Page 26

Chapter 26

The Test

P haris

I had not thought it even possible that things could get worse, but they just had.

“You’re working with her ?” I asked Stellon, nearly dumbstruck as I took in Sorcha’s triumphant expression.

Earthwives and Elves had clashed throughout history. They were the only humans to possess supernatural abilities, and therefore tended to get in our way at times.

My father in particular despised them and had even had a few hunted down for “crimes against the crown.”

If he was in league with Sorcha, she must have offered him something very desirable indeed.

“She was already on the ride with Father,” Stellon explained. “In order to get out of the dungeon, she volunteered to use a location spell to help him find Raewyn. It wasn’t enough—you were pretty clever with your off-road routes. It took her spell plus my amplification of the tracker’s glamour to find you.”

Silently, he added, Don’t worry. She can never tell Father about Raewyn’s part in the plot without also revealing her own. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell him what the witch had done without convicting Raewyn. But he’ll never know that the future Queen of Avrandar was ever involved in such a plot.

“All is well,” my brother assured me with baseless confidence.

Soldiers left their horses and advanced on us, backing the three of us deeper into the meadow toward the edge of the plunging waterfall.

“It’s pretty damned far from being well,” I said.

This is a disaster. Stellon, don’t you see? I asked him mind-to-mind. I should have put Sorcha to death as soon as she confessed her plot. I foolishly thought it could wait until I returned, but she was already gone. Now I guess I know where she was—with our father, hunting Raewyn. And you helped them.

He shook his head, his expression adamant.

I helped myself to find her—so I can marry her, as Father has promised me.

I had never considered my brother a stupid man. He was certainly far beyond me where book-smarts were concerned. But if he thought the King was going to allow his firstborn to marry a half-human woman and make her a Fae princess, he really was a fool.

Maybe the love spell had been real, and it was affecting his judgment.

“What do you want to bet Sorcha’s deal with Father included casting a spell that let him lie to you mind-to-mind?” I asked him under my breath as the soldiers drew closer.

“You’re wrong,” Stellon said, but his expression changed. He looked scared now.

He should have been.

“He always gets what he wants,” I reminded him. “No matter what it takes. You know that as well as I do.”

My mind went into crisis mode, searching for a way out of this, presenting potential solutions rapid-fire.

It was broad daylight—so my shadow glamour wouldn’t help us. My enhanced battle skills wouldn’t be enough against this many opponents.

Our horses were too far away. There would be no leaving this meadow on foot—we were surrounded and far outnumbered.

Glancing back over my shoulder at the rushing water, I considered grabbing Raewyn and diving over the falls.

Immediately I dismissed that option. It was a long drop. Her fragile half-human body might not withstand the inevitable injuries. And there would be no Elven healer waiting on the other end to make repairs.

Solfrid might have fled the village by now for all I knew. Or, like the rest of the villagers and, gods willing, Raewyn’s family, she was cowering behind the door of her cottage right now.

If any of the townsfolk dared to peek out a window, they’d see a scene they wanted no part in—the three of us at spear-point with the King of Avrandar urging his horse to trot toward us.

There was no escape.

Turning Raewyn to face me, I took her hands and looked into her frightened eyes.

“You’re going to be okay. I’ll figure it out. I promise.”

Stellon pushed his way between us, shooting me an icy look. “There’s nothing to figure out. I’ve told you.”

“Everything’s settled, Firebug. You’re safe,” he said to her, though as well as I knew him, I could detect the uncertainty in his tone.

Raewyn’s gaze bounced between Stellon’s and mine.

I’m going to protect you, no matter what it takes, I vowed mind to mind. Trust me. I will get you out of this—somehow.

I didn’t know whether she heard me or not. I was kicking myself for honoring Wyll’s request to keep her ignorant about her Elven heritage.

I should have told her and started working with her on developing whatever mental communication skills she might have been born with. We could have been practicing speaking silently.

“Oh now, what’s this?” the King said, and the soldiers encircling us split so he could bring his horse to a stop right in front of us.

His face was painted with disgust at finding his second-born son here with Raewyn, apparently as besotted with her as the Crown Prince was.

The villagers back in Waterdale must not have reported my involvement after all because he was clearly surprised to see me.

“Not you too,” he said, sounding beleaguered. “I have two imbeciles for sons.”

The fear on Stellon’s face multiplied a thousand-fold. He flicked a glance over to me, realizing I’d been right. If he’d had any remaining hope, it was dashed when Father spoke again.

“There must be something special about this little piece of human arse,” he said casually. “I guess I’ll have to sample her myself after all.”

He raised a hand. “Take the girl into custody.”

“No,” Stellon yelled, but a group of soldiers restrained him while two others pulled Raewyn from my grasp.

The rest drew their longswords or pointed spears aggressively in our direction.

Stellon gaped at our father. “You lied?”

“I did what I had to do to protect my heir and this kingdom.”

Turning to the soldier at his right, the King said, “Bind them all and bring horses for my sons. She’ll ride in the cage.”

