Who dares enter my grove?
…Is it… Did it just say something?
I am not anit, and yes. Now answer my question.
I moved to my knees, holding my hands out, attempting to appear as docile as possible. The unicorn took another step forward. Lowering its head, it snuffed, and smoke left its nostrils.
That can't be a good sign.
Gideon and Liora both said to be myself.
Rising slowly, I kept my hands out, palms up, showing that I was nothing to be afraid of.
“My name is Deirdre. The fae king has brought me here for a trial to be queen.”
You mean to be Queen of the Fae. Show me your worth, human.
The majestic beast pawed the ground and then charged forward.
Terror racing through me, I did the only thing I could and reached out to the grove and commanded it to protect me.
A blast of magic shot out of my hands, sending me flying on my back. Massive brambles rose out of the ground, creating a wall between me and the unicorn. The bloodred roses were the same color as the beast’s angry eyes.
Fire blasted through the barricade, obliterating the wooden structure. The magical creature stepped through, smoke wafting out of its nostrils. It swung its head back and forth, incinerating every bramble in sight.
With a yell, I called the trees forward, begging them to come to my aid. Roots shot up into the sky, followed by an absurd amount of rosebushes I hadn’t summoned. Tingles spread through my body, the magic in this area reacting to me instead of following my commands.
Thorns weaved around the ground, the roses rising to my defense.
The unicorn brayed.
How could a creature so majestic be so terrifying?
All Father, save me…
Crawling backward, I searched the surrounding area, panicking that this was the end… but I held on to Crispin’s words:I’ll show you how.
The unicorn swung its head back and forth, stomping on the roses and leaping over the roots attempting to slow its gait.
A maze of bushes surrounded me and when I held out my hand to move their destination, they enclosed around me instead, leaving an opening for the unicorn to come.
Closing my eyes, I pictured Crispin’s face, his smile, how every time I was sad, he picked me daisies. A symbol of purity and new beginnings.
Digging my hands into the earth, I envisioned us together amid a field of daisies, their floral scent so vivid I could smell them now. Holding on to that image, I summoned all the strength I had and said out loud: “I am the child of prophecy, and I will not die so easily.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kane
A few hours had passed,and there was no sign of the human. If she hadn't returned by now, then it was apparent she wouldn't return at all. Tradition or not, I would be remembered as the king who let the child of prophecy die.
But that was our way, and even if I truly believed and wanted to marry my little thorn, nothing would continue if she failed this test.
“Go in,” Anna urged. She stood on the grass in front of me, hands on her hips, frustration clear in her pointed brows.
“No one is allowed in,” I reminded her.
“There is actually no rule in retrieving a body,” Gideon said as he lounged on the grass next to us, playing with the petals of a flower.
