“Are you leaving so soon?” Queen Iduna sighed, jerking me from my thoughts. “We will miss you. But I understand. You must leave. And because I am kind, I will even give you supplies.”
True to her word, she waved her hand through the air and two bags appeared at our feet, a sword of gold and silver atop the pile. A sword, for what? Shay was first to react, lifting a pack and pulling it onto her back. There was an eagerness about her movements that reminded me we needed to leave. I pulled the other pack onto my shoulders and lifted the sword. It was heavy, warm. I could practically feel the magic pulsing from it. A sword forged by trolls. I wrapped the belt around my waist and slid the sword into the scabbard. It was a sword for battle. What wasn’t the queen telling us?
Queen Iduna sat upon a branch, idly swinging her legs back and forth as if she hadn’t a care in the world. “Of course, you realize that you can’t leave without a sacrifice.”
There it was, I’d known something was coming. I clenched my jaw so hard the bones in my skull ached. “What will it be? Blood? My blood? Will that do?”
I pulled the sword from the sheath at my waist, the metal hissing against metal.
“Not you, I’m afraid.” She shook her head. “You know your blood is tainted. Only the blood of an innocent will do.”
My hands fisted at my sides. “No. Not her.”
“Wait, what’s happening?” Shay asked.
“Nothing.” I shifted in front of Shay and pointed the blade of my sword at the queen. “You’re going to let us leave. Now.”
I didn’t miss the nymphs that suddenly appeared, surrounding us, their beautiful faces pulled back into snarls. They might have seemed sweet, innocent, but that only made them all the more dangerous.
“It’s okay,” Shay whispered.
When I glanced back at her, I noticed the dagger in her hand. The dagger she’d had in her pocket when we’d traveled here. My blood went cold. “Don’t.”
She lifted the dagger. “Just a little. It will be fine.”
Cringing, she closed her eyes and slid the blade along her palm before I could stop her. A hiss of pain escaped her lips. Dark red blood welled up on her palm. The queen smiled, a contented smirk that made me want to shove my blade through her gut. Witch. She was enjoying this.
Shay tilted her hand, her shocking blue gaze on the queen. The blood slid down her palm and dripped to the ground. Brilliant red soaked into the rich green moss at our feet. “Is it enough?”
The queen shrugged, studying her fingernails with disinterest. “It will do.”
The crackle and snap of branches twisting and bending told me the trees were uncurling. The path unveiled. I knew without doubt she hadn’t needed Shay’s blood to open that path. So why had she insisted?
I grabbed the dagger, swiped Shay’s blood across the thigh of my trousers, then used the sharp point to rip a strip of material from my shirt. “Here.”
Shay’s face had gone pale. I knew the injury hurt, but she was doing her best not to show it. I took her hand and wrapped the material around her palm. I swore when she cringed, I felt the sudden and completely irrational desire to destroy the queen. To become that monster she taunted, to kill them all. I shouldn’t have cared that much about Shay. Damnation, I shouldn’t.
“We’ll heal it when we get out,” I promised in a soft voice. “We have enough fairy dust.”
“Well then, my dears.” The queen smiled sweetly. “You’re free to leave.”
I stuffed the pouch of remaining fairy dust into my pocket. Shay slid the dagger into her pack. I didn’t miss the way her hands trembled. Despite her fear, she was so quick to sacrifice herself for the greater good. Would I be just as quick to offer myself? Doubtful.
I took Shay’s hand and led her onto the path, pulling her away from the magical world. My heart raced with the need to protect her.
“Remember,” the queen called out, her voice a soft echo. “You promised you won’t ever trap or kill a natural being.”
The words startled me. I froze. Shay had promised what? I tore my gaze from the trail and focused on Shay. What the hell had she done?
Shay nodded at the queen. “I promise.”
I didn’t need to look. I could practically feel the queen’s smile. “Promise to protect them with your life, your soul.”
A cold chill raced down my spine. My worry flared. I rested my hand on her arm, stepping closer. “Shay, if you promise the queen, it’s a promise for life.”
