“Coming!” I yelled back, the small slither of peace from hugging Tessa now gone. I stood up, not bothering for a change of clothes, and walked to the front door. I didn’t look for my father. I didn’t look back at my sister. They were on their own now, and so was I.
My hand froze on the doorknob, just for a moment. This was it. This was the moment my entire life’s downfall began. From this moment forward, I was no longer in control. The guards would take me to the fae lands, and I would never be coming back.
It had been a long seventeen years. Life had been a stubborn bitch, I’d have to give her that.
Before I could cry, I swung the door open.
“You really can’t let a woman sleep in on her wedding day?” I sneered, taking in the four guards that stood at my door.
No wings. No sparkling skin, no magical powers. They were human. That was a surprise.
“Apologies, miss,” the younger man responded, hand over his chest. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than myself. “His Majesty likes to follow a strict schedule. We wouldn’t want to be late.”
“No,” I huffed, shoving past him and stepping toward the carriage that was bound to be the gossip of the entire village for the next decade. “We certainly wouldn’t want that.”
One of the guards opened the small, golden door to the carriage. It was quite a show, that was certain. I grabbed his hand, about to step inside when my father stumbled out the door behind me.
“Stop!” He yelled, more coherent than I had ever seen him. His voice cracked as he continued, “Stop! That is my daughter! You can’t take her!”
“Father–” I started.
The young guard stepped in front of him, blocking his path to me. “You wish to go back on the deal you made with His Majesty?” He spoke.
My father froze.
No, I thought. He can’t go back on his deal. That would mean death for him, and he was much too selfish to ever do something like that.
But then my father looked at me, a look of pure helplessness strung across his tired features. “Jade,” he mouthed.
“I’ll be okay,” I said with a straight face. “Take care of Tessa.”
Tessa chose that moment to exit the house, grabbing my father’s arm.
“No!” My father yelled again, anger flooding through the air. “Jade, don’t go! Please! I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” he was babbling now, lowering himself to his knees in a plea. Tessa was the one to comfort him this time.
Tears were streaming down my father’s face. I never expected this from him. From the day he informed me about the deal he made with the fae king, I was certain he never cared about me.
Apparently, I had been wrong.
I turned my back on my family anyway, stepping into the golden carriage. I didn’t look back. Not as the rest of the guards mounted their horses. Not as the carriage jolted into motion. And not as my father screamed for me to come back.
It wasn't until we were miles away from my house, from everything I ever loved, and from everything I was being ripped away from that I let the first tear fall. I didn’t care that the guard across from me in the carriage saw. I didn’t care if he thought I was weak or foolish. I was walking into my death. I didn’t really care about anything anymore.
“Your family loves you very much,” the man across from me said.
I scoffed. “Don’t pretend you know anything about my life. And we don’t have to play nice, either.”
He straightened. “You are going to be the new bride to the prince. The least I can do is make your acquaintance, Lady Farrow.”
“The prince,” I repeated, playing with the name on the end of my tongue. “So tell me…”
“Serefin.”
“Tell me, Serefin, are the rumors true? Will I be dying today?”
He paused. “Don’t believe everything you hear, Lady Farrow. The Royal Family is very complicated. Your prince in particular. I think you’ll find much of what you’ve heard about the fae to be just that. Rumors.”
I considered his words.
“How did you come to work for them?” I asked Serefin. “How did you enter the fae lands?”
A wicked smile crossed his face. “You believe me to be human, Lady Farrow?”
My heart pounded in my chest. It was impossible. He looked exactly like a human. There was nothing strange about him. Nothing peculiar. Nothing fae.
“You’re fae?” I asked, not able to keep the shock out of my voice.