“Of course I won’t. No offence, but I don’t even know you. I have a life of my own. Family, friends, a job. I won’t give that up for someone I just met.”
“But… you broke the curse.”
“Yes.” My tone oozed impatience. I was sick to death of everything and everyone. “So the rifts would open and I could go home.”
“That is no manner in which to address a prince,” Granny decreed indignantly, but Anwir held up a placating hand.
“I never expected—”
“What?” From somewhere, deep inside, I managed to pull a sardonic smirk. “You never expected a woman would refuse you? A prince? We’re not all desperate for a husband anymore, Your Highness. We have our own minds. Our own lives. Freedom. We don’t rely on men anymore.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I only thought to say… the thing is, Aliza, queen or not, I need you. Your role didn’t end when I awoke.”
Oh great. That did not sound promising.
“Even before my uncle cursed me, for thousands of years in fact, there have been whispers of a prophecy. The first fae queen saw a great evil befalling her line. The only way to scourge it is with the Human Queen. I don’t know exactly what that means, nobody does, but you are the key to me taking back this kingdom. I cannot do it without you at my side.”
“No.” I was sick of this. Sick of being used. “I will not marry you.”
“I’m not asking you to,” he insisted. “I have no wish for a wife who holds me in such disdain, but would you not consider staying a little longer? Pretending? The people will want you at my side. I need their support. I need yours. I can’t win back my kingdom without it.”
I turned my glare on Sage. A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“You knew.” I barely recognised my low, hate-filled voice. “You knew and lied, every step of the way. You swore I could go home.”
“I swore nothing.”
“And you!” I turned my anger on the undeserving prince. “If you can’t take back your kingdom without my help, then maybe you’re no king at all.”
I didn’t give Anwir a chance to reply. Following Pansy and Idris’ lead, I stormed from the room, slamming the heavy door as hard as I could.
My walk through the castle and into the surrounding grounds revealed one thing. Everybody was surprised to see me alive. Shocked faces turned in my direction, whispers and exclamations following me like the smell of a rabbit hutch. They all wanted to know if it was done, if the curse was broken. I ignored them all. As far as I could see, the curse was very much intact.
Sage was a lying bitch, but I was angry at myself. I should have known better than to trust her. I’d known she was using me. Maybe even Jacques was in this elaborate deceit. Why hadn’t I heeded my doubts about the rifts? I’d bet my life they’d never been sealed at all. All this time wasted, and now the princes were awake, and King Maelgwyn would be hunting me. There was no way I’d make it to the rift alone.
I’d missed my chance.
I hesitated in the gardens, staring down the long path I’d walked down not days ago on my journey to find the princes. It seemed like a different life, not mine at all. In the distance, the castle walls rose in a protective circle, only they looked more like prison walls from this side of the curse. If I made for the gate, would anyone stop me? And if they didn’t, how long would I last out there in that terrible world? An hour? A day?
Sighing, I veered off the path and stomped towards a little copse of trees, and the glittering lake beyond. With every step, a little of my anger leaked out of me. Maybe I was too tired to hold on to it, or maybe it was just that the lake looked so pretty, glinting silver in the moonlight with a rainbow of fairies scattered amongst the reeds. Either way, I felt slightly less murderous as I ducked under a low branch and wove through the trees.
I was not alone.
As I neared the lake edge, a pair of bare feet, crossed at the ankle, appeared behind a tree. I fell still, and in the absence of my footsteps, a faint scratching drifted to me.
“I know you’re there, human.” Idris’ voice was bored. “You walk with all the grace of a rampaging dragon.”
I continued my stomping, and the prince came into view. He sat leaned against a broad tree trunk, a pencil in one hand and a small, battered leather-bound book in the other. As I passed, he angled the book carefully, hiding it from me, but didn’t bother to look up from its pages.
Fine. What did I care what he was up to?
Pebbles shifted and crunched underfoot as I made my way to the water’s edge. Maybe I’d dip my feet in the cool water. They’d been stuffed inside hiking boots for far too long. I focused on the starlit ripples gliding across the lake. I snatched up a pebble and hurled it at the tranquil pool. It plunked beneath the surface and sank like a house brick.
“If you were trying to skip stones, that was abysmal.”
Ignoring his remark with all the dignity I could muster, I sat on the lumpy ground, hugging my knees to my chest. Idris could go and boil his head for all I cared. Gone was my former admiration. Well, no, I couldn’t fault him for his efforts, or his actions tonight, but the fact remained that he’d been nothing but an arse since the moment he’d opened his eyes. He had none of Anwir’s manners, and though I was still furious with the latter, I couldn’t help but compare him favourably to his sulking, bad tempered twin.
“What do you want?” The prince’s deep, cool voice was edged with impatience, but the low chesty rumble eased some of the tension in my shoulders all the same. It was a pleasant voice, one that I might have enjoyed listening to if every word that had passed his lips so far hadn’t been condescending and downright rude.
“Don’t pretend to care what I want. Nobody else does.” I wanted to cringe at my petulant remark, but I was still too angry. Besides, I was right. The witches and now the prince had made it perfectly clear that I was a pawn, and they would take and take with no regard for me or my feelings.
“I’m not pretending,” Idris said. “I genuinely do not care in the slightest, but as you’re intruding on my space, you could at least explain yourself.”
“I didn’t realise you owned the grounds, Your Royal Highness,” I mocked, my foul mood blooming once more. “And besides, didn’t you want me to ‘shut up’? Why bother speaking to me now?”
The scratch of his pencil resuming was the only answer I got. It mingled with the chirp of insects and the hum of late-night fairies, a rhythm of rapid scratches followed by a pause, repeating. Was he drawing?
I propped my chin on my knees, staring unseeingly over the lake.
“What were you doing earlier,” Idris asked at length, “with the witch’s body?”
I stiffened. I didn’t want to talk about that. The last thing I needed was to end up crying in front of this unfeeling prick. But as ever, I couldn’t resist elaborating. Science and medicine were wonderful things, as good as any magic. Just because it didn’t always yield the desired results, it didn’t take away from my amazement. Maybe it had no place in this world, but knowledge was power, and maybe Idris could learn something from me. The thought almost made me smile.
“CPR,” I offered, keeping the spark of passion in my voice to a minimum. God forbid the prince knew how much of a nerd I was when it came to this stuff. He’d only use it against me somehow. “Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It’s a lifesaving emergency procedure. Or, at least, it can be… Why?” I twisted to look at him, only to find him studying his drawing. “Don’t you have CPR here?”
“I would have thought you could guess as much from the reaction of the daughter.”
