Please don’t say a week or something crazy like that.
“If I can get the Sword of Light back from the Winter Court, it could buy us a few weeks.”
“A few weeks!” I said loudly, losing all queenly composure.
He put out a hand to calm me. “In fae time. That would be … one or two seasons here.”
One or two season. So three to six months. Okay, I could deal with that timeline. Right? Violet must have noticed my panic, because she stepped in to finish the conversation.
“How can we contact you to see how things are progressing?” she asked him.
Prince Caspien looked at Violet, his brow furrowed. “You’re a magic wielder.”
Violet let out a frustrated wolfy growl. “We’re not taught your ways or your magic.”
This was the exact reason I was going to open up that locked room of fae magical books. We would know everything by the time my reign as queen was done.
Prince Caspien reached out and gently caressed a nearby flower. “When you’re lost, always look to nature. You’ll find you can communicate with us through the plants and other things of this kind. It’s the reason we can cross in bodies of water. Nature joins our two lands.” In a flash, he plucked two of the bright purple flowers, bringing them close to his face. Then he pulled out one of his hairs, laying it inside of one of the flowers, before handing it to Violet.
Her face lit up. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”
She reached for one of my hairs, but must have decided it wasn’t completely safe to link me to the Otherworld, and pulled out one of hers instead. Laying the hair inside of the other flower, she held both in her closed palms. Then she pressed her lips to her hands, spoke an incantation, and her palms glowed purple for a few moments.
The prince watched her closely. “You’re powerful,” he said. “Most fae have some mecca affinity, but for the more complex spells we use specialized and highly trained magic wielders. Lucian, the palace magic wielder, could not have linked those flowers so quickly.”
Violet shrugged off his compliment and handed him the flower that once held her hair. He nodded and placed it in his pocket. I was immediately reminded of the flower in the Red Queen’s trinket box. It had to be the same thing, a communication device. But for who? Who had the queen needed to communicate with in the Otherworld? I wondered if there was a spell Violet could do to trace the link.
Prince Caspien faced me and I was blasted with the full force of his beauty, and that subtle glow which seemed to dim and brighten on and off.
“We are well met, Your Majesty,” he said formally. “If a war begins, you have an ally in the Summer Court.”
“Yes, we are well met,” I offered back, unsure of the protocol. I had so many more questions, but he seemed to be in a rush to go. As if he read my thoughts, he gestured behind me.
“If I spend too long in this realm, my people weaken further. In my world, royalty are linked to our people. We feed them in a sense, with power, magic. If my father, brothers, or I leave, the court weakens. With the mecca already fading, it’s best I return quickly.”
“Yes, of course. It’s the same here with the queen and her shifters. I’m sorry that your people are suffering, but I will fix this,” I declared boldly, catching a raised eyebrow from Violet.
The green deepened in Caspien’s eyes. “I believe you. The moment you were crowned, the sky lit up in my lands like it was mid-summer.”
I had no idea what that meant, but I offered a small smile. As he brushed past me to go back to where his familiar and my dominants were waiting, he paused, before moving closer and leaning into my hair. He inhaled deeply, and unsure of protocol, I simply watched him, wondering of course what the hell he was doing.
Our eyes met. “An interesting development,” he said, a strange expression on his face. “You’re going to be one surprise after another, Queen Arianna.” Without another word he turned and strode off.
Interesting? What did that mean? I smelled my hair to make sure I had remembered to shower today before hurrying after him, needing to ask him what he meant, but he was already gone.
I turned on Violet. “What does ‘interesting development’ mean?”
She shrugged. “No idea. He was cryptic the entire time. I’m starting to think that’s just the way the fae are. But, girl … he was hot.”
She fanned her face and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Good to see that none of this dire situation has you concerned. Your focus is exactly where it shouldn’t be … on the fact that he’s hot.”
Violet shrugged. “I kind of like that whole pointy ear thing.”
Yeah, I got that. I really did.
The enormity of his message, and my promises, hit me hard then. “Oh, Vi, what am I going to do?”
A wicked look crossed her face. “You’re going to go talk to your mecca expert and fix this whole thing, right?” She trilled this in a singsong voice. Damn me and my bold statements.
Why? Why had I said that? One thing was for sure, I did need to find Kade. Now more than ever he needed to know what was going on, because I was pretty sure I’d just promised something I couldn’t deliver.
Chapter Six
Kisses aren’t for forgetting…
The next morning I sent Finn to Kade’s with a message. I had barely slept knowing that I’d stupidly promised to try and save an entire world with powers I didn’t even know how to use. Normally when I sent Finn, he returned with the king, but this time he was alone, with a note in his collar.
Come to me, was all it said. Well … okay, then. I guess I couldn’t expect him to come at my beck and call every time I wanted.
He was very busy. Some drama with his people, Finn offered.
Sometimes I forgot that Kade had his own people to rule and care for.
After informing my inner guard and Calista that I would be traveling to Staten Island, and listening to them complain and say no, I eventually brushed them all aside and went with Violet, Finn, and Monica as my protectors.
When I was finally out of the royal house, away from a multitude of over-protective wolves, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was getting a little sick of reminding everyone that the bear king was an ally now, and that Violet and I were more powerful than him. If he didn’t bring one of his magic born along, of course. Semantics really. The bottom line was that I was not afraid of Kade. No matter what, he would never hurt me. I knew it in my gut, the place which had served me well for most of my life as heir, and so far as queen.