Page 12

CHAPTER 12

LUCAS

I land in the cottage garden as quietly as possible and vanish my wings. My gaze goes to Yvette’s window. It’s dark and I suppose she’s fast asleep. How will she react if I tap on her window? What about if I flash into her bedroom? She hasn’t seen me appear or disappear in a flash of light yet, and I’m not certain if she’s aware it’s a skill all highborn fae possess.

As I approach the window, voices at the front of the cottage reach me, and I slip from shadow to shadow until I’m able to see who’s outside. It’s Carol and Heather, and they both look worried.

Carol cups her hands around her mouth and yells, “Yvette!” in a voice that echoes over the countryside.

Alarm grasps me. “Where is Yvette?” My question thunders through the night, and both women gasp and spin around to face me.

I stride out of the shadows.

“Where is Yvette?” I ask again. “Did you just discover her missing? I require details.” I listen to the sounds of the forest for any hint that she’s nearby, but I don’t hear any humanlike rustles or distant screams.

Carol and Heather exchange a look.

“You!” Heather says in an accusing tone. “I should’ve known you would have something to do with this. What did you do with my poor niece?”

Carol grabs her sister’s arm and prevents her from lunging at me.

“I just arrived here, and Yvette had no idea I was coming. What happened?” I direct my question to Carol, deciding she’s the more reasonable of the two.

Carol wipes away a tear. “She was upset and went for a walk this afternoon. She said she was going to pick more pears, but I know she just wanted some time to herself. She promised she would be home for dinner, but she never showed up. We went looking for her earlier without any luck. We just got back to the cottage hoping she’d returned while we were out searching, but she’s not here. She’s not anywhere.”

Heather gives me a murderous look. “You swear you don’t have anything to do with this? If I find out you hurt my precious niece, I’ll?—”

“I would never hurt Yvette,” I say, cutting her off. I glance at Carol. “You said she was upset. Why?”

Regret wells in the woman’s eyes. “We tried to set her up with a nearby farmer who’s in need of a wife. Apparently, they didn’t hit it off, and I don’t believe Yvette was very happy with us.”

“Where does this farmer live?” My gut twists with worry, and bloodlust burns in the depths of my soul. If this farmer had something to do with Yvette’s disappearance, I will make him pay with his life.

“About two miles that way.” Heather gestures to the left. “In a large red house. But I don’t think he would’ve hurt her. Cody’s a fine young man and he lives with his parents. Godsfearing people, the whole family.”

I summon my wings and launch into the sky, heading in the direction Heather just pointed. But before a red house comes into sight, I detect the telltale scent of a mangga swarm.

Considering that mangga rarely swarm at night, as they are largely daytime creatures, I follow the vile scent until I reach a dense area of the forest.

I’m about to call out Yvette’s name, when her voice reaches me on the breeze.

“If you come any closer, I will stab you in the eyeball.”

There. In a tall treetop, I spot the glimmer of a blade in the moonlight. I rush downward with my arms stretched out. I reach her just as a mangga jumps onto the branch she’s seated upon. She swings her knife at the creature, but I swoop her into my arms and veer up through the branches, and we leave the hissing manggas behind.

Yvette’s startled cry hurts my ears, but it doesn’t take long for her to realize what’s happened, and I’m pleased when she relaxes in my embrace.

Gods, it’s so good to hold her again.

“It’s all right, sweetling. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” I’m flying just slow enough that the wind doesn’t drown out my voice.

She wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me tight as I carry her toward the cottage. I want nothing more than to keep her all to myself, but I can’t allow her mother and aunt to worry about her. The older women might not approve of me as a potential husband for Yvette, particularly the aunt, but I cannot keep her from them just so I might have some alone time with her. Besides, she just experienced a fright and probably wants the comfort of her family.

“I dropped my knife.” She shudders against me.

“I will get you a new one, sweetling.”

“Oh, gods, I was so sure I was dead. Thank you, Lucas. Thank you for saving me. Again.“

“Tell me what happened.”

“It’s rather embarrassing. I went for a walk and got lost in the forest. Before I could figure out which way led to the cottage, I heard multiple manggas hissing, so I climbed a tree. Fortunately, though manggas can climb, it would seem they aren’t very good at it.” A nervous laugh escapes her, though she’s still trembling.

“You shouldn’t have ventured so far from the cottage,” I find myself saying in a scolding tone. I can’t help it. She could’ve died. If she’d stayed closer to the cottage, she would’ve been protected by the wards I’d erected to keep her safe. Not that she knows about the wards…

“Like I said, I went for a walk.”

“Your mother told me you were upset. I am sorry you were upset, sweetling, but you must promise to never do anything so foolish again.”

“Foolish?” she stiffens in my arms.

“Yes, foolish. You know as ussha spreads, more and more creatures that are native to fae lands will wander into human and orc lands. You must have a care for your own safety.”

“How dare you scold me. I’m not a child. I was just so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize how far I’d gone and by then it was too late. Besides, the manggas could always wander into the cottage garden. There’s no fence. Following your logic, I’m not safe anywhere. No human is.”

I growl. If we were on the ground right now, I might grab her by the shoulders and give her a good shake.

“The manggas, as well as any other dangerous creatures, cannot come close to the cottage,” I say. “They can’t come within a fucking mile of it because I placed protective wards in the forest around your aunt’s residence. To keep you safe. I never imagined you would travel so far away all by yourself. Had I known, I would’ve expanded the wards.”