“No, you can’t do this,” Stellon protested. “We are meant to marry. She’s to be a princess.”

Our father scoffed.

My brother clasped his hands in front of him in a prayer gesture. His tone became placating.

“Please Father. Allow our marriage, and you won’t regret it,” he begged as the soldiers obeyed the King’s order to bind our hands.

“She’ll make a great queen, and it will be good for the kingdom,” Stellon said. “It will unite our lands. I promise to be the heir you’ve always wanted, if you’ll just grant me this one request.”

“And have mixed-breed grandchildren sit the throne of Avrandar someday?” Father asked, his face turning practically inside out in disgust.

“Absolutely not. I’ve already united the kingdom… all its inhabitants that matter, anyway.”

He turned his horse, the subject closed.

I watched as a wild expression overtook Stellon’s face.

“It’s too late,” he yelled. “We’ve already bonded. So you’ll have to let us marry.”

Father jerked his horse back around to face Stellon at the same time my face whipped toward him.

What? A geyser of fury erupted inside me. It couldn’t be true. Raewyn was mine.

Or she was supposed to have been. The matchmaker’s glamour had said it—everything inside of me confirmed it.

Is this true? I demanded of Stellon, communicating mentally. He ignored me, keeping his eyes trained on our father.

Thinking of all the intimacies Raewyn and I had shared in the past few days, I felt like I’d already been pierced through by one of those longswords.

Had she really been bonded to my brother all this time?

Only half-Elven, she didn’t have the same kind of physical restrictions we did, but could my body really have responded to her the way it did if she was already his bond-mate?

My gaze went to her, but Raewyn’s expression revealed nothing—apart from terror.

The King’s face was pure animous. His eyes burned with hatred as he stared at her. I knew without a doubt that he was visualizing pulling out his sword and striking her down personally.

But he couldn’t do it—not if Stellon was telling the truth.

If the Crown Prince had bonded with Raewyn, he’d never be able to bond with another woman. She would be his eternal mate, even if she was executed.

“This had better not be true,” Father said through gritted teeth. “If it is, I will be forced to make your brother my heir… and no one wants that.”

A flush of blood heated my face, and a dull pain compressed my ribs.

One would think I’d be immune to his verbal barbs by now, but apparently my father still possessed the ability to wound me. I’d never envied my brother his role as Crown Prince, but still, our sire’s lack of faith in me sliced deep.

I would make a fine king someday if it ever came to it.

Clearly, my father disagreed. He was looking Raewyn over now, evaluating her, considering his options.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a truthsayer with me on this expedition, so I don’t know if you’re lying,” he said to Stellon.

The Earthwife, who’d left her horse, stepped forward.

“I can help with that, Your Majesty.”

“How?” the King demanded. “You have a truth potion?”

“A kiss will tell me whether your son is still a virgin,” she said.

Her shrewd eyes slid over to me, and she gave me a wicked grin. “I’ll test both of them if you like.”

A shudder of revulsion went through me. For a moment our eyes locked, and I read a hint of fear in hers.

She hadn’t expected to find me here. I knew the truth about her and her plot. Obviously I wouldn’t out her here and now—the situation was too volatile, and it would mean outing Raewyn as well. Her life already hung in the balance.

But I could see Sorcha trying to get a read on me the same way I was studying her. For the moment at least, we’d keep each other’s secrets.

My father flipped his hand in a never mind gesture.

“All I care about is the Crown Prince,” he said.

Truer words had never been spoken. The pain in my rib cage moved higher, crowding my heart.

He motioned for her to approach Stellon.

“Test him.”

“With pleasure, Your Majesty.”

Sorcha stood right in front of Stellon. Going up on her tiptoes and grabbing the back of his neck, she yanked his head down and pushed her lips against his.

When she stomped on his foot, his jaw unclenched involuntarily. She took advantage of the momentary opportunity to sweep her tongue through his mouth.

Stellon made a noise of protest, recoiling and staggering back a step. He spat on the grass, literally gagging.

The Earthwife turned to Father with a smile. “He’s lying. He’s still a virgin.”

She licked her lips, smacking them vulgarly. “Sweet.”

“You’re sure?” the King asked.

“Positive. Your heir is still fully eligible for an advantageous marriage.”

My shoulders relaxed a fraction, and I let out the breath I’d been holding. My chest expanded fully, and the sting of my father’s public rejection dulled, no longer bothering me.

“It doesn’t matter that we haven’t slept together,” Stellon said furiously. “I am bonded to her in my heart.”

Our father glowered at Stellon. “You dared to lie to me.”

His indignation shifted to Raewyn. “For her .”

Then he turned his wrathful gaze on me. “And you—I will take the ride back to Seaspire to think it over, but I have half a mind to exile you in front of the entire Court for daring to defy me and keep this girl from me.”

Speaking to one of his personal guards, he said, “Have her taken directly to my chambers when we reach the castle.”