Mauro the stag rose to his feet. He must have been resting just outside the cave.
My eyes narrowed. “Were you standing guard?” As if I were some sort of prisoner.
Mauro huffed. “We couldn’t have you running away in the dead of night, now, could we?”
I rolled my eyes. “If I came all the way to Knockspur to find the princess, what makes you think I would just flee when she’s still here?” I paused. “Sheisstill here, isn’t she?” I hated how vulnerable my voice sounded and wished I could take the words back.
Mauro snorted as if laughing at me. “Of course she’s here. She’s just down the slope with the pixies.”
My mouth fell open. Eira was with the pixies? And Mauro was perfectly fine leaving her there with them? Nyra might have bargained to refrain from harming the princess, but pixies were tricksters. There were plenty of ways they could get around that.
Without another word, I descended the slope, pausing frequently to steady myself along the slippery ice. Faint music resonated from downhill, no doubt from the pixies’ revelry. When I rounded the corner, I stopped.
A vibrant, jaunty tune was playing from some instruments I couldn’t see, and the entire crowd of pixies was dancing around the colorful fire still blazing in the center of the plateau.
It didn’t take me long to spot the princess. She stood almost a foot shorter than the pixies, and her pale skin was like a translucent beacon amidst the colorful shades of the pixies’ flesh. She was near the fire, her body twisting and turning in rhythm to the music. Her arms lifted above her head, her wavy black hair tossed about with her movements. She had washed and changed out of her blood-stained clothes. Now she wore a light blue tunic with a leather corset cinched around the middle, her sleeves flowing and free.Leather riding pants hugged her legs, accentuating her curves. Especially when she danced.
A wide smile lit her features, making her almost unrecognizable. I’d seen her smile, of course, but not likethis. Not this expression of freedom and release, without a care in the world. The grins I’d elicited from her had been calculated and taunting, like a mask she wore to protect herself.
Butthiswas the true Eira. The persona she didn’t want me to see.
I stood there, momentarily caught off guard. I begrudgingly had to admit that this infuriating princess had surprised me. Not just in outwitting me, but in facing the Demon Fae head-on and risking her life in a bargain to save mine.
She was nothing like what I’d imagined. When Calista had described her wayward stepdaughter, I’d expected a spoiled, belligerent princess intent on dividing the court and wreaking havoc. But here she stood, dancing among the pixies as if they were her dearest friends. Somehow, despite marching into a tribe that would see her as an enemy, she had turned them into allies.
And damn, she looked beautiful.
“Like what you see, hunter?” drawled a voice.
I sighed and turned to find Frisk grinning slyly at me. Beside him, Kendra was gobbling up a handful of berries and paying us no attention.
My face flushed. “Why are you still here?” I asked the fox.
“I’ll never leave Snow’s side,” he said, lifting his chin in determination.
“I mean why are you and theprincessstill here? Why haven’t you left yet?”
“She has a bargain to fulfill.” Frisk’s whiskers twitched. “Much as I hate that she is tethered to you, of all people, Snow never goes back on her word.”
“If she’s fae, it’s because she has no choice,” I muttered.
“You know it’s more than that,” Frisk snapped. “She didn’t have to make a bargain to rescue your sorry ass, you know. That’s twice now she’s saved your life.”
“Twice?” I laughed.
“Yes, twice. She killed the Demon Fae, didn’t she?”
The smile slipped from my face, leaving a scowl in its place. I hated that Frisk was right. To be fair, she wouldn’t have been able to kill the creature without my help. But saying that now would only sound childish.
“We’ll need to get moving if we’re to make it down the mountains before the next blizzard hits,” I said.
Frisk chittered. “Good luck tellingherthat.” He jerked his head toward Eira.
My brows knitted together in confusion. What was that supposed to mean? Shaking my head, I turned and made my way toward the crowd of pixies. A few parted to let me pass, but most of them were unperturbed by my presence. One tall, pink pixie even drew close enough to grind against my backside, her giggles echoing in my ears. It took all of my restraint not to bury my dagger in her thigh. I figured such an action wouldn’t be well received.
I reached the princess just as she twirled into my arms. Instinctively, I caught her against my chest, and she laughed loudly, raising her face to meet mine. I waited for her expression to fall when she met my gaze, but instead, her eyes brightened, and she leaned into me. “Hunter! You’re alive!” Her hips swayed, and she draped her arms over my shoulders, urging me to move with her.
I stared at her as if she’d grown three heads. What the hell was she doing? “Are you drunk?”
