The Fae King's Curse

by Jamie Schlosser

  Kirian’s lips twitch. Kai coughs, and I suspect it’s to cover a laugh.

  Okay, so I could’ve worded that better.

  “I can walk with her.” Damon pops his head around the front of the carriage. He’s riding with the driver, Gunther, since he didn’t travel here with a horse. He must have some serious wing stamina, because he flew the whole way to Kirian’s by himself.

  “All right.” Kirian nods, hopping off his horse to open the carriage door and help me down. “Thirty minutes only. Stay between the carriage and Kai.”

  “Got it.” Leaning from side to side, I stretch my back and thank my lucky stars I declined Zella’s offer to wear her slippers. I still have on the sneakers I came here with yesterday, and I don’t care if they seem out of place with my outfit. Arch support is important.

  Here, women’s shoes are almost like socks—soft and not great for hiking. I should know. I danced in a borrowed pair for hours last night.

  “Protect her.” Kirian barks the order at Damon as he mounts up again.

  Damon gives a mock salute before joining me in the road. “I’ll protect her as if she were my own mate.”

  “She’s not your mate.” A possessive growl rumbles in Kirian’s chest and he looks like he’s about two seconds away from jumping back down to the ground.

  Someone’s sensitive. I wave him on.

  “It’s fine. We’ll just be right here.” I motion to the place behind the carriage.

  He bites his lip as he hesitates, and it’s seriously sexy. His straight white teeth dig into the pink flesh of his bottom lip, and I remember the way they scraped against my tongue when we kissed.

  Shuffling my feet, I try not to get turned on. Kirian said other fae don’t have heightened senses like he does, but I’d bet Damon’s ability to smell is just as good as Kirian’s.

  From the way Kirian’s acting, I’m not sure if he’d let me walk with his cousin if Damon caught a hint of my ‘arousal.’ The undergarments Zella brought me this morning are thin. Basically see-through mesh. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for clean underwear, but it’s almost as if the fae don’t like panties. I’m all for a breathable crotch, but I might as well not be wearing anything down there.

  Reluctantly, Kirian goes back to his place behind Torius, and we get moving again. The pace is faster than I thought, but it’s preferable to sitting still. My muscles feel better already.

  Plus, it’s nice being out in the open. There’s a sweet essence in the breeze and I’m not sure where it’s coming from. White wildflowers grow in the grass on either side of us. Maybe they’re just super fragrant.

  Breathing in the fresh air, I look up at the sky. So many bright orbs glow against the dark-blue background. It’s like the Milky Way took over the entire sky. I can see why Kirian loves it so much. It’s stunning.

  “It’s said that the stars are our ancestors shining down on us,” Damon drawls, pulling my attention to his bright green eyes. They’re unfocused, blankly staring ahead.

  “Oh? Do you believe that?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out when I die.” His response is nonchalant, like the idea of death doesn’t bother him.

  “Guess so.” The wind picks up a little, and it cools me off. Not that it’s hot. The temperature is actually perfect. “Is the weather always so nice in Valora?”

  “Depends on what your definition of nice is. Here in the Night Realm, it’s a push and pull between autumn and spring. The harvest turnover is quicker, and I think it’s to make up for the lack of solar exposure. The Day Realm is warmer, like summer. And the Dream Realm is so far north, it’s cold most of the time.”

  “Do you like that?”

  With a half-smile, he shrugs. “We’ve cornered the ice market and we have all the stardust. It’s not a bad deal.”

  “So, what’s your story?” I ask, a little breathy from exertion.

  My yellow skirt swishes violently around my ankles with every rapid step I take. Since Gia’s taller than me, the dress is almost too long, and the hem is dragging in the dirt. Gathering fistfuls of the silky material, I lift it a little to keep it clean.

  “My story? What do you mean?” Damon hasn’t even broken a sweat, and I’m guessing just like all the other fae, he’s in way better shape than I am.

  “Your curse,” I elaborate. “It’s the same as Kirian, but you got different clues about your mate, right?”

  He grins, and I can see why all the women swooned when he made his entrance last night. The pretty boy image isn’t really my thing—I can’t imagine wanting anyone but Kirian—but the reason Damon got that nickname is obvious.

