She crossed her arms. “You expect your lovers to protect me? Have you lost your mind? Forget it.” She turned away. “I don’t know why I thought I could trust you. I’ll figure out my magic, with or without your help.”
* * *
Okay,so she’d been rude. Lex was a willing participant of those kisses. What had she been thinking? The man had two dozen girlfriends!
Garrin’s gaze softened. “Lex, I know this is different than what you are used to, but please do not attempt to conjure magic while I am gone. It is for the best. As soon as it is safe, I will let you know.” He sighed. “I must leave now. You said Em was kind to you. Shall I send for her?”
Lex waved her hand, not looking his way. “Whatever.” Most dangerous word in the female language, and Garrin seemed to know it.
He sighed. “Give me time. I will do what I can to make things right.”
He hesitated, but when she didn’t turn around, the sound of him leaving followed.
Tears burned her eyes, but she wouldn’t allow them to fall.
What was wrong with her? The man had given her a peck on the mouth and claimed it practice. She should leave it at that. But the kisses that had followed didn’t feel like pretend.
Lex paced the room, her long gown flowing behind her. She was in no position to become infatuated with Garrin Branimir, even if it was too late. At the very least, she couldn’t act on her feelings.
A rustling came from outside, and then Em slipped into the room. “His Highness sent me.”
And that was how Lex came to be stuck with Garrin’s harem for the night. Fortunately, she only had to spend time with Em, who slept in the room with her.
“Do you have magical abilities?” Lex asked Em as they readied for bed.
The young woman looked over from folding what appeared to be a flimsy nightgown and set it on Lex’s blanket. Did she expect Lex to wear that thing? “Yes, of course. We all have powers.” She looked quizzically at Lex. “Don’t you?”
“Oh.” Lex coughed. “I do, but I seem to have lost my ability to tap into it.”
“I suppose that can happen,” Em said, though her furrowed brow said she didn’t believe it. “I don’t know anyone from Sunland. Maybe things are different there? It’s most unfortunate, though.”
“So unfortunate,” Lex agreed. “Which is why I was hoping you could help me find it again.”
Her mother didn’t want her to practice magic, and neither did Garrin. Not until he’d assessed the danger. But without her magic, how was she to survive in a land like this?
For some reason, Lex trusted Em, who came across as guileless. And besides, what was one more Fae using magic inside the palace? Garrin had made sure her power level looked normal.
Em shook her head adamantly. “I’m no alchemist. They are most knowledgeable about magic, aside from the elders. You should speak to one of them.”
“I don’t know the alchemists or the elders. I only know you. Won’t you help me?” Lex opened her eyes wide, hoping she looked innocent.
“I suppose I could try,” Em said slowly.
Lex smiled. “Wonderful!”
A rap sounded at the door, and Em strode across the room and opened it. A servant carried in a tray of food. Or, at least, Lex assumed he was a servant. He didn’t dress fancy the way Garrin and his soldiers did. He wore simple clothes in shades of brown and ecru, with fine tailoring but none of the embroidery and details Garrin’s court clothes contained.
The man placed the tray on a small table off to the side and lifted a metal dome. The scent of roasted meat and spices filled the air.
Lex walked closer and saw a slice of meat and what appeared to be something made from allon leaves. The same darn leaves she had subsisted on for months.
She thought she’d never want another allon leaf in her life, but these were prepared with care and somehow more palatable-looking. The meat, though—she had no idea what that was. By the taste of it earlier, it wasn’t chicken. Not beef, either. Something in between, and wasn’t that a scary thought?
She was still starved even though she’d eaten her weight in food when they fed her hours ago.
Lex and Em sat cross-legged facing each other on queen-sized poster beds that took up half the room, with the tray of food on the table between them.
“How do you get your magic to come to you?” Lex took a bite of vegetables while waiting for Em to answer. The flavors burst on her tongue. A bit salty, with a chestnut aftertaste, but not bad.She took another mouthful.
