He scratched the stubble along his jaw that had begun to grow. “A few days, at most. Our magic isn’t as sophisticated as your human GPS, but your power level is unique. It won’t take my father long to discover where we are.”
Not for the first time, Lex realized how much danger she was putting them in. “First of all, I’m not human. Second, when have you used GPS?”
Garrin picked up a round stone and weighed it in his hand. “The Earth realm has many useful tools. I used everything at my disposal to find you.”
“Aren’t you worried your dad will find us before we can leave?”
“We have no choice but to wait until Camille has rested. Chances are that between her and Amund, and their ability to detect magic, we’ll be long gone before anyone finds us.”
Lex’s shoulders loosened. “That’s good. What should we do in the meantime?”
Garrin gathered more rocks and set them in a large circle at the center of the cave. “We plot our escape. Nothing can be done to save my people in our present state. We must leave the Land of Ice and my father, and beg assistance from another kingdom. There are others like Amund and Camille, with the ability to create portals, but not many. And none as powerful as what my people need to escape Dark Kingdom.”
He set another stone in the circle and looked at his work. “Thousands live in Dark Kingdom. I’m afraid of what my father would do if we left anyone behind. We need a way to get everyone out at once. And right now, I know of no way.” Garrin frowned.
She hadn’t missed that he’d said “our escape.” Lex placed her hand on his arm. “We will find a way, but are you sure everyone will come?”
“Most wish to move freely between our land and the other kingdoms. And Earth. There are those who wish to venture off this realm.”
“Is that a good idea?”
Garrin looked at her, his gaze sultry. “Certainly not.”
Lex swallowed. She might be Fae, but it was still new to her. As far as she was concerned, she was extremely vulnerable to this man’s magnetism. What sort of havoc would beautiful Fae let loose on Earth cause?
A hell of a lot. Halven—there would be a shitload of new Halven.
But then Lex thought of Elena and Derek, and Keen’s girlfriend, Reese. They were half Fae, and Lex felt inferior beside their confidence and capability. Maybe more Halven wasn’t such a bad thing.
Garrin glanced across the cave at Elena as though reading Lex’s mind. “It is useful that the Halven queen of New Kingdom and the Old Kingdom king are among us. I’m told they detected me and my men entering their lands on my way to find you, and Jasper asked for their assistance in getting you back. Presumably, they wished to know what Dark Fae were up to and if we were a threat. Which my father most certainly is.” He let out a long sigh. “Now I must convince their courts of a truce with Dark Kingdom. Elena is not popular among her people, and Keen is only newly crowned. A deal must be brokered before the kingdoms will allow Dark Fae into their lands.”
He looked at the circle he’d created as though insuring its symmetry, then back at her. “I don’t know how much you recall of our history, but brokering a deal with those who have traditionally been our enemy will not come easily. Dark Kingdom rulers were inhospitable even before we were locked away.” He dusted off his hands on his pants. “Perhaps someday I can return with an army and deal with my father. No matter what, Dark Fae must come first.”
That sounded an awful lot like he was going to shelter her from danger and put himself in it. This was her land too. Her kingdom. And she felt a profound urge to rid it of tyranny. “We can determine the specifics later,” she said, and his mouth turned down. “What did you learn about your father?”
“Enough to know he will do anything to get his hands on you.” Garrin stepped closer and towered over her. “I will never allow that, Lexandra.”
Truth be told, the Dark King’s influence over the land was scary. Garrin had indicated Fae kings and queens needed support from their followers, and yet Casone Branimir had manipulated his kingdom and pulled the wool over the eyes of most everyone.
“It’s not safe for you to fight your father. The soldiers and men in robes who took you are loyal to him.”
Garrin lifted an eyebrow. “I allowed them to take me because I wanted to draw attention away from you. And to discover who controlled them. For now, the soldiers are loyal to my father, but my father has betrayed them too, if everything your mother says is true. I would be no better than my father should I allow him to continue as he has.”
Zirel walked up and dragged a heavy hand down the top of his head. It had been a long day. “The camp is set up, my prince. We should rest for a few hours.”
Garrin moved toward the entrance and waved a hand over the ice and snow he’d sealed the cave off with earlier, thickening it and darkening the cave further.
“And that is why he is the Ice Prince,” Isle said forbiddingly.
Lex turned to see her mother standing across the circle of stones, staring at Garrin. She looked at Lex. “I sense the attachment, daughter, but never trust the Dark Prince. He is his father’s son.”
Garrin stood off to the side, speaking quietly with Zirel and strategically lighting small, suspended balls of blue fire around the cave. Keen and Reese walked up to one and raised their hands above it while continuing their conversation. Jas snarled at Garrin’s blue fireballs, but he moved closer to the heat too.
Lex turned toward Isle. “You’re wrong, Mom. Garrin is nothing like his father. He cares about his people.”
“Garrin has been his father’s mercenary since he was a boy. When the time comes, he will not turn on the Dark King.”
Lex’s memories of Dark Kingdom were as solid as swiss cheese. She remembered bits and pieces, but nothing concrete. Certainly nothing about Garrin and the royal court and his mercenary past. Even so, she didn’t believe what her mother said. And that felt wrong, continuing to disagree with a mother with whom she’d only just reconnected. So she walked away, not wanting to give in to her mom’s antagonism.
