“Naria?”
My chest tightened. I recognised the voice, but it wasn’t Lukas’s. This voice was soft, like a little bell. Turning around, a feminine figure stood before me. Long, slightly curled blonde hair and a pinched nose sat in the centre of her pale, delicate face. The long sea blue robe that covered her shoulders wasedged in purple ribbon, and with her familiar blue hood resting on her head, she looked no different to how she’d appeared when I saw her last in the forbidden library.
“Seraphina?” I breathed, relief flooding through me. “Oh, thank goodness! I’m looking for Lukas. Do you know where he is? Is he alright? Are you alright?” The desperate questions spilled out of my mouth faster than fifty galloping horses. “Sorry,” I blurted out, “I just… I need to know that he’s safe.”
Seraphina tilted her head. “The prince is fine.” Her tone was calm as ever, despite our strange situation. “I’m more confused as to why you’re here, and why the goblins are screaming that there’s a faery who’s terrorising the camp.” She narrowed her sharp eyes. “You didn’t tell me you could use magic.”
“Oh, I can’t,” I laughed, but for some reason, it came out as more of a nervous giggle. “I combined Aethernite and sulphur to make the smog. It’s science, not magic at all.”
My knees trembled. This was strange, and I knew I should be feeling relaxed by now. If Seraphina was there, that would mean that Lukas and his fellow soldiers were nearby and they could use my distraction to escape the camp. But oddly, there was no sign of him or any soldiers, and for some reason, all the fear had returned to my stomach.
“You should go home, Naria,” she cautioned, glancing around nervously. “Or take a horse to the willow and hide with the faeries, at least until this all settles over. It’s not safe here, and this isn’t your fight.”
Confusion tugged at my brow. “What? Why would you say that? I need to help Lukas. Didn’t you hear? Someone has sent his armies away? Drothmore is probably hours away from an invasion. I can’t just hide until this all finishes. There might not be a kingdom to go back to!”
“And the realm would be much better for it.” There was a quiet seething anger in her tone. Her annoyance caught mecompletely off guard, but before I had a chance to question it, she continued in a droning voice, “You’re right though… Or at least you were. In a few hours, therewould havebeen an invasion on Drothmore, although now that will have to be postponed until tomorrow morning at least, considering the goblins will need to be rounded up again. Such pesky skittish things.” A frustrated sigh escaped her lips.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, heartbeat quickening. “You’re the King’s healer.”
Her gaze snapped to mine. “That man is no king. He’s barely even a man.” The words were dripping in such intense venom that it made me flinch, but the second she noticed me bristling, her tone softened. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be angry at you. Corlixir is just as much a victim as the rest of us. And you… you’ve suffered just as much as I have, if not more.” She paused, then something like determination blazed across her features. “But mark my words, Princess, once Drothmore has fallen, I will make sure the last thing that disgusting man sees is his kingdom in ruins before we drag a knife through his coal heart, together.”
Seraphina was insane. That was the only possible explanation for all this. Maybe finding a cure for the King’s curse had driven her to the point of madness? Or maybe something dark and twisted had crept out from these woods and slowly consumed her instead. Either way, I wasn’t safe there anymore.
Gulping down any fear, I spoke in the calmest voice I could muster, “Thank you for finding me. This has been an… enlightening conversation, but I think I’ll be on my way now.” My lips forced themselves into an uncomfortable smile. “Though before I go, I really would like to check on Lukas. Do you happen to know where he is?”
Find Lukas. Warn him about the crazed healer. We both run back to Drothmore.That was the new plan.
Seraphina rolled her eyes. “I told you before, the prince isfine. I’m keeping him safe.”
“What do you mean – keeping him safe?” Fear rose to my throat, making my voice tremble. “Where is he, Seraphina?”
If she or her goblin ‘friends’ had hurt him…
Ignoring my question, she grunted and twisted her body away, moving to pace around the forest clearing. “Arenn will be furious… You being here wasn’t at all part of the plan.”
“What plan?” I asked nervously.
Seraphina huffed. “Well, while the goblins were swarming the Steel Palace, he was going to swoop in, find you cowering away in your bedchamber, and rescue you himself, all while fighting off a horde of angry goblins. He claimed it would be sure to make you fall in love with him at once. I said it was a ridiculous idea. If I’d known my father had raised such a dramatic son, I would’ve thought twice about coming home.”
My head was spinning. What was she talking about? I’ll admit the idea did sound like something Prince Arenn would come up with… But Seraphina was human, undeniably so. Her ears were round, her cheekbones were flat, and while her nose was a little sharp, she was clearly still completely, undeniably human.
“King Bevan can’t be your father,” I told her. “You’re not a faery.”
Seraphina took a step towards me. “I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you, Naria,” she confessed as her small hands reached up to remove her hood. The moment the fabric slipped away from her head, so did any belief I held that she was actually just an insane human.
First, her ears grew to be long and pointed. Then, the softness of her face hardened into typical faery-like features, her jawline sharpening and her cheekbones becoming more pronounced. Even her eyes, once a pale blue, shifted to a more intense shade of sapphire. By the time the hood had been fully pulled back, any blonde in her long hair had completely faded away as hercurls cascaded past her narrow shoulders in unnatural hues of lilac, green, and blue. There was something else too, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was clear now that she was fae, but there was an unusual shimmer to her pale, creamy skin, and I could’ve sworn I saw a few scales on her neck before she swished an emerald lock over them.
“It’s such a relief to remove a glamour,” she sighed, tilting her sharp chin up to the sky. “I made it easier on myself by enchanting the hood, but still, it’s like taking off a tight gown after a long night of dancing. So freeing.”
After all this time, the King who hated faeries was being treated by one. My mouth fell open. So many thoughts were swirling in my mind.
“So it was you who cursed the King then?”
“Clever girl,” Seraphina chuckled.
“Why?” I asked breathlessly.
“All your questions will be answered in time, dear Naria.” She smiled, excitement brimming on her lips. “For now, I believe your fiancé has come to rescue you. Of course, it’s not exactly how he planned, but he’ll have to take what he can get.”
