Kaspar

I pulled Sav with me as we fled the throne room, working to tamp down every bit of rage boiling in my veins. She would never want this. That desperate promise between two children was nothing more than a lie. Sav and I had always been honest with one another. Or so I thought.

We halted outside the single green door in a hall of wooden ones and I released her. “Get your things. We’ll move them to your new rooms before the ceremony.”

She touched the handle to her door, turning to face me. “Kaspar, I—”

“Hurry. Before I change my mind.”

She flinched and spun to the door, pushing it open. She left it open as she moved to the bed, grabbing a torn leather bag and swinging it over a shoulder.

“Sav!”

My gaze slid left, to the fae who had lied again and again. Hazel skirted past me, giving me a wide berth and closed the door in my face. I huffed, the heat in my veins intensifying.

Staring at painted wood, I tensed. The last night this door was unpainted had been the worst of my life.

I could only imagine what it had been like for Sav.

Still a young fae, it had been the night I swore to tell Sav my secret.

I felt things no one else in my court ever had.

I was more like her and Sage than the other sea fae.

I stepped up to a door that was the same shade of pine as all the others in the hall, holding up a fist to knock when her muffled cry came through the door.

Not thinking, I shoved it hard, knocking it off its hinges. I hardly remembered those next moments. The world was red, and I changed into the beast Sav loved and—teeth gnashing—tore through her attacker’s flesh. The room was painted with his blood, and he crawled to the door, weeping.

I wasted no time on him, transforming again and wrapping my arms protectively around my friend’s nude, battered body. She shook violently and only when I released her did she stop.

I sat at the edge of her bed, mute as she flicked her wrist, glamouring away the worst of the bruising on her neck and back. It would heal quickly, but some of the injuries were severe enough that only a glamour could hide them until she recovered.

She slid a thin robe over her body, wrapping it tightly around herself and the glassy vacant expression on her face as she performed the tasks necessary to cover his treachery, chilled my already cold blood.

“We have to tell the prince.”

“No.” Her words were dead, like those of my court and I swallowed back my rage, attempting to be whatever she needed. “Lord Banyan is in negotiation talks with Alder.” Her words were clipped. “Anything we say could jeopardize that.”

My mouth fell slack, indignation burning in my gut. “You can’t marry him.”

Her dull eyes cleared, and her gaze found mine. “I’ll do what I must. As I’m obligated to do.”

Try as I might to convince her otherwise, Sav refused to say anything to anyone else about what happened, swearing me to secrecy.

When I’d brought her paint from the deepest seaweed in my lake—imbued with magical properties that would only allow those the painter willed to enter—knowing it would make her feel safe in her room once more, she had hugged me and told me I was the only fae she trusted.

“No!” Sav shouted on the other side of the door, bringing me back to the present. I leaned against painted wood to listen. “I’m not asking for your help. I’m not asking for anyone’s help.”

“Except the prince.” Hazel shot back.

Sav’s reply was a whisper, and I pressed an ear to the door straining to hear her words.

What I wouldn’t give for one of my spies right now.

My gaze snagged on a small feline slinking down the hall.

Its bright eyes gave it away and I snatched it up as it tried to dart past me, holding it by the scruff of the neck.

I scrutinized twitching whiskers and oddly reddish colored eyes. Too light to be Autumn, but not orange like Summer.

“Who are you? Spring court staff?”

The creature gave a mewling cry, twisting in my grip, but I held it fast. “I have a task for you. If you complete it to my satisfaction, I’ll offer one favor of your choosing from the court of lakes and streams.

The cat stilled, twitching its nose.

“Blink once if you agree.” Strange eyes blinked and I set it down. “Go around and climb in through this window. Then report everything you hear back to me.”

It scampered away, white and black tail bobbing as it went.

Leaning against the wall, I peered along the hall, spying no one.

It was no wonder Spring was so desperate for aid; they were woefully short on guards.

They must be relying solely on Princess Hawthorn’s magic to keep them protected.

Why then had she presented me with a proposal when she could have benefited from allying her court with its neighbor?

I’d spent so much time investigating Autumn and Summer that I hadn’t considered what might be happening in the court I was soon to align myself with. It wasn’t like me to be so careless.

Thoughts of Sav’s empty promise drifted in. I had known her reasons for agreeing weren’t aligned with mine. In truth, I’d thought she missed her home and after she’d returned to it, she’d been coaxed into seeing the benefit of our alliance.

But I was wrong once again. No matter how I tried to protect her, she put herself in harm’s way.

Now, she likely had some ill-conceived plan to save the human from his own kind.

It would get her killed or at the very least imprisoned.

But I would never stand in her way or try to control her the way everyone else did.

Why then did I feel such anger each time I thought of the reason she was so desperate to get her magic back?

Shouts rang on the other side of the door, and it cracked open. “Get out!” Sav yelled and a small black and white cat ran through the door just as a shoe smacked the wood. It was slammed again, and the cat shook itself out, transforming into a fae boy.

“You’re a child.”

The boy spread his lips into a wide grin. “I’m eleven. But my ears work as good as any fae’s.”

My lips twitched and I waved a hand. “Very well then, what did you learn?”

