“All is well,” my brother assured me with baseless confidence.
Soldiers left their horses and advanced on us, backing the three of us deeper into the meadow toward the edge of the plunging waterfall.
“It’s pretty damned far from being well,” I said.
This is a disaster. Stellon, don’t you see?I asked him mind-to-mind.I should have put Sorcha to death as soon as she confessed her plot. I foolishly thought it could wait until I returned, but she was already gone. Now I guess I know where she was—with our father, hunting Raewyn. Andyouhelped them.
He shook his head, his expression adamant.
I helpedmyselfto find her—so I can marry her, as Father has promised me.
I had never considered my brother a stupid man. He was certainly far beyond me where book-smarts were concerned. But if he thought the King was going to allow his firstborn to marry a half-human woman and make her a Fae princess, he really was a fool.
Maybe the love spell had been real, and it was affecting his judgment.
“What do you want to bet Sorcha’sdealwith Father included casting a spell that let him lie to you mind-to-mind?” I asked him under my breath as the soldiers drew closer.
“You’re wrong,” Stellon said, but his expression changed. He looked scared now.
He should have been.
“He always gets what he wants,” I reminded him. “No matter what it takes. You know that as well as I do.”
My mind went into crisis mode, searching for a way out of this, presenting potential solutions rapid-fire.
It was broad daylight—so my shadow glamour wouldn’t help us. My enhanced battle skills wouldn’t be enough against this many opponents.
Our horses were too far away. There would be no leaving this meadow on foot—we were surrounded and far outnumbered.
Glancing back over my shoulder at the rushing water, I considered grabbing Raewyn and diving over the falls.
Immediately I dismissed that option. It was a long drop. Her fragile half-human body might not withstand the inevitable injuries. And there would be no Elven healer waiting on the other end to make repairs.
Solfrid might have fled the village by now for all I knew. Or, like the rest of the villagers and, gods willing, Raewyn’s family, she was cowering behind the door of her cottage right now.
If any of the townsfolk dared to peek out a window, they’d see a scene they wanted no part in—the three of us at spear-point with the King of Avrandar urging his horse to trot toward us.
There was no escape.
Turning Raewyn to face me, I took her hands and looked into her frightened eyes.
“You’re going to be okay. I’ll figure it out. I promise.”
Stellon pushed his way between us, shooting me an icy look. “There’s nothing to figure out. I’ve told you.”
“Everything’s settled, Firebug. You’re safe,” he said to her, though as well as I knew him, I could detect the uncertainty in his tone.
Raewyn’s gaze bounced between Stellon’s and mine.
I’m going to protect you, no matter what it takes,I vowed mind to mind.Trust me. Iwillget you out of this—somehow.
I didn’t know whether she heard me or not. I was kicking myself for honoring Wyll’s request to keep her ignorant about her Elven heritage.
I should have told her and started working with her on developing whatever mental communication skills she might have been born with. We could have been practicing speaking silently.
“Oh now, what’s this?” the King said, and the soldiers encircling us split so he could bring his horse to a stop right in front of us.
His face was painted with disgust at finding his second-born son here with Raewyn, apparently as besotted with her as the Crown Prince was.