  “She’s surrounded with buttons and strings. You’ll find her in someone else’s dreams.” As he recites the rhyme, there’s a sad undertone to his words. His laidback attitude slips for a second, and I suspect I just found Damon’s weakness.

  I make a thoughtful sound. Kirian’s already told me about Damon’s ability to dream walk, which is pretty freaking cool. It eliminates the issue of not being able to see his mate, but he has to find her first.

  “A seamstress, maybe?” I suggest.

  He shakes his head. “I’ve already invaded the minds of every seamstress in Valora. Their family and friends, too. I’ve never felt anything of significance.”

  “That sucks.”

  “It does,” he agrees, serious.

  Yep, Damon’s sight and solitude are definitely his Achilles heel.

  It makes me wonder if Kirian’s sure about all this. About me. If I had to go over two thousand years without ever having sex, I might settle, too.

  “I think Kirian’s making a mistake,” I whisper. “With me.”

  “How so?”

  I definitely don’t want to explain that Kirian might be thinking with the wrong head, so I take a different approach. “Wouldn’t you give anything to break the curse?”

  “Yes,” Damon replies, certain. “I’ll wait for my mate forever, if that’s what it takes. Being able to see through someone else’s eyes is a blessing and a tease. My only view of the world isn’t up to me. When I go into someone’s dreams, I don’t get to choose what I see. I want control.” He places a hand on his chest, as if his heart literally aches. “For once, I want my own outlook.”

  “That’s understandable. And that’s why I’m afraid Kirian will regret this.”

  “Listen, Kirian and I aren’t the same person. Living in darkness doesn’t bother him the way it does me. If he says he chooses you, then he means it.”

  That does make me feel a little better. “Thanks. I needed to hear tha—”

  “Shh.” He cuts me off, coming to a halt.

  The caravan keeps moving ahead, but Kai’s horse knickers behind us as he stomps an impatient hoof.

  “What?” I ask quietly.

  “I smell something burning.” Inhaling deeply, Damon wrinkles his nose. “Does anyone else smell that? Something’s wrong—”

  He’s barely finished the warning when a loud pop comes from inside the carriage. There’s a flash of light, then all of the sudden, the entire thing is engulfed in flames.

  I don’t even have time to scream.

  Right as an explosion detonates, Damon tackles me to the ground, covering my body with his.

  Boom.

  The sound of the blast is deafening. Splintering wood. Groaning metal. Shattering glass.

  I close my eyes against the blinding brightness, but I can feel the heat on my face like I’m right next to a bonfire. My hair blows back with the force of it. Tucking my chin to my chest and keeping my arms folded to my stomach, I try to make myself as small as possible under Damon.

  When the worst of it is over, I hear shouts and the sound of hooves beating on the ground.

  And suddenly, my concern isn’t for myself.

  Kirian. The horses. Torius and Kai.

  Wiggling, I try to get up, but I can’t budge an inch with Damon’s weight pinning me to the ground.

  Frustrated, I cr
y out. I squint as I look around, but the hot flames make my eyes water. All I see through blurry vision is fire and smoke. A tear glides down my temple, and I can’t even move my arms to wipe it away.

  I don’t know if everyone’s okay, and I’m trapped under Damon. He’s not moving at all, and this dude is heavy.

  Oh, God. What if he’s dead?

  “Damon?” My voice is shaky.

  “Stay still,” he orders, strained, as if he’s in pain.

  A wet drop lands on my forehead and my worry increases. “Are you crying? Are you hurt that bad?”

  Damon huffs out a laugh. “That’s rain. Your boyfriend’s putting out the fire.”

  Raindrops come down faster now, and the cool water is a relief for my heated skin.

  Craning my neck, I peek over Damon’s shoulder. Sure enough, Kirian’s standing in the grass on the side of the road, his hands lifted into the air. Storm clouds gather over us, and the downpour gets serious.

