by Sofia Daniel
“Nay?”
“Yes.”
With a happy neigh, the kelpie picked up speed. We flew above the forests and around the Prudence Plaza, where the princes had bought me that Emporium dress, and over meadows and plateaus and more forestland until we shimmered through the academy’s wards.
The kelpie flew over the pond of lily pads and knuckers, descended through the orchard, and landed by Pokeweed’s tree. By now, my clothes had dried, leaving a chill that seeped into my bones.
I stroked the kelpie’s silver mane. “No hard feelings, eh? You did try to drown me, so we’re even.”
“Nay,” he replied.
I jumped down from the kelpie’s back and landed in a crouch. Making sure to face the creature in case he decided to attack, I held up my iron keys and crept further into the canopy of the huge apple tree. “Go on, then. You’re free.”
The kelpie glared at me through eyes of molten silver, and my stomach tightened with the threat of an oncoming attack. He flared his nostrils, bared teeth that lengthened into fangs, and bolted through the orchard.
I backed against the apple tree, breathing hard through ragged breaths. That last act of defiance had been horrific, and I hoped never to see such a creature again. A moment later, there was a distant splash, and I clenched my teeth. Now there was a bloody kelpie living in the academy’s pond. I had to tell Pokeweed to tell Mistress Ellyllon.
“Where’s that knot?” I walked around the tree’s perimeter, looking for a way in. The sun filtered down from the thick branches, making patterns on my skin. Right now, I needed the biggest cup of dandelion coffee and some of Pokeweed’s shortbread.
“Unity?” said a voice I recognized as Prince Caulden’s.
My heart leaped, and I spun around to find Prince Caulden standing behind me with all three of his brothers. A pulse of panic thudded against my chest. There was something terribly wrong about this scenario. Two of the brothers despised me, and the other two wanted to be my mate, yet they all stood united.
“What’s going on?” My voice shook.
“How did you escape the palace?” Prince Rory stepped forward, as did his brothers.
All fantasies of the two princes staging a daring rescue evaporated. They wouldn’t be at the academy if they’d been concerned about my welfare.
I turned and hurried around the tree trunk, my hands scrambling over its rough surface for that knot, but the four princes followed on my heels.
“Do tell.” Prince Bradwell’s eyes shone with more malice than Prince August’s. “After all that effort I went through to detain you at Her Majesty’s pleasure, it’s the least you owe us.”
My gaze darted to the field of giant garlic flowers. Even if I could break free and run, they would catch me in an instant. The only chance of getting away from them and their peculiar behavior was finding the knot, but where the bloody hell was it?
The sight of Prince Bradwell staring as though waiting for an answer made my blood boil. Why on earth did he think he deserved any kind of explanation?
“You could have flown us directly to the palace,” I snapped. “Why go to the effort of taking me to the Spring Court?”
“Do you really want to know?” said a mocking female voice from behind the princes.
They stepped aside, letting Lady Gala step through, her skin and eyes and platinum hair glowing with an unearthly radiance.
“Thank you, darlings,” she said with a wide smile.
All four of the princes’ eyes softened, and Prince Rory tilted his head with a longing sigh.
Nausea rolled to the back of my throat. Prince Rory hated Lady Gala. What kind of sorcery could have made him change his mind? I choked out the words, “You did something to the princes.”
“Gala doesn’t need to resort to dark magic,” said Prince Caulden.
“She has a class and grace you will never possess,” added Prince Rory.
Prince Bradwell shook his head. “Your disgraceful hold over my brothers is over. We’re free.”
Heart palpitations reverberated down to the tips of my trembling fingers. This was beyond wrong. The only brother who wasn’t acting out of character was Prince August, who glowered at me with his usual expression of hatred.
“What in the Otherworld are you doing?” hissed a little voice. “Stop talking to them and get inside!”
I turned around to find the back of a black cat disappearing around the tree trunk. McVittie was right. It was time to retreat. I could work things out later from the safety of Pokeweed’s home.
As I spun on my heel, something cold and sharp lanced through the gap in my wings, spreading ice through my veins. One leg tripped over another, and I fell face-first onto the mossy ground.
“On your back where you belong.” Lady Gala turned me around with her foot.
I couldn’t thrash, couldn’t move my eyes, I couldn’t even scream. Lady Gala’s freezing curse kept my wide eyes in place to see her step over me with triumph gleaming in her frost-colored eyes.
The four princes stepped closer, their huge bodies blocking the light.
Lady Gala examined the blood freezing on her long, ice-tipped fingernails. “It’s time to extract whatever power is making you a faerie.”
A sharp breath whistled through my teeth. If she drained me of the curse, she would steal my destiny and become the ruler of the Isle of Fae.
She knelt at my side and ran a dagger-sharp blade along the rim of my eye. “Then, we will throw you back into the gutters of Doolish, where you belong.”
END OF BOOK TWO
READ BOOK THREE
From Sofia Daniel
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