Chapter 17

17

KASSANDRA

I t’s as we’re loading up the carriages to leave that Runt sidles up to me, pawing at the ground with a yowl. The pacon’s fur is matted with dirt and other unsavory materials and appears slightly damp. His horns are covered in a brown substance I pray is mud and not…well…

“Where have you been, baby?” I sign, knowing he won’t understand me but feeling the need to baby talk to my pet anyway.

I crouch down so we’re at eye level, and he rubs his wet cheek against my own with a contented purr.

Blaze told me that Runt separated from him last night and was exploring the town. Now, seeing the disheveled appearance of my pacon, I can’t help but wonder if something more nefarious happened.

Runt abruptly backs away from me and hisses at something over my shoulder.

No, not something.

Some one .

I quirk an eyebrow at an approaching Blaze, who simply shrugs, completely unrepentant.

“What?” he asks innocently—well, as innocently as an enormous warrior prince is capable of.

“Why is my pacon wet and covered in mud?” I sign, and it takes the Fall Prince a few ticks to understand what I’m trying to sign.

“He must’ve gotten up to no good while we were separated,” Blaze responds, throwing Runt a disapproving glare. “What a naughty pacon. You should just leave the monster here while we travel.”

Runt hisses and bats at the air with his claws.

“Blaze.” I give him a warning look, but he simply whistles under his breath, the epitome of nonchalance. “I’ll ask you one more time. Why is my pacon wet and covered in mud?”

Blaze smirks wickedly. “That’s not mud, little beast.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s?—”

I hold a hand up to stop him in mid-sentence. “It’s mud. I refuse to accept any other alternative.”

Blaze laughs out loud at that, and I swear I hear the sound in the center of my being. It rumbles through me, and I wonder if this is what it feels like to be in the center of an earthquake, to feel the earth trembling beneath your feet and watch the mountains and trees shake. Yet, surprisingly, I feel steady.

What is happening to me?

I gingerly pluck Runt off the ground…and then thrust him into Blaze’s arms. Both males hiss simultaneously and glare at each other. I can’t help but giggle at the sight.

“Little beast…”

“Clean him up,” I instruct.

“But—”

“I know you’re the cause of his…current state,” I sign, leveling a glare at Blaze. I swear the big fae actually blanches and shifts away from me. “You fix him.”

“You have no proof,” he grumbles, but he reluctantly begins to walk towards a tiny stream bisecting the village—one of the only sources of water they have.

I wave my hand in the air to capture his attention, and only when he turns to face me do I sign, “And don’t you dare drown my pet.”

Blaze narrows his eyes. “Bossy female.”

As Blaze stomps away with a smug-looking Runt in his arms, I turn to finish loading the carriage—only to find that everything has already been piled up inside the tiny cart. Both Aleksander and Treyton grin at me.

“I never thought I’d see the day when a tiny slip of a female orders Prince Blaze to do her bidding,” Treyton says with a chuckle.

“Do we need a second carriage to hold Blaze’s balls?” Aleksander quips, twirling his sword around and around in his hand.

It’s a miracle that it doesn’t nick the Spring Prince’s throat. It comes awfully close on more than one occasion.

“Do you really think Blaze’s balls need an entire carriage?” Treyton retorts.

“Do you see the size of that fae?” Aleksander expertly flips the sword in the air and then catches it.

“I feel as if you’ve given his ball size a lot of thought,” Treyton says.

Aleksander shrugs, completely unperturbed. “I must admit, I spend countless hours before I fall asleep thinking about all of your balls and trying to decide which one has the largest pair.”

I laugh before I can stop myself, and both males turn to stare at me, shock registering on their faces for a fraction of a tick before it’s replaced by amusement. Treyton’s eyes warm in a way that suffuses me in fire, the flames eating away at my skin in the most delicious way possible.

I blush and duck my head.

Treyton…wants to be my friend.

I can’t help but replay my conversation with him over and over again, searching for any alternative meaning to his heartfelt words. But there was nothing but sincerity emanating from his eyes as he stared at me.

The strangest thing of all was the tiny pang of disappointment that reverberated through me.

Why does my heart ache at the thought of only being friends with Treyton?

“You should laugh more often,” Treyton tells me gently, a tiny smile forming on his face. “It’s a pretty sound.”

