“I’m always in danger,” Barbie sighed. “You need to learn how to chill.”
Then she kissed him.
And I turned to kiss my sugar.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Sy
The other heirs spread out as planned, stationed in all four corners of the academy with their elite warriors, forming an impenetrable barrier to prevent any fae reinforcements from getting through while Rowan was retaking his House. The message was loud and clear: the rest of the heirs stood with the fae prince.
The House of Fae rose before us like a fairy dream, its pink-and-ruby walls gleaming in the afternoon sun. Earth magic seeped from every root and stone. The sweet scent of honeysuckle and jasmine made my head spin.
This magnificent structure could have been my home. Ithad beenRowan’s home for three years. Now he had been exiled by his father, we stood at its gates like invaders, prepared to spill blood on its ground.
“I never got to go inside,” Barbie mused. “Louis, then Silas, then Killian kept me busy. I was an overworked and underpaid boy-squire, then I was fending off kidnappers, bullies, and a cultthat fixated on me. And let’s not forget the constant dread of Ruin and the Shriekers.”
“What’s your point?” I cut in.
Barbie opened her mouth, then shut it, staring at me. She wasn’t used to me challenging her face-to-face. “We don’t have time for your laundry list—and from what I know, it’s endless. We need to focus. We’ll have company soon.”
“I just wonder if the House of Fae has better food,” she said defensively. “Doesn’t Rowan have a French chef? Anyway, it’s too quiet to be normal.”
The iron gates stood wide open. No guards. No resistance.
“Trap?” I looked at my prince and asked.
“Of course,” Rowan said, and walked through anyway.
We followed.
The moment our feet touched the courtyard stones, the trap sprang shut. Fae soldiers materialized from behind columns and within the hedges, some dropping silently from the high walls. Their traditional tunics were gone, replaced by leather armor etched with protective runes. A unified, humming chorus filled the air as their swords cleared their sheaths.
Captain Ashborn stepped out from behind the great oak. His scarred face was a mask of duty, but his knuckles were bone-white on his sword hilt. This was the man who had served the royal family for seventy years, who had taught the young prince how to hold a blade. Now, he stood ready to execute him.
“Rowan,” Ashborn barked. “By order of the king, you are to be executed for treason against the crown.”
“Captain Ashborn.” Rowan’s hands remained at his sides, deliberately unthreatening. “You taught me that a warrior’s first duty is to protect the realm. That is all I am doing.”
“Your blood is tainted and corrupted,” Ashborn snarled. “You’re not my prince!”
I snarled back, stepping forward. “Say another stupid word like that and you’ll be leading like a headless chicken. You’re only breathing because Prince Rowan spared you last time.”
“By His Majesty’s word, which is law,” Ashborn announced, ignoring me, “the imposter’s head will decorate the throne room by sunset.”
Barbie stood at my side, her hands planting on her hips. Had my sister grown taller and curvier since our separation?
“Promise. Promise,” she called out, a diabolical smile playing on her lips.
“Who are you?” the captain demanded.
“You aren’t worthy of learning Goddess Barbie’s name,” I said.
“I’m Sy’s twin,” she announced.
“You don’t look like her twin,” the captain sneered. “You aren’t fae. And there is no goddess.”
