Page 14

CHAPTER 14

MIRA

Despite my vigorous protests, Kaiden not only takes me to the castle, but he lands on a small balcony and carries me into a massive, ornately decorated room. I take notice of a large bed that’s draped in velvet and silk and my mouth goes dry.

“What part of ‘I won’t be your whore’ did you fail to understand?” I snap as he sets me on my feet. I immediately back up against the far wall, putting as much distance between us as possible.

The nerve of this fae! If he thinks saving me from attackers gives him the right to keep me as his personal plaything, he had better sleep with one eye open. Already, I’m scouring the room for anything I might use as a weapon. There. I spot a knife on a side table across the room, as well as a letter opener on a desk.

“Are you really planning to stab me?” he asks as he follows my gaze. He offers me a wry grin that makes me want to punch him in his dumb, handsome face.

“Directly in the heart.” I cross my arms over my chest and lift my chin, though I doubt I look very intimidating to a huge fae male who’s over two heads taller than me.

Oh, and would it kill him to put on a shirt?

As though reading my thoughts, he strides to an armoire and pulls the doors open. He selects a shirt, a leather jacket, and a pair of boots, then hastily dresses. It occurs to me that he must’ve departed his quarters in a hurry to come find me when he sensed I was in trouble, and my anger wavers a bit when I remember how he saved me.

Now fully dressed, he approaches me with slow, deliberate steps while holding his hands out in a show of surrender. “I must attend the assembly in the receiving hall, little nymph, but I will return to you as soon as possible, and we can finish our discussion then.”

“Discussion? There’s no discussion to be had. I want to return home. You can’t just keep me here as your prisoner.”

One corner of his mouth curls upward. “I’m a highborn fae and I’m the Warden of Trevos. I can do whatever I want.” He turns and heads for the door. Just as he touches the knob, he glances over his shoulder and says, “Do try to behave in my absence.”

I glance around looking for something heavy to throw at his head, but he’s gone before I curl my fingers around a paperweight. With a curse, I set the object down and tiptoe to the door through which he’d just exited. But the knob won’t turn. Not only that, but whenever I touch it, a warm summer breeze caresses my face and the familiar song of nighttime insects fills the room.

Magic. He used fae magic against me. To trap me in his room.

I race to the open balcony, step outside, and peer down. And down and down. I swallow hard. No wonder he didn’t use any magic to keep me off the balcony. It’s not as though I could climb down the side of the castle.

Far beneath the balcony, I spot leafy vines twisting up the castle wall. They don’t quite reach halfway up the wall, but oh how I wish they did. I wish they reached the balcony and that they were thick and curving and strong enough to withstand the weight of a human woman.

If only…

Wait. Are the vines... growing?

I peer down in shock as I watch the vines racing upward in my direction. They thicken and the leaves become abnormally large too. It’s like something out of a fairytale. I cast a glance over my shoulder, worried that Kaiden might return at any moment.

An ache pierces my heart when I replay his words from earlier.

It’s not uncommon for a fae to keep a human concubine or pleasure slave.

How can he keep promising not to hurt me, but then say something as outrageous and asinine as that?

I gaze across the kingdom of Trevos, staring in the direction of Sunflower Lane, wishing I’d never left home this morning. All I want to do is lock myself inside my house and hibernate for the remainder of winter. Perhaps Kaiden will be reassigned elsewhere during that time. I hope he won’t remain the Warden of Trevos for years and years.

If he never departs my city, I might have to flee to another human settlement, and this thought brings me sorrow. My reputation might be in tatters, all thanks to a certain fae male who won’t leave me alone, but Trevos is my home, and it’s where my parents and brothers are buried.

I glance down at the vines and gasp. Oh my gods. The growth has almost reached the balcony. I peek around the exterior of the castle, but there’s no one in the side courtyard, and I suspect all the fae guards must be attending Prince Lucas’s farewell speech in the receiving hall. Relief rushes me knowing there won’t be any witnesses if I climb down the vines.

