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Louis and I caught up, filling me in on his adventures and discussing what I’d learned with Raf.

He’d been in Elysia with a team of Royal soldiers, while his most trusted men had been on a secret mission, discreetly following traffic to the Elders’ various homes, searching for a blood trail back to their sources.

Unfortunately, it had only led to more dead ends.

“Any progress in finding your pneuma?” Louis asked.

“Not really. When Rafael shifts, my magic wakes up, but only for a moment… then it falls back asleep. What about you?”

“I’ve decided mine lives in water. It would make sense with my elemental gift—and I have an affinity for swimming.

If I had more time, I could spend some of it in the lake and try to coax it out of hiding.

” He sighed. I imagined it was difficult to be the youngest, with two powerful older brothers to compete with.

“Yes, when we get back from the Oracle, perhaps we can have a day at the beach.” I smiled. It would be a very different experience than my beach date with Galen. I blushed thinking about it. I could see his bronze hair bobbing ahead on his bay stallion and felt my gut twist.

Between the meeting and the exchange with Isla this morning, I was feeling anxious about our relationship.

I’d bit all my nails down to the quick. Our chemistry was undeniable, but my trust in him had been whittled down to saw dust. I wanted him to apologize and had decided I was going to ice him out until he did.

Surprisingly, he wasn't responding well to the cold shoulder, and now I felt even worse .

I shook away the confusion that fogged my mind and focused on the mission ahead.

“Who’s going to ask about the abducted humans?

You or Raf?” I whispered, peering back at Alaric, who was beginning to catch up to us.

He couldn’t have looked less interested in our conversation.

His eyes were alert, darting back and forth, keeping an eye out for any potential threats.

“We just decided this morning. He didn’t want me to bear the weight of the cost, but I convinced him. He and Galen get plenty of opportunities to prove themselves… I haven’t had many. This is probably not the best place to discuss the matter…” I agreed and we dropped the subject.

Raf rode ahead of us, avoiding everyone.

I wondered if his shadows were closing in on him, as he said they sometimes did, convincing him that he needed no one.

I contemplated whether I should do anything to help him.

No. We’d been spending enough time together as it was—and I didn’t need another reason to fight with Galen.

We eventually arrived at our stop for the night, aptly named The Foothill Inn. It was located at the base of the mountains and would be the last civilized stop before we moved into harsher terrain. It would be another two-day journey to reach the witch, depending on the weather.

It was a warm and breezy evening as we dismounted and handed the horses over to the inn’s designated grooms. Rain and mud—potentially snow—would slow us down once we began ascending the mountains, according to Louis.

We were now in early summer, which came with frequent thunderstorms. Looking up at the blue skies, it was difficult to imagine the weather turning on us.

Galen went to reserve our rooms, while the rest of the group and I found a large table in the tavern. My body ached from sitting on a horse all day. I was thankful for my magic, already hard at work repairing sore muscles. I was optimistic that I’d feel fine by the time I tucked into bed tonight.

Peering around the inn, I grinned to myself.

It looked like something out of one of my romance novels—quaint, if not the cleanest establishment.

Well-built tables and booths lined the walls.

A small stage sat at the back of the tavern.

Tonight, there was a band of three on stage, playing lively music that a few brave souls were dancing to.

The room was crowded with faeries that weren’t nearly as presentable as the villagers of Monrovia.

Many looked like they’d been traveling for quite some time.

By the smell of this place, baths were a luxury in the mountains.

It was a rowdy atmosphere. Faeries mingled, spilling beer on each other, as they leaned in for conversation.

The bar itself was a masterpiece. Walnut wood was intricately carved and painted with trees, mountains, flora, and fauna, depicting a story of some kind.

A large spider had been whittled into the wood as well…

an odious reminder of where we were heading.

A pitcher of beer, steaming cups of beef and barley stew, and a loaf of cracked rye bread arrived at our table and we dug in. We all ate in silence, too hungry to break for conversation.

Galen appeared and sat beside me before speaking to the table.

“There were three available rooms. We’ll be pairing up for sleep.

You can fight over sleeping arrangements amongst yourselves.

I’ll be rooming with Marigold.” His smug expression made me want to wallop him.

He owed me an apology and he wa s still wearing her bracelet.

“You can sleep on the floor,” I said icily. That took the smirk off his face. I watched his brothers fight over who was getting the bed. An image of the giant males sharing a small bed made me giggle out loud, earning a sharp glance from Raf.

I took a sip of beer, glaring back at him, wanting to drown out my annoyance at both him and Galen. Louis was the only one who’d bothered to acknowledge me today.

It was my first time tasting beer, and the sweet malty flavors danced on my tongue. “This is delicious!” I announced, gulping the drink down quickly. I reached for the clay pitcher to pour myself more, but Galen placed his hand over mine in protest.

“Pace yourself—you don’t want a hangover. You’ll need your wits about you tomorrow in the forest.”

Who did he think he was?

I pushed past his hand and poured a tall glass of the amber liquid, chugging it to spite him. “I don’t get hangovers, I have healing magic,” I boldly declared. The men exchanged looks and it reminded me of my first day in Nymera, when they hadn’t known what to make of me.

“I rarely see the three of you together. You should really try to get along. You’re brothers in a world of enemies.” I took another generous swallow and hiccuped .

“And who exactly are our enemies?” Galen asked.

“You’re Princes . Royal families attract enemies. Take my mother, for example, she was killed just for being related to my Queen. We never know when loss will strike. Life is too short for you to bicker, ” I said with exasperation, shooting a hard glare at Galen, then Rafael.

“We are Fae Princes. Life is not too short for us. And luckily, we don’t die easily, otherwise we would’ve killed each other by now,” Raf said with an edge to his voice.

Galen snorted in response. “Yes, brother. You did attack me rather unfairly the other week. You struck me while I was at a disadvantage…” His eyes simmered like hot coals as they fell on me.

Heat rose to my face. The day he’d first tasted my blood. My thighs began to throb at the intimate memory. Pleasure pooled in my core at the very thought of his bite.

“You deserved it,” Raf snarled. “In fact, if the tavern wasn’t so crowded, I’d throw you against another wall—break the other arm.”

Oh no. I had started this. I put my beer down. Perhaps, I should’ve stuck to one.

The roar of a lion silenced the bar. Galen was standing, leaning over the table, zoned in on Rafael. “You would find it more difficult this time.” Fire played on his fingers, causing the wooden table beneath his hand to smoke, while taut tendons and veins emerged along his neck.

Raf was equally ready to snap as shadows twisted and darted around him. His eyes were glowing with challenge, as if he was just waiting for a reason to end this, once and for all.

One of the barkeeps ran over sputtering, “E-excuse me, Your Highness. N-no magic inside the tavern.”

Galen rushed him, and for a moment, I thought he was going to turn on the man. I jumped forward, stifling his fire with ice as I put my hands over his.

His flames winced out without hurting me.

His eyes grew wide, like I’d surprised him with my boldness, like he wanted to swipe the beers off the table and take me right there.

Instead, he addressed the group, avoiding Raf’s gaze.

“Let’s all get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.

” He took my hand, shoved past the crowd, and led me up to our room.