Chapter 6
Thoughts of a princess:
In my life, nothing is as it seems anymore.
Innocence is changing.
And I must do the same.
For anything stagnant is eventually lost.
Butterflies…
Butterflies of all colors danced on the breeze above my king’s castle’s front lawn. Purple. Pink. Orange. Green. Magenta. All shades and variations of the rainbow painted the twilight sky.
I sat on my knees in front of my mother’s legs, where she stood behind me, while we peeked out from the right side of a window on the second floor. The gorilla shifter stood on the left side of the glass pane doing the same. Our joint silence was absolute in order to hear what was said down on the lawn through the cracked-open window.
At least twenty Fae stood on the grass while the butterflies flew above their horned heads. The Fae had antlers like stags, and their skin was tinged chestnut brown. They looked wild in their dark brown leather garb, as if they belonged in the forest, their eyes too large and their arms as thick as a shifter’s.
The swords on their backs looked plenty sharp, too.
King Traevon and King Athon walked toward them, standing side by side, showing a united front—even if they didn’t believe it themselves. They wore their own swords strapped to their backs, the steel glinting from lights coming from the open front doors.
One Fae stepped away from their group and moved forward. She stopped in front of the two kings and appraised them with her overlarge eyes…not seemingly impressed with what she saw. Her antlers tilted back as she looked up into their faces, a good foot shorter than the men before her.
The Fae stated, “King Traevon. King Athon. I am Mamue, a protector of the Ancient Archive. We have been granted permission to be, and stay, in this realm, as two of our baubles have gone missing from the archive—and we believe they’re here.” She crossed her arms over her ample chest and demanded, “We require hospitality while the search carries on.”
King Traevon dipped his head to her regally. “However we may assist you, Mamue. All you need to do is ask, and it will be given.” He smiled pleasantly and looked behind her, scanning the rest of her brethren. “How may we help with the search for these missing baubles?”
She waved her hand flippantly. “There is no need for your assistance on that matter. An oracle and a punisher will be here shortly.”
King Athon lifted a black brow, asking, “But we are so happy to help. Mayhap, we know where these baubles have slithered off to. We do have a great many resources here.”
Mamue snorted. “All right. I’ll play along with this game. The two baubles in question that were stolen are a seed and a flower. Why is it, King Athon, that our findings so far have led us to the Elf and Shifter Kingdom? When Fae should not be crossing here? Particularly, with any ancient bauble.”
I sucked in a silent breath and stayed mute while worry etched into my very soul.Ruiuen fucking stole them?This was not…what I had ever planned for.
Not only was I living a death wish with my soul mate, apparently, but we were also outstanding thieves of the Fae, too—since they weren’t getting those ‘baubles’ back. Truly, how many times can the Fae kill someone?
I stared absently at the butterflies in horror.
Uh…no.
I stopped that thought right there.
I was not thinking about our future demise.
My imagination was too grand.
King Athon sighed heavily and hunched his shoulders as if he were honestly upset. “Unfortunately, I haven’t heard anything about a stolen seed or flower. And I most definitely don’t know why Fae would want to hide in this realm, much less our kingdoms. We are extremely vigilant.” His solid black eyes turned to the side. “King Traevon? What say you?”
The Elf King shook his head and placed his hands on his hips. “I have not heard anything, either. But I will ask one and all if that would help, Mamue?”
“No, that will not. We don’t want the thief to know we’re looking for them.” Her antlers tilted as her head cocked. “Have you seen any Fae recently wandering this realm?”
Both kings shook their heads, their mouths shut.
Mamue eyed them a second longer. “Where may we lodge that is capable of holding our numbers?” She snapped her fingers into the air.