My stomach bottoms out when I lean further over the balcony and peer at the cobblestone walkway directly below. It’s a long drop. If I fall, I won’t survive. But the vines appear sturdy. They’re growing just as I’d wished they would.

Not for the first time, I consider that perhaps I possess a bit of magic myself. I’ve never met another human who can summon plants to grow. As I watch the vines become even thicker and sturdier as they climb the castle wall, I think about my homestead and the garden I inadvertently brought to life, as well as the lone apple tree.

Ussha . The lifeforce that powers fae magic comes to mind. Ussha. That’s what it’s called and it’s spreading from the four fae courts, spreading across the entire realm and taking the fae with it.

Assuming I have a drop or two of fae blood, I muse as I imagine a great-great grandmother coming across a virile fae male in the forest, am I suddenly capable of beckoning plants to grow because ussha has reached Trevos? Not that I know what ussha looks like or if it even has a physical appearance, but maybe this could explain my strange powers.

Perhaps I’m part-forest nymph after all. I resolve to keep my suspicions to myself, however, if ever I face the misfortune of talking to Kaiden again. It’s none of his business.

If he wanted me to be something more to him than a concubine or a pleasure slave, perhaps I would clue him in. But it would seem I’m not good enough to be considered for anything more. Like a mate.

Tears burn in my eyes as I remember the time he’d hurled the word ‘human’ at me like an accusation, the first time he ever spoke to me.

You are human.

I didn’t think much of it back then. Now, it hurts. It hurts because even though he can’t stop thinking about me, and even though he wants to protect me, as a full-blooded human I’m just not good enough in his eyes.

Would it make a difference if he learned I might have fae blood? But it doesn’t matter because he already showed his true colors. He showed it with his arrogant comment about concubines and pleasure slaves.

I could never be with a male who believes I’m beneath him.

And to think, earlier in the day I’d had the fleeting thought that perhaps we are mates, thinking maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to him. It was a scary idea I’d quickly dashed out of my mind, and now I feel like a fool for having ever considered it.

The vines have nearly reached the balcony, and the courtyard below remains empty. It’s time to leave. Time to escape and perhaps find a place to hide until Kaiden forgets about me.

Will I ever forget him? My throat tightens with emotion.

I climb atop the railing just as the vines curl over it. My stomach plummets again when I glance at the drop below, but I don’t let fear get the best of me. I grasp the vines, wrap my legs around them, and start the descent. As I climb down, the large leaves occasionally move close to me, lending support to my body, holding me steady. It’s the oddest thing but I start to feel a kinship with this plant, as though it’s my friend.

Halfway to the bottom, I pause to catch my breath and reach for one of the leaves, then gently run my fingers beneath it. The leaf shudders and moves forward to caress my cheek.

“Well, hello to you too,” I whisper. “Thank you for growing so tall and strong for me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. Only the gods know how long that brute of a fae planned to keep me locked in his quarters.”

The leaf shudders again before patting me on the shoulder. I smile. I can’t help it. I made a plant grow impossibly huge and now I’m talking to it and I’m pretty sure it understands me.

I continue my descent and soon reach the bottom. After my feet hit the cobblestone walkway, I back up a few steps and behold the incredible growth of the vines. When the sun comes out from behind a cloud, the leaves covering it glitter faintly in the light. How curious. If I weren’t in a hurry to escape before Kaiden notices my absence, I might stay and examine the vines for a while longer.

But there’s no time to waste.

I spin on my heel and search for the nearest exit leading out of the side courtyard. I walk around the castle and stop in my tracks. The exit is guarded by three huge fae males and one female. There’s a steady flow of soldiers and servants coming and going, however, and I decide I’ll blend right in.

I approach the exit while keeping my gaze low, not wanting to make eye contact with any of the fae. The second I make it through the open gates, I exhale with relief and pick up my pace. Once I’m further from the castle, I break into a run and head for Sunflower Lane.

Please don’t let him catch me.

Please let me escape.