Page 28 of Manor of Wind and Nightmares (Fae of Brytwilde #3)

As Junseo strode back to the table, solemn and quiet, the inn slowly returned to its conversations.

Meanwhile, I blinked and swallowed quickly, overcome with a different sort of emotion.

Though I still didn’t have an appetite, I forced myself to take a few bites, if only for something to do.

I didn’t want anyone to catch me staring, overwhelmed by this display of Junseo’s compassion.

I’d suspected his tender nature expanded beyond fae, but seeing this confirmed?

The warmth in my heart and the butterflies in my chest were dangerous, a final warning that I had fallen, irrevocably, for the captain.

After breakfast, as we strolled toward our carriages waiting outside the inn, I inhaled the fresh spring scent of a world washed clean by the rain, wishing I could wash my obligations and guilt away just as easily.

Junseo helped me into a carriage. “Today, I can offer you better traveling conditions,” he said with a smile.

I was relieved to see we would no longer have to share the cramped buggy.

“Flint secured a new carriage to replace our lost one. Even better, I thought with the additional space, you could have one of your maids join us.”

My stomach soured. I wanted to request Lavender, Pearl, or Violet instead, but avoiding my own maids would look suspicious, so I nodded and forced a smile. “Thank you.”

Sage joined us in the carriage, providing a slight reprieve from my fears of being alone too often with the captain.

At long last, the day drew to a close, the sun sinking in a bloody display to the west, searing my eyelids with the color each time I blinked.

Reminding me of the blood I’d soon shed and stain my own hands with.

With every clop of the horses’ hooves drawing nearer to the palace, my heart thundered a steady rhythm.

Murderer. Murderer. Murderer.

“We will reach the palace tonight, so we aren’t stopping,” Junseo murmured, his expression indiscernible as he glanced from Sage to me.

His eyes flitted briefly to mine before he turned to look out his own window.

Though we’d conversed warmly enough today, a change was coming over him as we neared the end of our journey, as if he dreaded it nearly as much as I did.

He had no idea how much more he would despise the very thought of me later.

Somehow, I sank into a fitful doze. I dreamed of creeping down dark corridors full of echoing voices.

Open doorways were full of living, writhing shadows that formed skeletal hands groping for me.

Raspy words accused me of killing. When I looked down, my dress and hands were dripping with blood, leaving a trail of gore in my wake.

Horror made my mouth fill with bile, and I choked on my own scream.

Jolting awake, I found Junseo’s face only a breath away, his broad hands clasping my shoulders. “Are you all right?”

I swallowed. My throat ached, like I truly had been screaming.

“Are you cold?” The captain pressed his palm to my forehead, his searing gaze scanning my face.

“No,” I whispered. “Only a nightmare.”

Junseo frowned, wetting his lips as if he was considering asking more but was holding himself back. After a moment, he pulled away, settling back in his seat across from me.

Sage at least pretended to be a devoted attendee of her princess as she hurried over, but I waved her off. “I’m all right.”

Quiet settled over us again, and I turned to my window, finding it was fully dark outside. A thick blanket of clouds provided an ominous setting that shrouded the world in blackness and reminded me of the watching, grasping shadows of my dream.

“We’ve arrived,” Junseo announced, sitting up straighter. He opened the window, just a little, allowing the cool night air to sweep in, offering a refreshing breath after hours of stale air within the carriage.

I blinked and peered deeper into the night, my mortal eyes struggling to discern what the fae could see much more easily.

The grounds were stunning, even in the nighttime.

Acres of blossoming cherry trees extended as far as I could see in the dimness.

As we swept past the glistening river, coursing calmly in the moonlight, I inhaled its scent, wet and earthy and mixing delightfully with the sweetness of the blossoms fluttering on the breeze.

Willows dipped their boughs into the water, appearing like graceful ladies reaching out to feel the current.

We rounded a bend in the road and I caught my first glimpse of the palace gardens, perfectly tended with endless rows of flowers in every color imaginable and countless fountains and decorative ponds.

Then I saw the palace buildings themselves: extravagant, sprawling structures of carved stone, with stunning towers and pinnacles, arched windows, and filigreed gates opening onto pristine courtyards.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, before I remembered that I was supposed to be a princess myself.

But the Emberglade castle had been built for practicality, its square architecture focused on function and protection rather than beauty and warmth.

The Willowbark palace was a more inviting space, welcoming others as if longing to host visitors, parties, and feasts.

And yet, I knew that I couldn’t let my guard down and become complacent. The fae world was as dangerous as it was beautiful, and I could never forget that, even in the company of one of the kindest men I’d ever met, mortal or immortal.

Without meaning to, I let my eyes stray toward the captain, drinking in the way his face lit up with joy and pride at my pronouncement. It was clear he loved his home.

As we entered the gate, guards saluted and Junseo saluted back.

Servants rushed from within the palace to greet us in the courtyard, lining up respectfully to watch our procession.

I studied their faces, and my stomach dipped, noting that some of them were humans with vacant expressions and dark circles under their eyes.

Lifting my shoulders, I drew a deep breath and prepared to embrace my looming future.