“I can make you laugh,” Aleksander volunteers cheerfully. “Like this.”

Before I can stop him, Aleksander lifts his free hand and then whacks Treyton across the back of the head. Treyton’s so stunned that all he can do is gasp in disbelief, his pink hair falling forward to obscure his eyes from view. He brushes away the strands with a huff of annoyance.

And the entire scene is so ridiculous that I can’t help but laugh out loud again. Once I start, I can’t stop. I clutch my belly as my body shakes with laughter.

It’s not just because I’m amused. No, the noise is an outlet for all of the emotions swirling inside of me and vying for dominance. My fear for the future and the Mark of Chaos. My confusion over the princes. My worry for Calan. All of them have compounded inside of me and then found release in my slightly hysterical laughter.

Aleksander watches me with bemusement.

“Ah. So violence does excite you. Good to know.” The elf rubs his hands together with a positively devious smile on his face.

My laughter drains, and I lift my hands in the air to sign, “No violence.”

Aleksander arches an eyebrow. “I think you said the word ‘violence.’” His smirk broadens, revealing sharp, white teeth. “Are you asking for more of it?”

I shake my head adamantly, but he pretends to misunderstand.

“A lot more, yes?” He waves his sword back and forth in the air with an elaborate flourish. “I always suspected you were bloodthirsty. It’s the quiet ones you need to watch out for.”

He winks at me as if we’re sharing a secret, and I roll my eyes. Even still, I can’t stop my instinctive smile.

I don’t know what changed within the last few ticks, but the tension and posturing that has been saturating the air is…well, not gone, but it’s definitely not as prominent. Aleksander and Treyton almost seem to get along, which shocks me. Blaze is still a surly bastard, but I doubt that will ever change.

There’s an aura of comradery in the air that I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before, especially in the presence of the princes.

Back at the Spring Court, Blaze and Treyton were at each other’s throats constantly. And while they still regard each other with barely veiled disdain, they no longer actively try to hurt each other. Blaze even filled Treyton in on our mission—though he complained the entire time about the “princess” of the Spring Court coming with us.

“He probably never lifted a blade before in his life,” Blaze muttered.

Treyton didn’t even retort to the insult.

“Here. Good as new.” Blaze materializes behind me and thrusts a soaking, trembling Runt into my arms.

The poor pacon looks as if he’s been dunked unceremoniously into the water.

“Thank you,” I sign to Blaze, but the Fall Prince simply gives me the evil eye before climbing onto one of the mulnios.

It was decided that Blaze and Aleksander will ride on the mulnios, one in front and the other in back, while Treyton will drive the carriage. I was surprised Treyton was willing to do something so…demeaning. Driving a carriage is considered the work of a lesser fae or a servant, not a prince.

Yet Treyton simply flashed me a smile and a wink without complaint when the roles were assigned.

Now, I watch as Treyton slides onto the wooden bench and grabs ahold of the creature’s reins.

“Up you go, my lady.” Aleksander lifts me into the air and deposits me inside the carriage.

It’s cramped and uncomfortable, considering it also carries all of our supplies, but the wooden seat beats riding on the back of a mulino in the blazing heat.

Aleksander tips an imaginary top hat at me before clamoring towards his own mulino.

“Be safe.” Faye steps beside the opened carriage door and gives me a fierce look. “I mean it.”

I smile at her softly and offer a nod. I can’t make any promises—I have no idea what fresh hell I’m walking into—but I do know I’ve fought too damn hard to die now. I’ll travel through the Forest of the Damned, conquer the Fall Court if I need to, and then find the Bone King in Amorite to have this mark removed.

And then, for the first time in my miserable existence, I’ll be free.

An airy, bubbly feeling bursts to life in my chest.

Free.

What does that word even mean to me now?

Faye offers me one last smile and then shuts the carriage door, leaving me alone with Runt, who has curled into a wet ball on my lap.

The window supplies the barest amount of breeze to keep from suffocating. It’s too damn hot in the Summer Court, especially compared to the Spring Court I lived most of my life in.

“You ready, Kassie?” Treyton’s voice carries to me from the opposite side of the carriage.

In answer, I rap my knuckles against the wall.

The carriage jerks once and then takes off.

Hopefully leading me towards my freedom.

Once and for all.