“I notice you didn’t deny the psycho part.”
He shrugged. “‘Psycho’ is in the eye of the beholder. And truth be told, there’s very little we haven’t done in our long lives, and not everyone is going to understand the way our power or minds work. So… yeah, there’s truth in what you’ve said.”
“No argument from me,” I said, forcing myself to keep a straight face.
I looked around again, ignoring his smirk. I couldn’t offend this guy, that was clear, so I stopped bothering and instead gestured to the land of Faerie. “Are you going to show me around?”
Len’s smile faded a touch. “You should stay here in the immortal gardens. This world is not kind to those who carry human weaknesses. It’s best that we don’t tempt the land of fae.”
I blinked at him. “Okay then. Weirdest warning I think I’ve ever received, but I’ll heed it, don’t worry.”
Len led me back to the platform I had woken on, and now that I wasn’t focused on the flowers, I saw it was a large slab of rock with a thick, soft cloak draped over it. That was where his silver cloak had gone—I hadn’t noticed until now.
“Sorry I hit you,” I said softly, staring at the evidence of him not being a complete asshole.
Len just nudged my shoulder. “I deserved it. I forgot about consent—fae aren’t the best with acknowledging consent, especially royals, but most of our females are submissive in a way humans and shifters are not, so it’s not usually an issue. Personally… I prefer the fire.”
Our eyes caught and while there was no real spark between us, I appreciated his confession. In truth, this was exactly what I’d been hoping to find in the library so I could win the bet. A connection with someone I found attractive. Len ticked all the boxes in that regard, but… I needed the spark. It didn’t have to be the raging forest fire that Shadow created, but at least a small flicker.
Dammit. I was broken, and it certainly looked like I was not going to win the bet now.
Wouldn’t put it past Shadow to have orchestrated this entire event to ensure I’d be stuck in Faerie for the rest of the days of the bet.
48
The rest of my afternoon—itwasafternoon, right?—was spent in Len’s garden. Turned out this was his private land, cultivated over the past thousand years, and no one was allowed to enter without his permission. The plants would literally eat them if they did.
Two sentinels sat at his front entrance. Massive flowers with a huge opening in the center, their pistils basically a full row of razor-sharp teeth. They reminded me of jacked-up, ogre versions of the Venus Fly Trap, and apparently, if they snatched you up into their huge mouths, you were done for. Not even Len could release you before they’d crush your body.
“But they won’t eat me now?” I asked again for the tenth time when we wandered a little close for my comfort.
“You’ll be fine with me.”
Len’s smile was relaxed, and I would normally take that as a good sign, but I was coming to learn that he didn’t stress about much. A being who was basically immortal, had lived a thousand plus years of life, and was a powerful prince, didn’t worry about killer plants.
Unlike me, who did not want to die via plant mouth. As a virgin, to boot. Like… fuck no.
When I was done with the botanical garden adventure, I stopped walking, and Len looked back with raised eyebrows. “Can I eat food here?” I asked, hungry and irritated that I was being forced into another prison courtesy of Shadow. Whether it was to keep me safe or not, I was a grown-ass shifter and should be consulted before some caveman-fuckerdragged me off by my hair.
The least they could do was feed me.
“I’m curious to see how our food affects you,” he finally said, silvery eyes examining my face, like he was searching for a flaw. “But let’s not risk it. I’ll venture back to the library and procure some sustenance.”
Do not roll your eyes at the overly dramatic fae prince. He has plant sentinels.
“I would appreciate that, kind sir.” I half-bowed with a chuckle.
He didn’t laugh as I expected. Instead, his face serious, he stepped toward me and dropped his head down to press a brief kiss to my cheek. When he pulled away, I blinked at how stunning he truly was. The silver shimmer of his magic, the perfect planes of his face, and the charm he exuded with little to no effort made him quite devastating on hormone-riddled females.
“Stay safe, gorgeous,” he said softly. “Don’t touch the plants.”
He moved like one of his leaves, drifting along a brisk wind. In a single graceful leap, he left, and I was alone in this garden of… well, Eden. Killer plants and all.
Tiptoeing my way back to the stone bench that I was almost certain wouldn’t devour me, I decided to wait there to save myself from accidentally being murdered via plant. It was softer than I remembered, and as I stretched out, leaning back on my arms, I closed my eyes and let the warmth of this world embrace me. It was the perfect temperature, not humid or too hot, but like a spring day. As nice as it was, though, there was this undercurrent of magic in the air, and that told me that this climate—just like the plants—wasn’t quite real.
Was all of Faerie like that? A world so infused with magic that the natural aspect was lost to whatever the fae wanted to create? And did it really matter? Humans tried to control their world with technology, most of which didn’t work out too positively, if their general unhappiness was any indication. Maybe the magic in Faerie was more successful with its end results.
The calm of the air had me closing my eyes and stretching out across the platform. I shouldn’t have been tired, but the urge to nap overcame me, and even though it was probably a ploy of this garden so it could consume me, I decided to give in to the temptation and let the haziness wash through me.
