“I’m sorry. What?” I asked, wiping the sand off my hands.
“That’s how we got down here. The flower patch I pulled you into—that’s the door,” he explained matter-of-factly. Picking up on my confusion, he continued. “It’s how those of us without teleportation abilities transport ourselves to different places and spaces throughout the court. You stand in one and think about where you want to go, and if there is a door in that place, it will take you there.”
“And anyone can use them?”
“Of course!”
“So why isn’t there one near my suite? That would be so much more convenient than having to traverse up and down that tower.”
“We don’t have control over where they are placed. They’re a naturally occurring phenomenon.”
“Hmm, I see.” I was not completely satisfied with his answer, but I’d have to accept it for now.
Having a method of transportation that didn’t require a key seemed like an important thing to keep in mind during my stay in this realm.
“Let’s have a seat over here and enjoy the view for a moment,” Everett offered, leading the way.
I followed slowly, trudging through the fine sand as it filled my shoes. Thankfully, Everett stopped a short while later.
He unhooked his cloak and spread it out on the sand. “Please, have a seat.”
I sat on one edge of his emerald cloak, my feet off to the side as I removed my shoes to dump out the sand. Crossing my legs, I stared ahead at the scene in front of me. The beauty left me breathless.
“I’ve spent my entire life living in a poor mountain village. I have never seen the ocean before coming here.” I stared off into the sparkling blue expanse, the soothing sounds of the waves crashing into the rock walls surrounding the cove easing the tension within my body. All my anxiety drifted away on the wind. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. If I lived here, I would spend all my time here. The sun, the wind, the water, the waves, even the beach—all of it feels so …” I paused, trying to find the words to accurately describe it all.
“Magical?” Everett chimed in.
I turned to face the guardian, nodded, and laughed. “Yeah, or something like that.”
Everett leaned back on his elbows. His eyes closed as he lifted his face to the sun. “When I was little, my nanny used to bring me here whenever I was upset or anxious. She believed the cove had healing abilities and that spending time here could settle even the most restless soul. Ever since, it has become the place I come to when I need a break from life or my thoughts.” He turned to face me. “I thought maybe it could be the same for you. A nice place for you to come when you need to get away from everything. I wouldn’t mind escorting you down here whenever you wanted.”
I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, hugging them close. I placed my chin on them and took a deep breath, taking on as much of the salty ocean air as my lungs could hold. “I think I would like that,” I finally said in response.
Chapter 20
It had been five days since I had arrived at the Citrine Court, which meant it had been four days since I had seen or spoken to Forrest. Everett was unable to offer me any meaningful updates on Forrest’s status other than “the prince is doing well.” I had long since stopped feeling hurt by the lack of communication between Forrest and me. I was now thoroughly pissed off. After everything we had been through together, I wouldn’t have guessed that he would leave me in the lurch. Everett tried assuring me on several occasions that things were fine and Forrest would see me when he felt up to it. I did not share the same level of optimism.
While waiting to hear from Forrest or the king and queen, I spent a lot of time wandering the palace grounds with Everett, visiting Crystal Cove and staying far away from Leni and the library. When we weren’t doing that, Everett would ask me questions about the human realm and what it was like. When I wasn’t feeling up to company or talking, I stayed in my room, reading one of the numerous romance novels the tiny, violent librarian sent up every day. Fae romances were as boring and proper as I had imagined them to be, but I was not about to approach the fierce protector of the library and complain about fae literature to her.
As much as Everett kept telling me I wasn’t a prisoner, I still felt like one, despite the ease with which I spent my days. I was plagued by dread, like I was waiting for something terrible to happen at any moment. The king and queen still hadn’t made up their minds about what to do with me. The silence on their end was concerning.
I had still heard nothing about Nocturna and Astra, and their whereabouts had become another major source of worry for me. During my third day here, I had an anxiety attack and spent the whole morning crying over their absence with Everett. He promised that he would pass on the message to the rest of the guardians to keep an eye out for the two mountain cats and that they were not to be harmed under any circumstances, as they were guests of Prince Sterling. I could only hope that the guardians would heed his words and bring them to me safely whenever they turned up. I couldn’t handle anything awful happening to them. They were all I had left in any realm.
*
“I don’t understand how you endured living without running water. It’s not right,” Everett exclaimed incredulously as we entered the royal garden for our morning walk.
My living conditions in the human realm were a recurring discussion. He couldn’t understand how humans survived without indoor plumbing. According to Everett, it was a “barbaric” way to live.
I stopped to smell some pink peonies. “I didn’t realize that carrying water would be such a problem for a big, strong fae guardian like you. If my small human-woman arms could do it, surely you could manage.”
Everett scoffed, “It’s not because I couldn’t do it. It doesn’t make sense to work harder than you need to for basic things like that.”
I continued down the path toward the rose bushes. “You’re right. We shouldn’t have to work so hard for basic things. But that’s life in the human realm. Our ruling class is only worried about itself and the wealthy company it keeps. It doesn’t care how the rest of the people are faring.”
We found a large marble bench in front of a fountain and had a seat.
“That isn’t fair. They should be concerned for everyone.”
