“Thank you, Queen Vervain.” Rory sighed. “My kingdom is facing troubling times as it is.”
“Yes, we wouldn't want a Dragon-Sidhe running amok through it, would we?” I smirked.
“No, indeed not.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I walked out with King Rory and Rivella, seeing them off in their carriage. The Earth King warned the Trolls on door duty that I'd be returning after my walk and to let me back in. I was an honored guest. They grunted and went back inside. I wasn't worried. They had let Arach and me in the night before without so much as a nod.
After I watched the King and Cinderella leave, I strolled down the path to the main road that entered the Earth Kingdom. A glance up toward the Road of Neutrality that circled the Forgetful Forest gave me a view of the ancient guardian trees I'd bypassed in the air. Seeing them made me wonder how Rivella had gotten past them. Perhaps the previous King had warned the trees to expect a Fire-Sidhe visitor. It wouldn't surprise me.
I was distracted by thoughts of trees and my Fey husband as I walked down the dirt road, so I didn't notice that I was being followed. Not at first. Slowly the sound of little feet and rustling penetrated my mind. I looked around and saw a pair of eyes peering at me through fern fronds. At first, I thought it might be a Pixie, but they were a little too large to be Pixie eyes. I went toward them and something yipped, then there was a great rustling.
“Hey!” I crashed through the giant ferns and spotted the spy—a Ballybog.
The Ballybog was covered in mud even though there wasn't any mud in sight. But that was kind of their thing. In its rush to flee, it stumbled, fell, and bounced, mud flaking off its round body to spray through the air as it went. After it came to a stop, the Ballybog turned to look back at me. It had no neck, so it had to move its whole body to see me. It grunted when it saw me give chase—Ballybogs don't speak—and then scurried through the undergrowth on teeny tiny legs, legs that shouldn't have been able to support its rotund body.
“Who are you spying for?” I growled and dove for it.
I fell into a bush. The Ballybog growled at me and rolled away.
“Ugh!” I floundered to my feet and my dragon snarled.
The hunt was on.
The Ballybog ran faster than should have been possible, especially on those legs. But then again, it rolled for bits too. I thrashed through the forest, ducking beneath branches, my dragon quickly taking over to lead my legs more gracefully. Sniffing the air, I locked on the Ballybog's scent, then caught whiffs of more just like it. I wasn't surprised. They rarely traveled alone.
“Come back here,” I said because that's what you say when you're chasing someone.
Stupid really. As if it were going to suddenly stop and say, “Okay. Here I am.”
Something tripped me, and I fell forward, over some giant ferns that had been hiding a hill. Crying out, I tumbled down the incline, hitting shrubs and rocks along the way and making sounds I would have found hilarious if I hadn't been the one making them. When I finally came to a stop, I stared up at the sky in disbelief. Outsmarted by a Ballybog. Oh, the humiliation.
But then things got worse. So much worse.
A hand grabbed my arm and smacked a shackle around my wrist. Before I could fight, the magic drained out of me, even my strength. My dragon roared as she was shoved back into my trinity star, and then the star winked out. I gasped and sat up to stare into a pair of large green eyes. The man's face shone like that glass skin everyone raves about. He was practically poreless, his complexion a deep brown, almost black. Coarse black hair flowed down his back—a horse's mane.
“A Kelpie!” I hissed.
As I've mentioned before, I tried to not be biased about any race, but I had a very bad experience with a Kelpie, and I had an uncontrollable reaction every time I saw one of them. Did that make me a racist? I don't know, but this Kelpie had just suppressed my magic, so he wasn't doing anything to improve my opinion of his race. As I cringed, he slapped another manacle over my other wrist.
Brain finally working, I jumped to my feet and tried to run for it. The Kelpie barreled into me from behind, taking me down into the grass. As he pinned me with his body, he shoved a gag into my mouth and secured it. Meanwhile, the gang of Ballybogs rolled down the hill and bounced to their feet. They growled and hissed at me as the Kelpie hefted me up and swung me over his shoulder.
I kicked and pounded on the Kelpie's back, but he just held my legs tighter and plowed through the forest. Eew, his skin was moist. And yes, I used the M-word on purpose.
The Ballybogs trailed after us, grinning at me maliciously. When I got my magic back, I was going to roast the little fluffernutters just like Cinderella had roasted the Rat Boys.
On and on, the Kelpie walked, navigating the forest pretty damn well for a Water Fey. The air started to grow thicker, water invading it. The forest became a jungle. Tropical flowers replaced wild roses and the shafts of vines were wider, more rubbery. I lifted my head and craned my neck to see where he was taking me. All I saw was green. Sons of witches! I had just been thinking about how I used to get abducted a lot. It had been years since this had happened to me. I was too strong for this crap now. But he'd gotten the drop on me, and now, I was as helpless as a human. First, Arach. And now, this Kelpie. I was too distracted here in the distant past.
Finally, we reached the mountain that served as both border and bowl to the Kingdom of Water. The Kelpie ducked beneath massive, waxy leaves and into a hidden cave.
Oh, sarsaparilla! Was he taking me into Water? Was I about to be drowned by a second Kelpie? It wouldn't have been as much of a coincidence as you might think. Kelpies love drowning people. It's their hobby. But this one didn't try that trick. He went several feet into the cave and dumped me on something soft.
I got my bearings.
The Kelpie had quite the setup in the cave. There were fey lanterns, a sleeping pallet, a satchel against the wall, and whatever I was sitting on. I glanced down. Seaweed. Great. At the back of the cave was a pool. Fresh water from the smell of it. Which made the pile of seaweed odd. So this wasn't a tunnel into the Water Kingdom, just his hideout.
I stared at the Kelpie. He stared back as he settled on the floor before me. He wore a thin tunic that nearly matched his skin, shiny black pants, and boots made for the ocean. He shoved his thick hair over a shoulder and sighed.