“Promise me, Shay,” the queen demanded, her gaze piercing. I knew in that moment why she’d brought us here. I knew why she’d wanted Shay’s blood: to bind that promise. Perhaps the queen knew she could not protect the natural ones from humans. War would eventually come to this world.
“Promise to never harm a natural being.”
I knew if Shay declined, that path would disappear and we would be stuck here, possibly forever, consumed by the magic.
Shay boldly met the queen’s gaze. “I will never intentionally harm a natural being.”
The words whispered through the air, almost tangible, thick and heavy. Something shifted in the very breeze around us. I swear Shay’s skin began to glow, almost translucent. The beast deep within lifted his head, sensing what I could not understand. Shite. She’d bonded herself to the natural world, and I’d allowed it. The glow was gone as quickly as it arrived, making me wonder if I’d imagined it all.
I gripped her hand tightly in mine. “Let’s go.”
“At some point, Prince Beast, you will have to choose: your uncle’s people, or yours.”
“My uncle’s people are mine,” I growled.
“Are they?”
I was in no mood for her games. We’d had enough of them.
Before the queen changed her mind, I led Shay down the path. Our steps were quick. Each crunch of a pinecone underfoot was like the tick of a clock, urging us to hurry. And the more distance we put between us and that nymph land, the clearer our thoughts, and more frantic our need to escape.
“What did she mean?” Shay panted beside me.
“Nothing.”
I dared to look behind us only once. The queen was gone, the nymphs had disappeared, as if they’d never existed. The woods were dark, quiet, watchful. The hazy look in Shay’s eyes faded as her gaze darted back and forth around our surroundings, attempting to find something that made sense.
Fear, I realized.
What remained center and clear, the one emotion that had taken control the moment we’d stepped back into the human world, was fear. It was bitter and cold, yet felt so normal, I had a feeling it had always lurked here. We were just so used to it, we hadn’t noticed.
“How long do you think we’ve been gone?” she asked.
I leapt over a fallen log. “What did you do?”
Her startled gaze went to me as she scampered over the log, trying to keep pace with my quick steps. “What do you mean?”
“You should never promise a nymph anything.” I searched the trees, looking for something familiar, any type of clue that might tell me where we were, what had happened, how much time had gone by. “Especially Queen Iduna.”
I wasn’t sure if I was angrier with Shay for binding herself to the natural ones, or with myself for getting us into this mess.
The farther along the path we traveled, the clearer my mind became. Memories that had been buried in a fog of magic floated to the surface, bombarding my mind…New York, Shay. Acadia. Fairy dust.
“Why not?” Shay asked. “You know she wouldn’t have let us leave without the agreement.”
I shoved aside a branch, frustrated and annoyed. Was it my imagination, or was the world growing lighter? Was there sun ahead? “Because they use trickery and cunning to trap you with their promises. By the gods, you saw the children?”
She nodded, her gaze growing troubled. “Did you know?”
I slapped away a vine. “Of course not.”
Yes, there was light ahead. Relief made my knees weak.
We’d made it home. I rested my hand on the hilt of the sword at my waist. Before I could reach the clearing, Shay stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“I did what I had to do to escape, to protect my people.”
Annoyed, I released a long breath. “You don’t understand. You’re not…”
Just like that the memory came rushing back.
“It’s unfortunate she’s not the real Princess of Acadia.”
“I’m not what?” Shay said, jerking me from the memory. “Say it.”
My heart slammed erratically against my ribcage. I met her gaze. Dare I tell her? No. To tell her now would be disastrous. And just like that, I realized I’d won the battle. If her people continued on, thinking they’d found the princess, they wouldn’t look for their true savior.
By the gods, we would win.
“I’m not what?” she demanded, those brilliant blue eyes narrowing.
I moved around her and headed into the clearing. “You’re not knowledgeable on the subject.”
It was only as I stepped into the open field that I felt I could breathe again. The pressure that had rested on my chest since we’d left Iduna’s land seemed to ease. We paused in the middle of the clearing.
