Unable to move my head, I just lifted my emerald eyes and glared at the bottom of her strong jaw. “I’m not asking. You are going to do this. You can’t stay with me here. I’m incognito, and a big ass pegasus is going to scream ‘A royal is here!’ Understand?”
Gradually, she lifted her head from on top of mine.
I turned and placed both hands on the sides of her face, bringing her down to my level. I kissed my stubborn Fae-gift’s nose and whispered, “Be back here tomorrow night. Right here. Okay?”
Penelope nodded gently.
“Thank you.” I kissed her nose once more and then released her and stepped back. “Fly fast. And don’t get caught.”
My Fae-gift sent one last glance in my direction. Her blood-red hooves beat the ground as she raced through the trees. Her glorious red and black wings spread out far, whapping at the air until she flew off into the darkness, skimming through the trees and up into the sky.
I swallowed hard and turned to face Mount Hawthorne.
I was alone in the Shifter Kingdom. Of my own accord.
I’d surely lost my bloody mind.
I yanked a black, ragged cloak out of my traveling bag. I shoved the hood up over my hair, the intricate, small braids how the elf merchants wear their hair—pointed ears showing—and then situated it over my arms for warmth. The traders’ sleep stations would be on the outer ridges of the capital, so I needed to search for my people there and join their group for the night. I had a long walk ahead of me, the street that led to the city at least an hour’s stroll through the forest from where I was. An hour in this dark forest…
I decided to run.
My sandals stomped over twigs and rabbits’ homes—and fallen trees every so often. Snakes watched me from their coiled posts below mounds of leaves. A skunk lifted its tail, but, luckily, didn’t spray me. Raccoons hissed as I raced by. A wolf lifted its head and snarled, flashing its teeth, before laying its head back down on its paws and closing its eyes to sleep.
Any one of those creatures could have been a shifter. I was well aware of that fact, so I kept my feet moving and eyes watchful, ready to protect myself at any time. I would only use my royal firepower as a last resort here. My daggers were my option to keep my identity hidden in the Shifter Kingdom.
Out of breath a half-hour later, I stumbled to a stop.
My feet, now dirty as Fairy, were finally on the cobblestone street to Mount Hawthorne. I placed my hands on my knees and gulped oxygen into my tired lungs. I tipped my head to stare up at the shifter capital, still so far away—and far,farhigher than I currently was. I could do this. I could.
I shoved up, straightening to my full almost five feet of height, and put one foot in front of the other. My heart beat heavily inside my chest, never so scared in my entire life. I kept clenching my hands at my sides and darting my eyes back and forth at every sound…even when there were no sounds. That was all the more worrisome, the silence—a time for predators.
But I was going to do this.
I swallowed and jumped in place when a lion cub raced out from the forest onto the road. It was a tiny thing still, but he growled at me. Where the little ones are, the big ones are sure to follow.
I quickened my pace, hurrying past it, and muttered to myself, “That was definitely a shifter.”
A deeper growl—not the lion cub—growled in the forest.
Sounded like the mother to me…
I almost pissed myself.
It is official. Ihavelost my bloody mind being here.
Fuck walking. Running sounded excellent. Correctly so.
I raced up the steep incline, my sandals loud on the cobblestones. I didn’t give a Fae damn about that. I just wanted to be with my people as fast as possible—even if I had a stitch in my side and every muscle in my body was on horrendous fire the longer I ran.
My Fae-spark started to burn, too, though.
I came to an abrupt halt. My hand flew to my heaving chest.
My brows furrowed. Then I realized what it was.
King Athon was pissed the Fae fuck off…
And he was healing me.
