She nodded shortly, gave him a warning look, and lifted a sprite from one of the cages. “Do you remember this little fellow? He is all recovered from going ember, and now he isn’t afraid when I hold him. See?” She held the fluffball down at Rita’s level, and the little girl gingerly touched its back then smoothed its fur. “He isn’t smooshed anymore,” she observed with a smile.
Behind her, Ellie heard Omar and Briar speaking but couldn’t understand them at first. Then Briar said clearly, his voice edged with humor, “You’re the one who sent me to find her this morning. And for my trouble I ended up scooping melted sprite off the ballroom floor. You will pay.”
A light drizzle was falling early the next morning as Ellie began to clean out her cottage and sweep the porch and front walkway. It bothered her that someone—even a strange, beastly person—may have witnessed her disorganized clutter, so before heading to the gardens, where she had promised to help Rosa in the greenhouses, she cleaned diligently. One day too late.
Just as she finished the walkway and ducked inside to escape what was becoming a steady rain, she heard Omar call her name. He jogged toward her across the grass, wearing his running gear. Even as he approached, the rain fell harder. “Here, step inside for a minute,” she offered.
“Thanks.” He first shook his head like a wet dog until his black hair stuck out in spikes, then stepped just inside the door, leaving it slightly ajar. Water trickled down his face and arms and dripped from his clothing. He rubbed his hands down the front of his soaking tank shirt, ruefully regarding the puddle at his feet. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t this wet until I was almost here. Maybe I should stand on your porch.”
He was a mess. He was every bit as sweet and adorable as his little siblings. He had been too gorgeous for words even as a gawky teen, but now he was a man. Six feet of lean, fit perfection. And he stood in her house, nearly filling her entryway. She tried not to notice how his wet shirt clung to his skin or how his eyes sought to hold her gaze. “It’s all right.” She sounded breathless even to herself. “I haven’t put my cleaning supplies away yet.”
His usual bright smile was absent. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
“The resort director is still absent, and Briar told me this morning that he was invited to join an unofficial unicorn hunt scheduled for today at twilight. Apparently some of the lords brought rifles along even though shooting game of any kind is banned on resort property.”
“What? Twilight?” She panicked but tried to hide it. “Why twilight?”
“They seem to think it will be easier to find the unicorn in the dark. Because the horn glows, or something like that.”
“I suppose that makes sense . . . but men with guns in the dark makes my job a lot more dangerous.” She was already planning her message to the Gamekeeper.
“Which is why we’re not leaving you to deal with this alone. Briar already agreed to join the hunt.”
“What?” She hardly knew the magical prince, but this felt like betrayal.
“His plan is to delay and confuse the others so that either the Gamekeeper or you and I can find the unicorn first. Yes, I’m going with you. We hoped maybe you could use your magic to persuade the unicorn to leave Faraway Castle grounds?” His voice turned the last statement into a question.
“I can try.” Her brain was spinning. “I can’t put you and Briar in danger.”
“You’re not putting us in danger. This whole plot is our idea.”
Ellie’s heart warmed at Omar’s kindness, and his tentative smile added a few degrees of heat. She still wasn’t sure what to think of Briar, but she wouldn’t turn down his help. “Thank you,” she said, meeting Omar’s gaze. “Maybe I should refuse, but I can’t stop you from joining me.”
His eyes brightened. “So, what’s the plan?”
“The Gamekeeper searched for the unicorn but couldn’t find it,” Ellie said. “If we’re to find it before the hunters do, we’ll have to head out this afternoon or early evening in broad daylight. If the director finds out that I walked off to hike in the forest with you, she will do her best to fire me. But the Gamekeeper promised to stand by me, and I’ve seen her knuckle under to him before.”
She met Omar’s gaze with a determined lift of her chin. “This will be dangerous, you know. I’m not sure I have the power to soothe a unicorn.”
“It’s worth a try. I can take you directly to where we saw it. Maybe we can find a trail.”
“Probably not, after this rain. I will send a message to the Gamekeeper. I hope he can get back here in time, but if not, we’ll carry out the search ourselves. Be sure to wear dark clothing so the hunters don’t shoot us. And we should carry a weapon, just in case.”
“I’ll take care of that,” he said. “And electric torches.” His manner was still restrained and tentative, and she sensed his frustration, hope, and . . . longing.
Might he truly be in love with her? She ached at the sight of him and suddenly wondered how it would feel to be in his arms without two lifejackets between them. But he had not yet offered her anything, and she could never settle for less than everything.
“Where shall we meet?” he asked.
“The stables.”
“I’ll bring food along in my pack. Four o’clock? Five?”
“My shift ends at five, but this hunt takes precedence. Besides, Rosa won’t tell if I skip out early. Will four work for you?”
He nodded. “The earlier the better, as far as I’m concerned.” He paused, studying her face. “Ellie, we need to talk.”
She nodded briskly to hide her confusion. “Plenty of time for that this afternoon.”
Omar’s dark eyes reproached her. She sensed his inner struggle, but then he stepped back through the doorway into the rain. “Hope the weather clears by then. See you at four.”
Ellie closed the door behind him and wanted more than anything to sit down for a good cry. The house felt so empty with no cinder sprites in the corner . . . and no Omar in the doorway.
But Rosa would be waiting for her. Life must go on, even if her heart felt likely to shatter. She spoke her message into the tiny tube, then opened her door to whistle for the nightjar.
Rosa put Ellie to work splitting and transplanting irises in a greenhouse while rain drummed on the glass overhead. It was dirty, physical work, exactly what Ellie needed right then. Far more beneficial than a pity party.
Rosa usually kept her feelings hidden, but on this gloomy day she seemed agitated. Nearly as tense as Ellie. “Is something wrong?” Ellie asked after they returned from lunch. “I mean, not with the plants. With you.”
After a long silence, when she did eventually respond, Rosa’s voice sounded peculiar. “Prince Briar. Do you know much about him?”
Ellie quirked a brow. She’d heard both Savannah and Kerry Jo gush about Prince Briar being too stunning for words. Had the charmer found a chink in Rosa’s emotional armor?
She said only, “I know he’s funny and clever. Why?”
Scowling, Rosa ripped apart a bunch of bulbs. “There is more to that guy than meets the eye. Are you sure you don’t know him from somewhere?
Nope. No chink in that armor. Ellie paused before she spoke. “I think I would remember if I’d met him before. He’s . . . Well, he would be hard to forget, you know?”
And yet she easily resisted his charm. Possibly for the same reason Omar was immune to the sirens’ call: Her heart was already taken.
“Forgetting him is no problem for me,” Rosa said, her full lips pressing into a hard line.
Oh, really? But Ellie kept her thoughts to herself, and the conversation soon changed to less volatile topics. Ellie needed to keep her thoughts from rolling back to Omar and the unicorn search, and Rosa was always willing to talk about plants and garden pests.
The two girls worked hard until Rosa straightened, pulled off her gloves, and removed her tool belt. “I’ve got errands to run. It’s nearly four o’clock, you know.”
“Is it really?” Panic knotted Ellie’s stomach.
Rosa smiled. “It really is. You’d better get going.” As she stepped out the greenhouse door, she paused to call back, “Looks like the storm is over. Good luck tonight. You can save that unicorn, I know.”