  Blinking through the drops pelting my face, I watch as all the flames disappear. Thick clouds of smoke take their place, billowing out of the carriage. Or, what’s left of it. The windows, doors, and the top are gone. No more pretty blue cushions. The gold trim is charred. Our luggage, which was being stored in a rear compartment, is blown to unrecognizable bits on the road.

  Once Kirian’s mission is accomplished, he lowers his arms and the storm recedes. I’m officially soaked and probably traumatized.

  Before I have a chance to shove Damon off me, Kirian runs over to us and tosses his cousin to the side of the road.

  “Ow,” Damon grunts as he rolls onto his stomach on the grass. “That’s the thanks I get for becoming a fae rotisserie?”

  I gasp when I see his charred shirt and the reddened skin on his back. He blocked the majority of the heat with his body. He protected me. Thanks to him, I don’t have a burn on me.

  “Damon’s hurt,” I say to Kirian, but he’s too busy patting me down as he searches for injuries.

  “Quinn, Quinn, Quinn. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” I rub my butt where I landed on a small rock. The worst it’ll do is turn into a bruise. My hand skates over several rips in my damp skirt, and now it seems silly that I was worried about getting it dirty.

  A ruined dress and a sore rear end are nothing compared to the rest of the crew.

  Kai is limping and his horse is nowhere to be seen. He probably got thrown from the saddle. Kirian’s right hand is burnt and blistered, like he’d turned around and tried to reach for me when the explosion happened. I don’t see Torius anywhere, and I wonder if he’s chasing the missing horses down.

  There’s a steaming lump on the road about fifteen feet away, and I swallow hard when I realize it’s Gunther, the driver. He was the closest when it happened.

  “Kirian, I’m not the one who needs help.” I lightly push his hands away. “Please. Gunther…”

  The older fae is face down on the ground. His back rises with a ragged breath, but it looks like that side of him took the brunt of the blast. His shirt is practically disintegrated, and the moonlight’s bright enough to see big blisters forming on his skin.

  After pulling me up, Kirian walks over to Gunther and helps him stand. “You’re the worst off. Your blood and burnt flesh are strong in the air.”

  “He’s the worst off?” Damon cuts in incredulously, getting to his feet. “My hair got singed! How am I supposed to face the kingdom looking like this?”

  Turning, he points to the back where, yeah, about ten inches got fried. The shoulder-length ends are uneven, and he’s going to need a trim to straighten it out.

  Although he can’t see it, I give him a really? look. How can he possibly be thinking of his hair right now?

  Ignoring Damon’s vanity-filled rant, Kirian stays focused on Gunther. “Can you fly? We’ll need to get word back to my family.”

  “My wing.” A hiss of pain escapes as he lets his wings unfold and expand. On the right side, an area near the top is patchy. Little holes and wrinkles decorate what was once a smooth iridescent surface. “I’m afraid I’m no good like this.”

  I resist the urge to hug him.

  Not only would that be inappropriate, but it’d also hurt like hell. Gunther’s not a soldier like the other guys. Just a faithful servant of the royal family. He’s shorter, thinner, and I’m not sure how long he’s been around, but he must be old. All the faeries I’ve seen don’t have gray hair or wrinkles. While I wouldn’t classify Gunther as elderly, his sandy hair is white near his temples, and he’s got crow’s feet around his eyes.

  “Kai.” Kirian motions the burly, angry-looking man over.

  Mr. Frowny Face doesn’t have any visible wounds, and his limp is already gone.

  I’m still worried about the horses. Squinting, I look out at the dark landscape around us, searching for movement.

  Then I see Kai reach for Gunther out of my peripheral vision.

  At first, I’m not sure what he’s going to do. His large hands are open, and it seems like he’s aiming for Gunther’s neck.

  Is he—is he going to strangle him? Rip his head off to put him out of his misery? I can’t let that happen.

  “Don’t hurt him!” I jump between the two men, and Kai flinches back like I just slapped him.

  Chuckling, Kirian places his hands on my shoulders and gently guides me out of the way. “He won’t harm him, love. He’s going to fix him. Kai’s a healer, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Now I feel dumb.

  My face heats again, but this time, it’s from humiliation.

  I watch as Kai brings his hands to Gunther’s chest, and there’s a faint glow under his palms. Right before my eyes, the damaged skin and tissues mend back together.

