Chapter 32

Chapter

Thirty-Two

Rose

"I bet you thought you'd never see me again," the small creature spoke, her voice throaty and quiet at the same time.

"Considering we used Kitra's magic to get here, I'm actually surprised it took you this long."

She tsked. "I've been following you forever. As is half the forest. If I didn't intervene, you'd probably be dead by now."

They were having a completely calm conversation, but all I could do was open and close my mouth like a guppy.

"What's wrong with her? I know she can talk. The two of you having been going at it since she was dumped into the swamp."

He shrugged, even going so far as to lean against a tree and cross his arms over his chest. "I guess you've rendered her speechless."

Ensley preened. "Me? Whatever for?"

I didn't know what game these two were playing with me, but it was starting to scratch at my brain like an annoying gnat. And my back still itched. And there was mud caked on my skin. And my ears felt heavy. I was generally feeling like poop. So the last thing I needed was these two talking over me like I was some sort of mute child.

Pull. Yourself. Together.

"And now she's growling." Ensley grew animated. "This is so exciting. You've brought me a plaything. Is this Kitra's doing?"

"Stop!" I yelled at them both. "I don't know what the two of you are trying to do here, but just—stop."

Magnus shot me a look that I couldn't quite read. I didn't know whether he was trying to warn me to quit talking or if he was just frustrated by this whole thing like I was.

The small creature walked towards me, and I took a couple of steps backward. I didn't know what I was facing or how to deal with it, so I preferred to keep my distance.

"You're going to need a glamour before you can leave these woods, child. You can’t go running around the realm looking like that." She said the words while looking at me, but I got the impression that she was talking to both of us.

"You know we don't have power like that," Magnus responded. "But I do know this kingdom like the back of my hand. I can get us in and out without detection."

The sprite laughed maniacally. "You always were more confident than you deserved. Such an ego on that one. I hope you're prepared for that. When your mating heat is over, he'll be insufferable."

"How do you?—"

"Demons can see lots of things other people can't," she said, reaching out to touch the side of my face.

I gasped. Her skin was ice cold and feather soft. "You can't risk this one like that dragon-man. She’s too precious. If you aren't going to take care of her, I will take her with me."

A growl ripped from Magnus as he jumped forward and pushed the sprite to her knees. "Don't touch her. She's mine."

"Magnus!"

"Don't let her fool you, Rose. She is not what she looks like. Kitra may trust her but I don't. Her kind are why I can't fly throughout the realm as I should."

"He's not wrong, Rose darling. It is kill or be killed around here. But in your case,"—she steadied herself back on her feet while glaring at Magnus the whole time—"I'm going to help you."

That made no sense. "Why would you help me? You don't know me."

"Because Kitra asked me to."

"She did? When?"

"She sent a message with this one." She pointed to me. "I can smell it all over her."

Considering I reeked of murky swamp water and sweat, I didn't see how that was possible. "You are all crazy," I surmised. "I thought coming here and finding out about where I came from was a good idea, but already I can see that was a grave mistake."

"You have no idea," the sprite said. "But you're here and I know this one,"—she hitched her thumb at Magnus—"won't be deterred from his revenge. So I'll get you both fixed up. It's the least I can do. For my friend."

She snapped her fingers, and I gasped. Gone were my dirty and ruined clothes, replaced with a soft green jumper of a silky material that felt incredible on my skin. I rubbed my hands up and down my sides, luxuriating in what had to be the softest material I'd ever felt in my life.

When I glanced up, I saw that Magnus too had different clothes on. Gone were his black utility pants and black shirt that had hugged his delicious body to perfection. I'd noticed him every time I saw him, but I'd worked hard to keep my mind from how good he looked. Otherwise it could trigger?—

"I think she likes how you look, dragon-man."

My cheeks heated when he glanced up at me and caught me staring. His nose flared, followed by a slow grin spreading across his face. I refused to think of what that meant. I'd done enough embarrassing things when it came to him. I didn't need to add to that long list.

"You look beautiful," he said, crossing to me and pulling me into his arms. "Smell good, too." He breathed in the scent of my hair, and I closed my eyes against the onslaught of desire threatening to overwhelm me.

"While this is not the time or place for either of you to indulge, I will say this. If you tread carefully through this realm, she will have your baby soon. The dark fae and a dragonling. What is the realm coming to?" She shook her head.

"What? No. I'm not pregnant." I resisted the urge to cover my stomach as if there was already something there that needed my protection.

Ensley scoffed. “You are both acting a fool. When the man and the dragon who are intertwined were not one, that is when the deed was done. Your fate was sealed.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Magnus growled.

“Oh my God. When I poisoned you?—”

“That doesn’t make sense. It can’t happen like that.”

Magnus looked like he was going to explode. Or choke the life out of the little demon.

"I said what I said. It is you who has to decide what happens next. But it is time to repopulate the dark fae line, and I begrudgingly admit that introducing a dragon into the line might keep your family safer this time around. Sometimes that is the way. You have to become the very thing you've hunted for generations to survive."

