29. Chapter 29

Chapter twenty-nine

C rowds descended as soon as they made it to the outskirts of the festival. So many people offered Haven and Roman blessings and advice. It was crazy and chaotic but Haven hadn't stopped smiling yet. Back in the human realm, she'd had a bit of a hard time in big crowds but almost all day there had been a lightness hanging around her she hadn't been able to shake, not that she wanted to.

After what had to be hundreds of hellos and dozens of conversations, Haven found herself sitting under the shade of a large tree on the very outskirts of the festival snacking on a turkey and cheese sandwich. For hours she wandered up and down each row, looking at items for sale, listening to speeches, learning about the customs and traditions of the people of Drailia .

Her feet had finally begun hurting after about three hours. The boots she was wearing held the appearance of horse riding boots but had a thick cushion in the soles that thankfully kept her feet from hurting more than she could handle. A soft breeze blew by, blowing a strand of hair into her mouth. She managed to toss the majority of it over her shoulder but a few stray pieces were still sticking to the lip gloss she had on.

"Well that's not very queenly" A sarcastic voice spoke from the other side of the tree. Unfortunately, it was a voice she recognized.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing I'm not a queen" She snapped back

Nik stepped around the tree, looking down at her.

"You could be" He responded.

Rolling her eyes, she asked,

"How long have you been over there?"

"Long enough to wonder if you would moan the same way while I was buried between your thighs as you do when you eat"

Haven scoffed and rolled her eyes, attempting to hide her flush. It was possible she had made a few noises while she was eating but, in her defense, she thought she was alone and the sandwich tasted like heaven.

"Not that it's any of your business but I'm much louder in bed" She snarked back

Nik snickered and lowered himself to sit beside Haven.

"What are you doing?" She asked

"What? Do you own this tree or something? Is no one else allowed to sit under it?"

Haven, again, rolled her eyes.

"I was enjoying a few moments of peace after the chaos that has been this morning"

Nik smiled slightly at that, the hard mask of anger and resentment he normally wore disappearing for only a moment,

"I know how you feel, when the kingdom gets together like this it can be rather crazy"

Leaning her head back against the tree, Haven somehow found herself relaxing in Niks presence. When he wasn't throwing jaded looks at her, saying something rude or turning her on so much she couldn't think straight, Haven found that being in his presence was actually fairly calming. He had this air about him that Haven couldn't help but be drawn into. It was only slightly different than the one surrounding Roman and so far, he was turning out to be one of her closest friends.

Haven casually admired the tattoos peeking out the top of Niks white tunic. She hadn't been able to get a good look at them in the dark of his room the other night but she found herself wanting to know more about them, why he got them and what they meant. Haven thought to herself that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get to know him.

"You shouldn't let the attention from today go to your head. You aren't special, more than likely you'll turn out to be a nobody princess with little to no power and one of the last in line for whatever throne you end up under"

Or not

Haven recovered quickly, apparently either the guy didn't know how to be nice or for whatever reason, really did not like her. She had a feeling it was the latter .

"Like you?" She responded, distracting herself by picking at some dirt under her nails.

Nik rolled his eyes but Haven could swear she saw the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"I have power. Lots of it and I will rule one day. I'll always be one of the most important fae in this realm. My father has made sure of that" He sneered

"Yeah but you hate that don't you?" Haven guessed, she had no evidence to back up her claim but something about the way he spoke had given her that impression. She could practically feel the resentment pouring off of him when he spoke of his father.

"You have no idea what you're talking about" He scoffed. But Haven could see, she'd hit the nail directly on its head. Nik may have power and be the only one directly in line for a throne that wasn't supposed to be his but he didn't want it. He very clearly resented what his father wanted for him. Or maybe, he simply resented his father.

Nik quickly stood and began heading back towards the festival.

"For future reference, I don't take kindly to know it all princesses sticking their noses where they don't belong. Leave me the hell alone." He called over his shoulder as he walked away

"You came up to me asshole!" She shouted back

Nik grumbled something in response but it was too low for Havens not yet fully developed fae hearing to catch. He might have been an asshole but damn he looked good walking away.

***

After her and Niks mostly unpleasant interaction, Haven had gone back into the depths of the festival, met more fae and listened to a speech given by the crown regent about how happy he was to be hosting and training Haven and Roman until they left for their respective kingdoms. The whole speech seemed like bullshit to Haven and if she guessed correctly, she wasn't the only one that thought that. During the crown regents speech Haven spotted at least three other fae roll their eyes, scoff under their breath and generally not pay attention.

Night was quickly approaching. Haven was due to go inside and change into more appropriate apparel for her test that was supposed to be starting sometime in the next hour. She still didn't know what the test involved. No one seemed inclined to tell her either.

As it was, Haven was heading down the path back towards the castle so she could go up to her room and change. Most likely she'd pick out some sort of thick leggings and tunic, something versatile and simple so she'd be able to move and be comfortable no matter what tonight held.

Just as she made it to the castle doors, large hands grabbed Haven from behind, immediately covering her mouth so she couldn't scream for help.

Haven kicked out as she was lifted off the ground, struggling and trying to get away from her captor. The tight dress she was wearing didn't exactly make it easy. The closest festival booth seemed an entire football field away. Surely if she could just get her kidnappers hand away from her mouth she could scream and someone would hear her .

An entire festival full of fae and no one seemed to notice Haven being dragged across the castle grounds towards the forest.

She managed to elbow into the person holding her. She heard a grunt just before something blunt came down against her temple and everything went black.