthy of respect?

  “Get off,” Flora shrieked, but the guard continued trying to get her to touch his dick.

  My breath quickened. If I didn’t do something now, that guard would keep pushing until Flora got hurt. I placed both hands on the wall and paused. What if this was an attempt to lure me out of my hiding place? For all I knew, four guards were waiting for me to defend my friend.

  I bit down on my lip. How could I escape and help Flora? The black horse nickered, giving me an idea. I tiptoed around the beast and slapped it hard on its rump. With a loud whinny, the horse galloped through the meadow of wildflowers, heading for the trees.

  “Bloody bitch,” the guard growled. He released Flora with a shove and sprinted down the patio. “You were just a diversion!”

  I stood to one side, watching him vault himself off the wall and sprint after the speeding horse. Hopefully, it wouldn’t stop running until it reached the Mound or somewhere equally as far.

  “Thank you,” I said to Flora.

  “Go,” she mouthed back.

  Still wearing the hooded cloak, I jogged over the path of stepping stones toward the trees. I needed a place to stay until after dark until I could join the princes for the ritual, and there was only one person who might not have guards watching him and was strong enough to hide me: Pokeweed.

  I couldn’t find Pokeweed in the orchard, and I walked around the grounds to the pond, where I had crashed during the pyre stone task. He wasn’t there, either. The afternoon sun shone down from between two fluffy clouds, turning the surface of the water golden, and the frogs croaked on their giant lily pads.

  Leaning against the trunk of a weeping willow, I folded my arms across my chest and blew out a breath through the corner of my mouth. The hood of that invisibility cloak was stifling, and I desperately needed to pull it down and get some air.

  “Did you hear?” asked a voice from far off. “That halfling whore has ensnared another prince.”

  The shock of being mentioned jolted my heart, and I straightened and calmed my breathing.

  “Her Majesty isn’t going to like that one bit,” said another voice.

  “Well, she’s summoned the princes to reveal where they’ve hidden her.” Two males clad in the white uniforms of the king’s guard walked to the edge of the water and stared in. “I heard she wants it four times a day.”

  “Good thing there are four princes to give it to her!” The shorter of the males unbuttoned his pants, pulled out a mushroom-shaped dick, and urinated in an arc of golden liquid into the pond.

  I clenched my teeth. Of all the places to take a piss.

  “Only three of them want her, I heard. After this morning’s sexy spectacle with the Westerling girl, Prince August is angling for Nevermore’s daughter.”

  The pisser stopped mid-stream. “Whatever for?”

  “Who knows. If it was me, I’d take the halfling. At least she can fuck.”

  The stream of urine continued. “Yeah,” he said, bliss filling his voice. “Pound her all night long. Five times, if she could handle it.”

  My nostrils twitched. This guy looked like he could empty his bladder five times a night—nothing more. I shrank into the shade of the weeping willow, hoping one of the knuckers would rise from the depths of the water and snap his dick between its sharp jaws.

  “Do not urinate in the pond,” said a deep voice.

  The man turned around, bringing his stream of urine onto the grass. “Sorry.” He pissed at Pokeweed’s feet. “Didn’t know you were having your bath.”

  “Point your manhood away from me,” snarled Pokeweed.

  “Or what, halfling? You’ll molt all over us?”

  His companion chuckled and unbuttoned his fly. “Want some more, hairy?”

  I leaned forward, my eyes round, and anxiety pounding through my heart. Was this what Mr. Whittaker was saying about people taking advantage of Pokeweed’s good nature? An ache spread across my chest and reached the back of my throat. I wanted to tear across to the edge of the water and rip off that man’s dick.

  Pokeweed stepped back and shook his head. “Ones with such measly endowments should not put them on display.”

  With a click of his fingers, their dicks turned into… I inched forward to get a better look. Thin-stalked, orange-tipped mushrooms sprouted out of their flies erupting golden streams of pollen that blew in the wind.

  The first released his mushroom with a shriek. “My rod!”

  “What in Dubnos did you do?” yelled the other.

  Pokeweed gave them a satisfied nod. “Perhaps now, you will take my request seriously. The next time you urinate in the pond, the enchantment will last ten moons instead of two.”

  “You accursed creature!” His companion staggered away from Pokeweed and fell backward into the water with a massive splash that caused the frogs to leap off their lily pads.

  I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh. The bastards should have had their balls turned into grapes, too.

  Pokeweed stood with his hands on his hips, and his brown wings spread out in a display of power. The wind blew his brown-and-orange-streaked hair off his furry face, adding a touch of intimidation. It would have been magnificent if he didn’t look so much like a moth.

  The first faerie scampered off in one of those backward running movements that had him tripping over his feet, and the second pulled himself out of the water and sobbed. “Please, Puke, give me back my dick.”

  “Leave, or you won’t have a tongue with which to beg.”

  He gulped and sprinted away, overtaking his companion and disappearing into the field of giant garlic flowers. Pokeweed watched them for several moments before turning in my direction.

  “You can lower your invisibility hood if you stay beneath the protection of the willow tree,” he said.

  “How did you know I was here?” I pulled off my hood, letting the cool breeze blow through my hair.

  “It’s taken some time, but I’m now attuned to most of the trees in this academy.”

  “How long have you been here?” I asked.

  “Since I was ten, so that’s thirteen years.” His lips curled into a wistful smile, and I wondered if he was thinking about the wet-nurse who had brought him up. “I heard that you might need a hiding place until tonight.”

  A breat
h of relief slid from my lips. “Thank you!”

  Pokeweed chuckled and walked under the wide canopy of the weeping willow. “Those guards will return with more ruffians to start a commotion, so let’s get out of sight.”

  “Does this happen often?” I asked.

  “Only with those foolish enough to pick fights with me.”

  “Why?”

  “Why are people cruel?” The fur over his brows rose.

  “I mean, why start a fight when they know you have power?”

  “Not all of them believe someone with a cursed appearance would be able to control any form of faerie magic.” Pokeweed continued around the willow’s trunk. “Now that the Duchess of Nevermore is deceased, I’ve heard all kinds of rumors, such as having been fathered by a satyr.”

  “People can be such assholes.”

  He chuckled.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I’ve never heard that phrase before, but it’s very appropriate.”

  I stared into his fur-covered face. “Don’t you watch DVDs?”

  “I prefer my plants.” He stopped at a bulge in the tree and glanced at my hand. “If you place your palm over that knot, I will place my hand over it and attune you to the wards.”

  My mind raced back to that metal depiction of the goddess Dana, who had caused me so much agony on my first day. I placed a damp palm where he had indicated and asked, “Your wards or the academy’s?”

  “It’s something I set up a long time ago.” His hand covered mine, and warmth spread through his palm. It seeped into the back of my hands, into my bones, and out through my palm.

  It made the fine hairs on the back of my head stand on end and a breath catch in the back of my throat. Behind us, the thin branches of the weeping willow rustled. I swayed back and forth. I’d known Pokeweed was powerful, but I didn’t realize the extent of his magical strength.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  The knot expanded into a hole that widened and lengthened into a doorway and a hallway beyond. Tiny lights, as small as the stars, lined a pathway that seemed to stretch countless steps.

  “I’ve created multiple underground passageways so I can travel around the academy campus in peace.”