She shifts in my arms, and though I can’t see her face, I sense her shock. She sucks in a quick breath and exhales shakily. “Lucas, I had no idea about the wards.” Her voice comes out much more subdued. “That’s actually really sweet of you. But why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m not certain.” It’s the truth. I’d created the wards before I departed the cottage on the very day I met her, but even once I returned for our midnight meeting, I didn’t bother telling her about the wards. Why not? I sigh into the breeze. “I suppose I worried you would think I was being overly possessive. But I like the word you just used to describe it. Sweet.”

She laughs. “Well, I think it’s more sweet than possessive. It’s not like you locked me in a cage for my own safety.”

We finally arrive at the cottage, and I descend slowly with her in my arms. Just before I put her down, I place my lips at her ear and whisper, “If you ever worry me like this again, sweetling, trust me, I will find a cage.”

Her breath catches in her throat, but before she can respond, her mother and aunt converge on us. I step back to give them space for a reunion, and her mother and aunt take turns hugging her.

“What happened?” Carol finally says.

Yvette gives her mother a sheepish look, then explains that she wandered too far and got lost. She describes the mangga swarm next, which draws huge gasps from both her mother and aunt. “But I’m perfectly fine. Prince Lucas saved me. He arrived just in time and snatched me out of the tree just as one of the mangga’s lunged at me.”

Heather gives me a look that starts out as suspicious, but it soon softens to one of respect. “It would seem you’ve saved my niece yet again. Thank you, Prince Lucas.”

I incline my head briefly. “I am glad I decided on an impromptu visit tonight.” Gods, I hate to think what might’ve happened had I not arrived just in time. My little sweetling. I can’t fathom any harm coming to her.

Carol approaches me and places a hand on my arm. “Thank you, Prince Lucas. Truly.” She sniffles and blinks away the fresh tears that fill her eyes. Then she spins and faces Yvette before I can respond. “You must never wander off like that again! I think you took about twenty years off my life. Gods, I was so worried about you, darling.”

“I’m sorry, Mama, really I am. I won’t venture that far from the cottage again. Especially now that I know about the protective wards Prince Lucas erected around Aunt Heather’s property. He told me about them as he was flying me back just now.”

“Protective wards?” Carol and Heather say in unison as their heads swivel my way.

I clear my throat. “Yes, I recently placed protective wards around the cottage that extend a mile in all directions. There are high concentrations of ussha in this area, and as you are probably aware, fae creatures of all types are attracted to areas that contain high levels of the lifeforce of our magic.” I pause for a moment to allow this information to sink in. “This means, it won’t be long before some of the more dangerous creatures from all four fae courts arrive in this area, though since my court is closest, I suspect more of the creatures will hail from the Summer Court,” I continue. “But the protective wards will keep all the dangerous animals out. Furthermore, the wards will prevent any individuals who have nefarious intentions from setting foot within the wards.”

It suddenly occurs to me that the farmer who visited Yvette earlier in the day obviously posed her no real harm, even though it would seem she didn’t like him. He wouldn’t have been able to enter the premises if he were an unsavory character. In my haste to find her, I’d forgotten this simple fact as I’d set off in the direction of his farm. Thankfully, it happened to be the very direction in which Yvette had wandered off.

I step closer to the little human and place an arm around her, not caring that her mother and aunt are watching. Let them watch. Let them come to terms with my intentions for Yvette. Surely they must realize how much I care for her.

To my delight, Yvette doesn’t try to evade my touch. Quite the opposite. She flushes and gazes up at me with a sweet smile that causes my chest to tighten with emotion. Gods, I cannot imagine spending the rest of my days without her. I must convince her to become my bride.

I think of all the information the servant girl named Amelia recently gave me, particularly the wisdom about winning over my future mate’s family members.

As I hold the little human close to my side, I look at Carol and Heather with what I hope is a gentle smile, and I search my mind for the perfect thing I might say to make them understand how much Yvette means to me. The perfect thing I might say to win them over.

At last, it comes to me. “I will always do whatever I can to keep Yvette safe. I will also do whatever I can to keep those she cares about safe. If you need the wards extended, I will be happy to do so. Also, if you ever need to visit a neighbor or a village, or to travel beyond the wards for any reason, I am willing to provide you with a safe escort.”

A small gasp leaves Yvette. “That is very kind of you, Prince Lucas.”

Carol appears impressed by my little speech, but Heather does not. She crosses her arms over her chest and shoots me a suspicious glare. The night is dark, but the ussha glow provides just enough light for me to see her full expression.

“I’ll have you know, Prince Lucas, that my niece is a respectable young woman. She will not agree to become your pleasure slave or your concubine or whatever perversity it is that you have planned for her. I appreciate you saving her life, I really do, but I will not stand by and allow you to ruin her life. She must get married one day. No decent, godsfearing man will have her if she’s been used by a fae prince.”

“Aunt Heather!” Yvette hisses in a low tone, clearly mortified by her aunt’s assumption that I want her just to satisfy my sexual appetites.

“I agree that your niece is a respectable young woman,” I say. “However, you have misunderstood my intentions. I very much want Yvette to become a permanent part of my life, but not as a pleasure slave or a concubine. I want to marry Yvette. I want her as my wife. I want her as my mate.”