Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Good to see you on your feet again, Princess, Misha says in my mind.
I flash him a quick smile. Glad to be on my feet.
“Nice of you two to join us,” Finn says, his gaze skipping over me and stuttering for a beat on my hand—which Sebastian has taken in his again. Finn turns to Riaan. “What’s the status of the queen’s forces in the mountains?”
“They’re in a holding pattern right around the border,” he says. “Their numbers are growing, but there are no signs of them advancing.”
“And why should we listen to him?” Jalek asks. “He served Arya.”
Riaan’s eyes blaze with anger, but he leans back in his chair. “I served my prince,” he says. “And continue to.”
Sebastian releases my hand and approaches a vacant chair. “I think Riaan proved himself when the capital was attacked. Without his help, we wouldn’t have been able to end that fire fae legion as quickly as we did.”
But you don’t trust him, Misha says in my mind as the others continue to talk.
I don’t trust anyone, I tell him.
Liar.
Can you get into his mind? I ask. See if we can trust him?
I already tried. He’s too well shielded.
Is that suspicious?
No. It’s just good sense.
“—now that the Midnight Raiders are positioned in the mountains,” Finn is saying.
I jerk my attention back to the conversation at the table. “They are?” I ask, taking the chair beside Sebastian. “I thought they were protesting.”
Sebastian shakes his head. “Finn and I met with the captains and made it clear that we’re working together.” He reaches for the hand I have resting on the table and squeezes, and Finn follows the movement.
I give Bash a polite smile before gently extracting my hand from beneath his and placing it in my lap. “If the Midnight Raiders are in the mountains, who will protect the capital?” I ask.
The table returns to discussion of military strategy, and I try to ignore the ache of rejection I feel rolling off Sebastian. Misha was right, the bond is much harder to block when we’re close.
“I thought we were headed into the mountains to see the High Priestess,” I say to Finn as Kane leads us off the mountain trail and toward a small village. I didn’t expect we’d be traveling with a caravan, but Kane, Misha, Pretha, and Tynan all joined me and Finn on our journey. Even Finn’s wolves are traveling with us, though they spend most of their time out of sight, investigating off the trail.
Finn and I ride side by side just behind Kane, with the three Wild Fae following behind us.
“We are,” Finn says, “but she won’t meet with us before Lunastal.”
I turn on my horse and arch a brow. “I thought that’s why I was here with this”—I wave my hand around my head—“almighty power of mine. So we’d be welcome?”
Finn snorts and shakes his head. “We’re heading first to Staraelia, a town in the foothills, where we will meet with the locals and let it be known that we plan to meet with the High Priestess. If we’re lucky, she’ll see us on Lunastal rather than making us wait until later in the week. And then we need more luck if we’re going to convince her to open a portal to the Underworld.”
“Pretha and Misha create portals for you all the time. Why can’t they do it?”
In front of us, Kane snorts.
Finn smiles at his friend before turning to me. “The portals to the Underworld cannot be opened by just anyone. Our ancient guardians wanted us to be able to reach them, but only with the approval of those deemed most worthy among us.”
I took for granted that Finn would be able to speak with Mab. Now this all seems like a wish and a prayer. “You’re sure the High Priestess will grant you this?”
“If Mab wants to allow our visit, the High Priestess will be required by her oath to the land to open the portal for us.”
Pretha clears her throat behind us. “This might be a good time to tell her who she’ll be when we get to Staraelia.”
I frown at Pretha over my shoulder. “What do you mean by that?”
Finn rolls his shoulders back. “I haven’t been there in a long time. I don’t want to assume that everyone is trustworthy. Since I’m not bonded to you, the next best excuse to stay close enough to protect you is to claim we have a relationship.”
“Who are these people? I thought they were Unseelie? Why do you need to stay close to me?”
“There could be moles working for Mordeus’s followers,” Kane says. “Or even those who’ve been paid to work for the queen.”
Finn nods. “Most are Unseelie and proud—they will recognize me as their prince regardless of whether I ever get to be king—but some among them will also be able to sense the power you carry, and that could be dangerous if they don’t trust you. So we need a way to make them trust you.” His gaze shifts away from me and tracks across the cottages growing closer on the horizon.