I might not be able to save all the Redcaps in this world, but at least I could help the horses. They had reminded me of why I’d chosen to come to the Winter Court in the first place. Somewhere in these mountains, I could find the cure for the Redcap venom. And then I would use it on every tortured soul in Otherworld. Maybe evenbeyond.
It was time for me to find theStarlight.
Chapter Seventeen
Snow poureddown from the skies overhead as I climbed the mountain. I’d left before dawn, padding through the quiet hallways of the castle before anyone could notice my absence. I knew what my mates would say if I told them I wanted to go in search of theStarlight.
They would have given me a big fat no, and I couldn’t take no for an answer. Not when so many innocent lives were atstake.
“Hello, Norah Oliver, daughter of Marin, Princess ofOtherworld.”
I froze, my breath caught in my throat, my nerves shot through with ice. Slowly, I turned to face the male behind me. His skin glowed like the light of the moon, and his long dark hair sliced across his shoulders. His eyes were a golden red, and his sharp ears cut through his thick curtain ofhair.
Chaos rippled off his skin, setting my entire body onedge.
He was a Dark Fae. I knew it in mybones.
He was alone. There had been four of them before, but now there was just theone.
Slowly, I took a step back, my heart hammering hard against my ribs. “What do you want? Why are youhere?”
A strange expression flickered across his sharp features as the wind blew gusts of snow around him, casting his entire form into a wintry white mist. “I admit, I thought I would receive a more respectful greeting from the Princess of this realm. Tell me, why have you not taken up the crown? There is nothing to stand in your way now that the Autumn one isdead.”
“I didn’t kill Queen Viola so that I could sit on a throne,” I said, curling my hands into fists. How quickly would I be able to get an arrow into my hands? “I did it because she was trying to destroy this place. On yourorders.”
“Myorders?” He raised his brows and touched a hand to his chest. “I am not all Dark Fae, and all Dark Fae are notme.”
Confusion rippled through me, and I furrowed my eyebrows. “You’re talking inriddles.”
He let out a light sigh. “I have come here to warn you. My father wishes to invade this realm, and he wishes for you to die. He knows you want to bring an end to the Tithe, something that would bring an end to us. And he knows you’re searching for the Starlight, so that you can cure as many Redcaps as you can. Isn’t that why you’re up here on this mountain all by yourself? I’m warning you. This plan of yours will lead to nothing but moredeath.”
I took a step back, my boots crunching the snow. “Why are you warning me? Don’t you feel the same way as yourfather?”
He pursed his lips, highlighting the intensity of his sharp cheekbones. “I am more like you than you think. I also believe there should be another way to this Tithe. I have seen what has happened to your human companion, and it is cruel. As much as we, the Dark Fae, thrive on dark energy and chaos, there are lines that should not be crossed. For the sake of all the realms, there must be another way we can consume the energy we need tosurvive.”
“So, then let’s stop the Tithe,” I said, fisting my hands inside my thick gloves. “Talk to your father. Is he the King? Maybe you can convince him that there’s anotherway.”
The wind howled around us as he gave a quick shake of his head. “My father is old and set in his ways. He will not shift his way of thinking, not unless an alternative is presented to him. Saying we will change things is not enough. We need to showhim.”
My heart flickered in my chest, and a chasm of despair opened beneath me. Change felt so agonizingly close, but it was still so very far away. “I don’t know an alternative. You’ll have to give me some time to come up with one. I’ll read every single book in every single library if I haveto.”
“I’m afraid that is not possible, Princess of this realm. My father plans to invade in three day’s time. I suggest you find your solution before then or every living creature who lives in this realm will end up under hiscontrol.”
* * *
When I returnedto the castle, I didn’t go straight to my mates. Not just yet. They would be angry I’d gone in search of the Starlight by myself, and they’d be even more angry when they discovered what the Dark Fae had said. Instead, I aimed my feet toward the library. Research was the only way out of this, as far as I could see. I had to scour each and every book. Somewhere within all these pages, there had to be an answer. There had to be some other way to give the Dark Fae what they needed to survive. Surely Redcaps weren’t the only way they could consumeenergy.
But hours and hours passed by without an answer, and I was ready to start lobbing books at the wall when Rourke finally found me sprawled across the carpet in front of the roaringfire.
“You seem to have an obsession with libraries,” he murmured as he lowered himself to the floor. “What are we researchingtoday?”
“I’m still stuck on the Redcaps, but these books are of no help. None of them are old enough. I need something that goes back centuries and centuries. All of these are maybe a couple of hundred years old, ifthat.”
“And why do you need something so old?” He arched aneyebrow.
Nibbling on my bottom lip, I averted my gaze. “If I tell you something extremely important, will you promise not to get angry withme?”
“Is this about your little trip this morning?” When my mouth dropped open, he smiled. “Your boots were covered in snow, and your cloak was drenched. It wasn’t difficult to determine that you went outside before everyone elseawoke.”
