The carriage sways as a new figure enters. I meet Aspen’s eyes before they shoot toward Prince Franco and the only empty seat at his side. “Why are you here?”
The prince gives Aspen a charming grin. “King Aspen, what a pleasurable journey this will be. Cramped, but pleasurable.”
With a grumble, Aspen lowers himself into the seat, his antlers snagging the white silk roof above him. I look from one male to the other, noticing for the first time how much taller Aspen towers over the prince, and that’s not including the extra height his antlers provide. Franco doesn’t seem intimidated in the least, his eyes resting on me.
I feel Aspen’s burning into me as well and avert my gaze to the window.
The carriage lurches and rolls into motion.
“King Aspen,” Franco says, “I was just telling Miss Fairfield how grateful I am for her healing gifts. She has the gentlest yet most powerful hands.”
Aspen lets out an irritated grunt while Foxglove erupts with another giggle.
I shake my head at the window and grit my teeth. This is going to be a very long ride.
27
The capital city of Grenneith is unlike any place I’ve been before. I watch out the carriage window as we roll over the cobblestone streets. Even though it’s barely past daybreak, the streets are already busy with commotion. Towering factories clutter the skyline behind endless rows of merchant shops, townhouses, and elegant city manors. I gasp as I watch an automotive vehicle roar across the cobblestones like some mechanical beast. Such contraptions are far more common on the mainland, but even there they are considered a rare luxury.
Once the vehicle is out of sight, I study the people, their fine dresses and stylish suits, the way they carry themselves almost like royalty. My stomach takes a dive as I realize how out of place I feel. And it’s more than just the fae carriage drawn by skeletal moon mares that makes me feel that way.
Luckily, no one seems to notice our passing as we make our way down the bustling streets.
“Are we beneath a glamour?” My voice cuts through the silence that’s fallen since we entered the city. The mood has gone from tense to frightened.
“We are,” Franco says, brow furrowed as he stares out the window. After a while he meets my gaze, his face pale and tinged with green. “I’ve never been in a human city before. There’s a lot of iron.”
“Not even I have been in such a place as this,” Foxglove says, covering his nose with his hand. “I think I might faint.”
“We’re only here until tomorrow,” Aspen says, stoic as ever. He doesn’t so much as glance out the window, as if our surroundings are far beneath his care. “We’ll manage.”
Our eyes lock, and his expression softens, but we don’t exchange a word. We’ve hardly spoken to each other at all during the entire journey. With so much left unsaid after our last conversation, it’s hard to believe any words could suffice.
I move away from the window and settle back into my seat. The deeper we move into the city, the faster and faster my heart races. “What’s the plan now that we’re here?”
“We’ll need to find somewhere to stay the night,” Foxglove says. “Beneath a glamour, of course. Then I’ll act as your ambassador and go to the Spire to sort out all the details for your mother’s trial. All communication I’ve exchanged so far has assured me trials at the Spire begin at noon. However, if there are any others scheduled for tomorrow, your mother’s may not be the first.”
I inhale deeply to steady my nerves. “Will I be able to see my mother beforehand? I want to speak with her before the trial.”
“It isn’t safe to go anywhere near the Spire before the trial,” Aspen says. “If anyone sees you, there’s a good chance they’ll lock you up.”
“I’ll take you,” Franco says. “A raven can infiltrate many places. I should be able to orchestrate a visit with your mother without a hitch.”
“You don’t know that,” Aspen says with a growl. “It could be more danger than it’s worth.”
“I think it’s worth anything if it’s the last time she sees her mother before the trial,” Franco argues.
I look from Aspen to Franco, wishing they’d stop opposing each other at every opportunity. “I’ll do what it takes,” I say. “Even if I get caught and thrown into prison with her, I don’t care. I want to see her tonight.”
Franco leans forward and places a hand on my knee. “I’ll make it happen.”
Aspen clenches his jaw, eyes burning into Franco’s hand until the prince pulls it back to his lap. “We’ll all make it happen,” Aspen says through his teeth, “if you’re so keen to squander your last night of freedom.”
My last night of freedom.Considering the chances of my plan’s success are slim to none, he very well might be right.
* * *
We finda decent hotel on the outskirts of the city, far enough away from the bulk of the crowds yet not too far from the Spire. Foxglove covers me with a mild glamour to help me blend in better with the other humans—I’m assuming that means he’s made my clothing look a little less fae—and my three male companions don their own. I, of course, can’t see the effects of their glamours, but the looks we receive as we enter the hotel are ones of curiosity, not terror.