Was this the same field? I tried to remember the clearing we’d camped in when Iduna had first appeared, but the memory was foggy, at best. There was the pond, the waterfall, yet, something seemed different.
“Then tell me,” Shay said.
She still wore the blue dress, the only indication that we’d been with the nymphs. I looked back at the trees. They’d grown together again, no path to Iduna, as if she’d never even been here. No sound of laughter, dancing or music. No more help from the queen. We were on our own.
Shay cradled her injured hand to her chest. The sun beat down warm and golden upon her face. She no longer glowed, but looked all too human. For some reason I liked her even better here, now, with a smudge of dirt across her left cheek. Imperfect.
“Mak, tell me.”
“You don’t understand how the nymphs work.”
I studied her oval face, that pointed, stubborn chin, those narrowed, suspicious eyes that had become as familiar as my own eyes. Hell, was she really not the princess? Did she have any clue at all? “What the hell happened to your hair?”
She frowned, lifting her uninjured hand to the long locks. It was longer, wasn’t it? So much longer. “What’s wrong with it?”
I shook my head, a sinking feeling of wariness whispering through me. “They use trickery. All woodland creatures do. If she had you promise something, I guarantee there was an ulterior motive.”
“Or maybe you’re wrong.” She turned and started across the clearing, as if she meant to travel on alone, like she knew where she was going and hadn’t a need for me. “You’re wrong quite a bit, you know.”
I sighed, shaking my head in frustration. By the gods, she was intent on making me lose my temper. “And you’re not? You’re some expert? Did you read books? Study our kingdoms in your schooling? You did have schooling, didn’t you?”
She spun around to face me, her hands fisted at her sides. “I’m just saying, you seem awfully ignorant about certain things. You…” She hesitated, her gaze shifting from me to the scenery around us. Slowly, she turned in a circle. “Where are we?”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one confused. Relieved, I wasn’t going insane, I focused on the trees, trying to make sense of our uncertainty. “I don’t know. She must have opened the trail into another clearing.”
Yet, something didn’t seem right. Something about the vegetation around us that caught my attention. Made me hesitant, unsure. Something telling me that yes, this was all familiar, but wrong. Off. “You don’t recognize it?”
“I don’t know.”
I knelt, plucking a piece of golden rootrod from the ground. Its amber color caught the sun and sparkled. It was a common enough weed, nothing special. Rabbits loved it. Even unicorns were known to snack upon its leaves.
Suddenly, it hit me hard. I released the plain flower, letting it flutter to the ground. I surged to my feet. “By the gods!”
“What?”
The realization came crashing down like a wave. Spring flowers were gone. Green leaves had unfurled and now fluttered in a warm breeze that skipped down the mountainside. Warm. So warm.
“If you know something,” she warned. “And you’re not—”
“Shay,” I snapped, interrupting. “What season was it when we followed Queen Iduna into the forest?”
“I don’t know. I think…” She glanced first at the flowers on the ground, then at the sky. Finally, her gaze went to the berries growing along the side of the clearing. Her eyes went from narrowed to wide, her face flushed to pale.
“It is, was, spring.” Her frantic gaze jumped to me. “Right?”
“The scenery, Shay.” I hurried to the briar bushes that grew along the edges of the clearing and plucked a ripe berry. “Hell. I should have known…”
“What happened?” she demanded. “What is it?”
I threw the berry to the ground, cursing. “We’ve been gone at least a month, if not more.”
Chapter Fourteen
Shay
The fire burned brightly, sending sparks into the dark night, while the moon overhead laughed mockingly down at us. Any other evening and I would have thought it magical, beautiful. But I’d experienced true magic, real beauty, and nothing would ever compare. Would this reality ever go back to feeling normal, or would I always hunger for more? I’d tasted perfection in Iduna’s land. It was like experiencing a gourmet meal, and then having to feed off peanut butter and jelly the rest of your life.