  The sound is somewhat nauseating. There’s a lot of wet crackling and quiet popping. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long.

  Letting out a sigh, Gunther rolls his shoulders and stretches his wings. “Better.”

  “That’s amazing,” I say, dumbfounded, as Kai turns his attention to Kirian’s hand.

  “Kai’s a good man to have around.” Healed, Kirian makes a fist and grins at his friend.

  “And you’re a lady I want in my corner,” Gunther says, laugh lines deepening when he smiles at me. “You were willing to take on this ogre for me?”

  Still embarrassed, I kick a tattered remnant of some white mesh panties on the road. “I thought he was going to snap your neck.”

  All the men laugh, and I give a shrug. At least my awkwardness is good for one thing—comic relief. I’m happy to provide the lighthearted moment, even if it’s at my expense.

  “How can you all find this funny?” Torius’s expression is downright murderous as he leads five horses out of the thick purple trees.

  Kai responds with an uncharacteristic grin, and it’s slightly more disturbing than seeing him serious. “Our future queen isn’t one you want to go toe-to-toe with.”

  Not included in the joke, Torius grunts. With reins in each hand, he tilts his head to the animals on his right. “Lady and Mosby are hurt. Their rear ends are burnt to a crisp.”

  The healer rubs his hands together before getting to work on their injuries. Torius passes the three unharmed steeds to Gunther’s care and goes to inspect the carriage.

  As Kirian joins him, I stand a good distance away while they take inventory of what’s left—which is nothing but some warped metal on broken wheels. Another ruined pair of panties gets tossed over Torius’s shoulder.

  I sigh. No clean undies for me.

  “What happened?” I slowly come up behind them, afraid to get too close to the wreckage.

  “A bomb of sorts, made from strong magic,” Torius replies, peering down at the most blackened area at the center of the blast. “I can’t identify it, though. Can you, my lord?”

  “No.” Kirian lets out a frustrated growl. “The smell is unfamiliar. A potion of some kind. I don’t recognize it.”

  As he backs away, he reaches fo
r me with shaking hands.

  I don’t know how, but I can actually feel his rage. It’s like indigestion, simmering in my stomach and coating my throat.

  I let him hold me—comfort for us both—and he takes measured breaths to control himself.

  He’s pushing his anger down. For me. He doesn’t want to scare me like he did last night.

  “It was probably stowed in the food compartment,” Torius observes. “The fuse must’ve been timed, making sure we were far away from the palace by the time it went off.”

  “Who has that kind of power?” Kai asks, his eyebrows furrowed as he pets the side of Lady’s face.

  “The former Night Realm Queen,” Damon pipes up, finger-combing his destroyed locks.

  “Zella?” I don’t want to believe that.

  Damon shrugs. “I’m not saying I think she did it. She’s just the only person I know who can light a fuse from so far away with that level of precision.”

  “My mother wouldn’t do this,” Kirian states, his voice hard. “There’s no way.”

  “Whoever did it, they wanted to make sure the damage was localized to the carriage.” Torius’s conclusion is troubled, and all attention turns my way.

  Everyone’s silent, but I know what they’re thinking. I was supposed to be in there.

  That bomb was meant for me.

  Quinn

  I get my own horse. The one named Lady. Since there’s five of them and five of us, it’s necessary. But I wish I could ride with Kirian. I feel too exposed, even if I am sandwiched between him and Damon. Torius is in the lead again, and Kai is in the back. They’re all surrounding me like the Secret Service.

  The saddle is hard, but my concern over the welfare of my ass and the length of our travel is gone. Those things seem trivial now.

  I feel guilty. And terrified.

  Someone wants me dead, and people got hurt today because of it.

  I take a deep inhale, and my lungs expand easily with the motion. As luck would have it, when I fell, one of the side seams of my dress busted. I can breathe. Silver linings, and all that.

  “Quinn? You good?” Kirian is concerned.

  He has every right to be, but the fact that he’s worried doesn’t do anything to calm my nerves. If the unshakable king is scared… well, the outlook isn’t good for me.