“Ilara Seary, daughter of Mervalee Territory.” Haxil dipped his head as his round cheeks lifted while his voice carried to me on the wind. “Nice to see you again.”
I returned his smile. “It’s lovely to see you too, Haxil Hubberline, guard to the crown prince and son of Isalee Territory.”
The guard’s smile turned wolfish, and a low growl rumbled in the prince’s chest. Nish gave me a side-eye, then a barely suppressed sneer, while Ryder and Sandus both nodded hello.
“And where are we off to today, Nori?” Sandus asked as his large wings flapped.
The prince pointed south. “Back to Barvilum in Harrivee Territory. The Lochen fae have stolen more goods from their wharf, and there’s a field I want Ilara to see.”
“Ah, another diplomatic mission.” Ryder’s braid trailed down his back. “Along with . . .” His words trailed off with a glance in my direction.
Exactly. Whatever I was to the prince. His protégé? His savior? I nearly snorted at that thought.
With each flap of their wings, we grew closer to the edge of the capital. Similar to when we’d entered Solisarium a month ago, the skies were busy and congested outside of the castle’s protective barrier, but none of the capital’s residents dared travel in the prince’s path. He once again flew in a straight line, everyone moving out of the way for him.
Eventually, the capital disappeared behind us until nothing but rolling hills of snow and small cities dotted the landscape.
Abruptly, the prince spiraled downward. I clung to him, the movement taking me by surprise.
His arms tightened, and then his lips met my ear. “I won’t let you fall.”
The vibration of his words and flutter of his lips against my skin made tingles race down my spine. I jerked away, my heart hammering in staccato beats as I cursed my body’s response.
Light puffs of snow drifted into the air when the prince’s feet touched the ground. He set me down, and his hand settled on my waist until my footing was secure. My heart pattered harder as I lurched from his grip.
Prince Norivun dropped his hand, his jaw working, as his four guards raised questioning eyebrows.
“Is there a reason we’ve landed, my prince?” Sandus asked as he smoothed his beard.
The prince eyed me again. “I’m going to mistphase with Ilara. Her magic has manifested. She should be able to now, and it’ll make traveling faster.”
My eyes bugged out. “You’re going to . . . what? Wait. I can’t. I mean, I’ve never—” I swallowed my sputtering because surely I hadn’t heard the prince correctly. I couldn’t mistphase. That required power I didn’t possess.
“You’re magical, Lara.” The prince’s irises sparkled like sapphire gemstones, and damn my traitorous body for noticing. “You can mistphase with me. I have enough power to cross both of us.”
“But what if I’m not magical?” I picked nervously at my fingernails. “What if you’re completely wrong about me? A fairy must have enough magic to cross with a mistphaser. If one doesn’t, it’s too dangerous.”
At least that was what I remembered from my primary days. It was why children typically didn’t mistphase with a magically-strong parent since a child’s magic and affinity didn’t appear until maturing age.
The prince’s lips kicked up. “Then it’s a good thing you have magic.” He sounded so confident, as though he was certain that my affinity had indeed been born.
My lips thinned. “I’ll die if you’re wrong.”
“I’m not wrong.”
“Ock, just get it done with already,” Nish grumbled.
The other three guards all watched us. Only Haxil looked concerned. Indeed, that male knew I could end up splat on the snow, like a gelatinous mush of flesh and blood, when I emerged from the crossing if the prince was mistaken.
Haxil’s frown deepened. “My prince, are you sure—”
“Do you really think I’d put her in harm’s way?” the prince snapped.
Haxil immediately lowered his chin. “Of course not.”
“Ilara?” The prince’s tone dropped until it was so deep and rich that it melted all over me. “Trust me.”
“Says the fairy who murdered my parents,” I muttered under my breath.
His jaw clenched, the muscle like a marble, but his hands remained extended, and I knew he wasn’t going to relent.
My shoulders sagged. “Tell Cailis I love her if I don’t make it.”
His lips twitched. “You’ll make it. Now come here.” He clasped both of my hands and pulled me toward him.
My breath sucked in at the feel of his hard abs pressed against me. A pulse of sparks ran through my veins, and the feel of his body touching mine created a gridwork of unrest among my nerve endings.
His nostrils flared, and that hooded look befell him again, his expression turning carnal, but then a rush of magic stole over me that was so potent, so raw, that it consumed me.
The ground dropped out from beneath me, and then I was nothing more than mist and shadows, air and wind. The world turned into a blur of colorless sound, and then—
Waves crashed. Shores of sandy beaches stretched along the edge of a snowy field. Rolls and rolls of water waited before me.
My jaw dropped as I felt my arms, chest, and legs. I was solid. Whole. I hadn’t been obliterated into a million pieces.
“I made it,” I whispered.
“Of course, you did.” The prince’s husky words brushed my ear. “Do you still doubt that you’re magical?”
I hastily stepped away. “I . . . it could have been a fluke.”
“It’s not. You have power, Ilara.”
My stomach became a jittery mess because the prince was right. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have survived the crossing, which meant the prince could be right about everything else. My affinity. My ability to create orem.
I wrapped my arms protectively around myself and fixated on the ocean again. The sound of the surf hitting the land was strangely peaceful, hypnotic almost.
Prince Norivun cocked his head. “Have you never seen the sea?”
“No. Never.”
A wink of magic flashed around us, and then the prince’s four guards appeared.
Haxil cast a relieved look my way. “Made it in one piece, I see.”
I gave him a shaky smile and stepped closer to him. The pounding aura from the prince warmed my back, basking me in its strength, and it felt . . .
I shook myself. His power was too much, but the fairy guard was open and soft. He’d been nothing but kind to me since we’d met, and he was the only one I trusted at the moment.
The prince’s eyes darkened when Haxil reached out a steadying hand to me.
I gratefully accepted it just as the prince said tightly, “Haxil, report to Lord Sillivul and the Barvilum Council, and only return when you’ve thoroughly assessed the situation.”
Haxil’s hand lingered on mine before he gave me a comforting pat.
“Haxil,” the prince growled.
“Yes, my prince.” Haxil offered me a reassuring smile before he shot into the sky and flapped west. Down the hill beside us, the town of Barvilum waited, but around us there was nothing but a snowy field and crashing ocean.