Not a single one of her words made sense to me. And yet they pinged through me as prophetic. However, it was a lot to take in and I had to fight the overwhelm.

"What do you mean repopulate?"

She glanced between Magnus and me. "You haven't told her. Oh Gods. Of course you didn't." She threw her head back and laughed. "You fae males are all the same. Ego for days."

"What is she talking about?"

He scowled at us both, straightening from the tree he'd been leaning on. "We don't have time for this. The only advantage we have here is that my uncle likely doesn't know I've been gone or that his spell has been broken. We need to strike while we can."

"Well, she can't go in looking like that." The sprite narrowed her eyes. "Unless you're planning to take her as your captive."

My eyes bugged out at that word. "Uhm. I don't think so. And what exactly is wrong with the way I look? I'm all cleaned up."

"It's not the pretty dress that's the problem," the sprite started. "It's?—"

"Shut the hell up," Magnus roared. "Stop trying to scare her."

Ensley glared at Magnus and he glared right back.

"Is that what's going on? You're trying to scare me?"

"You should be scared," she spat. "They'll take one look at those ears and you'll be on the hanging tree or in the dungeon before you can blink."

"My ears?" My hands flew up to touch them and found they were still pointed. I'd kind of forgotten about them for a minute. "Hanging tree? I know we're in a different realm, but — People don't get hanged anymore."

"They do here." Ensley smirked. "And it's not for a lack of better options. Magic can render a life as silently and painlessly as possible. But some of our more illustrious kings still prefer a good hanging and Aegrond happens to be one of them.”

"I am really starting to understand why you hate this man so much. He should be in prison."

A tight smile appeared on Magnus's face. "I don't hate that idea. It could be fun to watch him suffer alongside all the men he's thrown into the dungeon."

I shook my head. I guess it was still the dark ages here. Which meant it probably wasn't a haven for women either.

"You still didn't answer why my ears are a problem." And I got the impression they were dodging the question. "Whatever it is, you might as well spit it out so I can deal with it. Especially if I'm not going to like it."

"Yeah, dragon-man," Ensley mocked. "Spit it out and tell her why her ears are a problem."

He sighed, hopefully realizing he couldn’t keep avoiding the issue. "They identify you immediately as dark fae."

"And?" Ensley said snidely. "Why would that be a bad thing for such a coveted young omega like her?"

"My uncle hates the dark fae. He ordered them all killed several moon cycles past. If he finds out one has returned, and an omega at that, I don't know what he'll do. He's mad. Insane. Out of control. He won't want you alive."

"They're all dead?" I asked, feeling my stomach sink to my spine the moment he nodded. This couldn't be real. "And you knew that all this time." It wasn't a question because I could tell by the stricken and shameful look on his face that he did. "And you brought me here knowing that?"

"Aww, honey. That’s not?—"

"Stop!" I rounded on the meddling sprite. "Don't pretend you aren't enjoying this. While I appreciate whatever help you might be offering, I can clearly see that you have no love lost for Magnus. But that glee you're feeling right now over his misery is just as twisted as everything else I'm hearing. If I'd known what kind of people and creatures I'd be faced with, I doubt I would have come."

"And I doubt that," Ensley said, looking as if she didn't have a care in the world. And as far as I knew she might not. I knew nothing about her other than what little Kitra had told me. Which was that I could trust her. I took a deep breath and swallowed some of my pride.

"I haven't even met the king yet and I really don't like him. And as for you." I rounded on Magnus. "I thought we were past lies and secrets." When he started to say something, I held up my hand to stop him. "No. Don't do it. This is not the time or the place to hash this out." My back was itching more than before, and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. "I don't think we're out here alone, are we?"

Magnus shook his head, a grim expression on his face and Ensley said nothing. But she did start fussing about my appearance.

"We have to fix this," she said, snapping her fingers again.

I jerked my hands to the side of my head and felt my normal ears back into place. I sighed in relief. I wasn't sure about my body changing, but I certainly didn't care for it in front of an audience. I needed some time on my own to figure all of this out.

"These too," she said, walking behind me and placing her tiny hand on my back.

To my relief, the itching ceased.

"How do you do that?" I asked.

"Glamour is as easy as breathing once you figure out how to use it."

"Will I be able to do that?"

She shrugged. "Not any time soon. Only time will tell what your true gifts are. You've been bound a very long time."

"Time," I said. "That seems to be the hot commodity around here. As in you've got a lot more of it than we do."

"Not we . Them. You aren't any more human than I am. This is your world."

I glanced around the forest, looking for as many signs of differences that I could find. It seemed similar enough, but I could sense the strange and unusual lurking behind the trees and under the earth. Not to mention the smell. Everything seemed more potent here.

"Shall we go then?" Magnus had quietly appeared at my side and his hand gently pressed against my back.

"Sure," I said, following him when he took the lead. "But don't think you're off the hook. I want some answers about the dark fae."

"Of course you do," he grumbled. I turned back to say something similar to Ensley to discover she was nowhere to be found.

How was I going to get used to anything if everyone kept disappearing?

“You aren't”.

That answer whispered through my head, and that was most certainly not Magnus talking to me.