The boy leaned close, and I knelt as he pressed his cupped hand to my ear. “They’re fighting about going to the human realm to save a man. He’s trapped in ISHFA headquarters and the one with the tail says if the other one goes in, she’s not coming back out.”

I quirked a brow. “That’s it?”

The boy’s tanned cheeks grew blotchy. “No.”

I waited.

“The one with the tail also said the prince is hot and she’d…take him to her room…if the other one doesn’t want to.”

I straightened. The shifter boy looked away, embarrassment coloring his cheeks.

“Was there anything else?”

“Nope. That’s when they saw me and chased me out.”

I nodded. “Very well. A bargain was struck. What favor do you ask of the court of lakes and streams?”

He swallowed. “Can I ask for two things?”

I shook my head. “Those were terms you should have negotiated up front. Our bargain was for one favor.”

He looked down at his bare feet and huffed.

“Okay.” He exhaled another long sigh, but I was not so easily persuaded.

One did not learn to rule at the same age this boy was now, by being swayed by others’ disappointment.

“I want you to keep my mom safe from the summer court.” His oddly colored eyes met mine and he squared his shoulders. “Who is your mom?”

“Her name is Ivy. She’s an herbalist in the princess’s healing ward. She’s kind, but she fears Summer will come for us one day. She has nightmares about it.”

I nodded gravely. “You have my word, child. My army will protect her from Summer.”

“Oh. And anyone else who comes.”

I pursed my lips. “That was not our deal.”

The boy groaned.

“Now go, before someone sees you and knows what you’ve been up to.”

The boy dropped to all fours, shifting into his cat form and darted away.

He turned at the end of the hall, eyeing me and dipped his chin.

I hadn’t shown mercy in our negotiations, but it was a far greater kindness than coddling him ever would be.

One day, when it mattered, he would remember this lesson and not make the same mistake twice.

The door swung wide, and I pushed off the wall. “Ready, Princess?”

Sav’s dull, human eyes narrowed on me. “I’m not a princess.”

“Not yet.” I held out a hand and she took it. I glanced behind her. “No bags?”

“I only need this one.” She tossed her chin over her shoulder. “But Hazel’s coming with us.”

Hazel stepped through the door and for once, her fluffy snow leopard tail didn’t follow. My gaze moved to the room behind her, noting its starkness. Once, it had housed all Sav’s most precious belongings. Someone had removed them. It was truly not her home anymore.

We left the spring court, stepping into the Maywood and I wrapped my arms around both fae. “Hold your breath. This will take a moment.”

Sav nodded and Hazel’s eyes widened, but she inhaled deeply and together, we dove.

Beneath the water, I called a current to us, rushing us along and soon we were in my court.

The lake my castle resided in was surrounded on all sides but one by Spring.

It made us natural allies through the centuries, but on one shore, the sparkling sandy beach of Summer lined the edge of my waters.

Fero and I had never grown close. He was more than a century old when I was born and he had never formed an alliance with my father, despite our neighboring borders. Though we’d never been to war as Winter and my court had all those centuries ago, I didn’t count him as a friend.

For that reason, I regularly monitored his court, and the vast majority of my army was stationed against his border.

As we sunk lower, my gaze swiveled between my two guests, and I nearly laughed at Hazel’s awestruck expression.

She took in my castle with a childlike wonder.

As we neared the main gate, two kelpie soldiers rushed forward, tugging dead coral doors wide.

Though they couldn’t live in freshwater, they made a great defensive perimeter around my home.

Should any dare attack, they would be forced to cut their way through.

Inside, smooth stone walls lined our path, and I pushed forward, breaching the air bubble and setting Sav and Hazel down inside her new rooms. The pair gasped for air and gazed around the space.

“Is this your room?”

I slid pondweed stocks aside and stepped through. “It’s your room.”

Sav trailed me in, spinning in a slow circle.

“The receiving room will be outfitted with drying aids and submersible suits, so you don’t have to worry about getting your clothes wet every time you leave.” I reached for a satchel from a long row of them. “These are magicked so you can store your clothes in them and change when you’re on land.”

Sav ran a hand over the row of dozens of bags. She moved beyond them to a closet carved into the wall, equipped with hangers and a long rod to store all her gowns. It was empty as I had assumed she’d be bringing clothes with her. I had assumed wrong.

“And a washroom. Will I have one of those?”

I nodded, guiding them through a second set of stalks to a room specially designed with Sav’s land needs in mind.

A tub was carved into the floor and magical levers siphoned water in and out as needed.

A sink across from the tub was fashioned with a brushing station and mirror and across from both was another arched doorway leading to the privy.

Her slow circle stopped, gaze landing on me. “How long did all of this take to build?”

I searched her face for any sign of appreciation. Finding none, I answered truthfully, though I suspected she already knew. “Years.”

Sav eyed me, stepping up to the sink and waving her hand under the spout. Water, perfectly adjusted to the temperature of her preference gushed out, running through her fingers. She spun to face me. “Wow, Kaspar. This is really—”

“Make yourselves ready,” I said, cutting her off, gaze not meeting hers. “I have a few things to attend to, but we can complete the ceremony here once I’ve finished. I know you’re in a hurry.”