“Ah, we have fae like that.” Prince Halad arched an eyebrow. “Personally, I find them to be quite frustrating. It’s such poor form to be good ateverything.”
“Yeah, none of us understand how that feels being around you, Halad,” a cousin teased. He was built like a linebacker, with black hair and vibrant blue eyes that rivaled Alex’s. “I’m Lyon, by the way. My cousin has manners, but he sometimes forgets to use them.”
“Good to meet you. What are your names?” I nodded to the other two.
“Grahn.” The brunet with a crater-like dimple in his chin nodded at me.
“Flynn,” the last one with long, flowing white tresses said. Unlike his cousins, he didn’t have wings, but shared the pointed ears of the others, and towered over the rest. Probably an elf, then.
“Flynn’s the baby of the group,” Halad said. “Though you can’t tell by looking at him.”
The guys bantered, occasionally asking me questions until I broke off to ride solo for a bit.
Everyone fell into their own rhythm as we traveled across the countryside for hours, stopping only for food and water for the horses. By the time the sun began its descent, the prince had already diverted toward a place to camp.
When we found it, I leaned forward and patted Silverhoof’s neck. “You did good today, girl.”I dismounted, and my legs wobbled precariously.That’s not going to be good tomorrow.
A squeal hit my ear, and I whipped around to find Eva had also gotten off of her horse, and fallen to the ground. Hunter assisted her in standing, and gave her a hand as she hobbled to the edge of the clearing.The poor thing would be in a world of hurt tomorrow.
Andre, Sam, and Francis were already pulling the tents from their mounts and tossing them on the grass.
“This semi-circle clearing looks like a good place to set up tents.” Sam pointed to the indent in the thicket of trees we’d stopped by. “There’s a little cover, but it’s also open enough that we’ll be able to see someone approaching.”
The prince nodded. “We’re a fair distance away from the border, but we should still rotate a watch throughout the night. Just in case.”
“Vampires don’t need as much sleep as other magicals do,” Francis piped up. “Plus, my vision is far superior, so I’ll take the whole night.”
I smirked at his pride. My eyelids were already drooping, so as long as I got some sleep, he could keep hissuperior vision.
We took care of the horses, erected the tents, and made a fire. Dinner was simple, a few sandwiches, fruits, and a strange vegetable that reminded me of carrots, but with the spice of a weak pepper. I gobbled it all down and crawled into a tent.
I was lying on the mat inside the tent Alex, Hunter, and Eva and I shared, when Eva let out another squeal.
I shot up. “What is it?”
Before erecting the tent, we’d checked the area for anything strange. Leprechaun holes, or pooka dens. Most fae lived within the kingdom’s town and cities, although there were still wild creatures that preferred to live in the old ways. We’d tried to be considerate and not encroach on their space.
“Dunno,” Eva said, her brows furrowing as she palmed the ground under the tent. “What the hell? It feels like I’m lying on a tiny cooking pot.”
“It’s probably just a rock, sugar.” Hunter rubbed her shoulders. “No one’s about to disassemble this tent to find a strange little pebble. Do you want me to push it out of the way?”
I groaned at the idea. “Yeah, shove it to the side.” I laid my head down, intent on ignoring my friend’s grumbling as she shifted the rock out from underneath her.
In the next few moments, silence blanketed our tent and, eventually, the camp. My eyelids fluttered closed, and my body grew heavy as a haze of sleep dragged me under.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
“Aaaaaaagh! Something freaking bit me!”
I scrambled up and nearly bonked heads with Hunter in the pitch-black tent.
“What’s going on?” Eva mumbled. She rustled under her blankets. “Guys,” her tone became frantic. “I can’t move my legs! They hurt! Help! I think I’m paralyzed!”
I rolled my eyes. “Dude, if you feel pain, you’re fine. You’re just sore. Stay there, I’ll check out what the commotion is about.”
I barreled out of our tent, Alex and Hunter following close behind.
“Do you guys see any—oh what in the world!”