A cool breeze whispered down the hill. I shivered. I didn’t remember being cold in Queen Iduna’s land. The temperature had always been perfect. I tilted my head back, studying the night sky, the brilliant moon, the twinkling stars. Had it been waning, waxing, new, or full when we’d left with Queen Iduna?
A month. An entire month had gone by. Perhaps more.
Mak had warned me. I remembered that much. He’d told me that the passing of time might be different in Iduna’s realm. I hadn’t listened, because I hadn’t trusted him. Maybe I still didn’t, because in the back of my mind lingered the thought: what if he’d taken me to Queen Iduna on purpose? What if he had wasted those weeks for some nefarious reason?
“How?” I whispered, staring hard into the flames of the small fire Mak had started in the clearing. “I don’t understand.”
We’d walked down the mountainside for hours, until my impractical slippers were frayed, and we’d found a space open enough to make camp. When I thought about how worried my aunt might be, I felt guilty and anxious all at once. No one had ever truly cared about my welfare; it was a new experience to know that someone waited for me.
A month. Maybe more. I wanted to keep walking until I reached Acadia. I wanted to tell her it was alright. I was still alive. Where the hell was a carrier pigeon when you needed one?
“Time works differently when magic is involved, Princess.” Mak stood, tossing bits of kindling into the fire. “Your Earth is actually slower than most places. Whereas over two months have gone by here, only two days have gone by on Earth.”
I released a harsh laugh. My mother probably hadn’t even noticed I’d been missing. But my aunt in Acadia certainly had. “They must think we’re dead.”
Mak paced back and forth in front of the fire. His entire mood had been agitated, even accusatory since we’d returned, as if he blamed me for this predicament. “I told you—”
“I know,” I snapped, in no mood for his lectures. “But a month? Are you sure?”
He faced me, a dark shadow of a man full of irritation and furious energy. I thought charming, flirty Mak was annoying but I’d rather have him over this guy. “You remember the leaves? Last time we were here there were flowers on those trees, not leaves. It had been spring.”
As much as I wanted to deny it, I
knew he was right. Truth was, the moment we’d stepped off that path and back into the human world, something had seemed wrong. A whisper on the breeze that had told me everything was different. Off. “I swear she kept us there on purpose. But why would the queen do that? I thought we were allies. At least she and Acadia.”
He snorted in disgust, making me feel the fool. “Was she?”
I took my lower lip between my teeth, staring hard into the dancing flames, and looking for answers. What if Queen Iduna was keeping the human children for herself, not the fairies? I surged to my feet. “I’m going to look for some food.”
He didn’t stop me as I went to the clearing’s edge. It was dark, and I could barely see, but I needed something to do other than worry and wonder. More importantly, I needed to get away from him. Had I actually thought I cared about him? That he cared about me? It must have been the magic. My instincts had been right when I’d first met him. He cared about no one but himself.
I plucked a berry from the vine and popped it into my mouth. So ripe and sweet, but I barely noticed. In the back of my mind was the memory of savory, magical food we’d shared in Queen Iduna’s land. Would anything ever compare? Or would I constantly crave those meals, much like an itch I couldn’t reach?
Sighing, I rested my palm to the trunk of a nearby birch tree. It felt so strong and solid, so sure. Queen Iduna’s land wasn’t real. This was real. I leaned close and rested the side of my face to the rough bark. An insane part of me wished we had stayed with Queen Iduna. Away from the war, the turmoil, the pain. The memories of the natural world were a mere sweet, intoxicating dream now.
I closed my eyes and attempted to recall the fine details. Flashes of laughter, dancing, music…all rushed to mind, but they were as fleeting as a flickering screen. Memories of Queen Iduna’s land were fading as quickly as the memories of Acadia had faded when I’d followed that trail into the woods over a month ago.
A month. It was unbelievable. What had happened in those weeks we’d been gone? I was almost afraid to find out. I plucked another berry and chewed. My stomach grumbled, tight with hunger. In the nymph land I’d never been hungry. But at what cost?
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