Chapter 20
Confession of a princess:
There are many different Fae I wish to meet.
And many I do not.
But I have always wondered what a pixie looks like.
Now that I’ve seen one, all I want to do is dream about it.
One dark blue butterfly fluttered in front of us, less than ten feet away, while an entire rainbow swarm hovered high, high above.
The three of us froze in place.
And a sense of foreboding sank deep inside my gut.
The dark blue butterfly fluttered closer, and, when ittransformed, Mamue stood before us. The woodland sprite crossed her arms and ruthlessly gazed between the three of us, her attention landing on my father behind me. She stated simply, “You do not need to be here, King Traevon. You may leave.”
Father stepped forward to stand on the other side of me. He rocked back on his bare feet and shrugged casually. “I believe I will stay, Mamue. But thank you for the offer.”
“As you wish.” Mamue’s antlers tilted back as she raised her chin to stare up at my soul mate. “King Athon, our oracle has placed one of our stolen baubles on your person. What say you?”
His black solid eyes didn’t look away from her. “I do not have your bauble.” The King of Shifters opened his bare arms wide. “You are more than welcome to search me and my satchel, if it would please you. As you can see, there wouldn’t be much clothing to remove in the process.”
Mamue simply turned her overlarge eyes to me. “Princess Trixie, our oracle has placed one of our stolen baubles on your person. What say you?”
My nostrils flared at her wording. It was exactly the same phrase she had used with my soul mate. That did not bode well. I cleared my throat and stated clearly, “I do not have your bauble. You may search my bag and my clothing if you wish.”
Mamue’s lips curled up at the edges. “Currently, that will be unnecessary.” Her eyes flicked back to my soul mate. “For either of you. This is merely a formality.”
King Athon stiffened. He cocked his head slightly, asking, “I would appreciate it if you would explain exactly what is happening here, Mamue.”
The woodland sprite nodded once. “This is where I tell you that you’re both being taken to Fairy. To the Ancient Archive where your fate will be decided—because the oracle is never wrong. There will be no other explanations given.”
Jolting with shock and dismay, I swallowed hard and declared forcefully, “We cannot go to Fairy. We are needed here for the safety of our realm.”
“That is unimportant to my mission. Any argument you give does not hold up to my pact with the Ancient Archive.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between my soul mate and me. “Are you going to go willingly?”
“Like fuck we are,” King Athon snarled. “We do not have your baubles to give to you, and, as Princess Trixie stated, we are needed here in our realm. It is a matter of import that we stay here.”
Mamue nodded. “From what we understand about the two of you, that is what I thought you would say.” She twirled a pointed finger into the air and two of the tiniest flying Fae abruptly appeared in front of ours faces. “I wish you sweet dreams.”
An aqua blue, sparkling dust smacked me in the face.
My eyes rolled back and my knees hit the ground, before I slumped to the floor right next to where my soul mate lay prone. I held his stunned gaze for a moment, before my eyes closed and there was nothing else but sweet sleep.
