Page 75 of Hot Vampire Next Door: Season Five

CLEVER TWIST OF WORDS

I say a silent prayer for Sam and Cal as they disappear through the portal.

Please keep my best friend safe.

We give them the twenty-minute lead they need to make their way to the Summer Palace as our decoy. Once we cross over to the fae realm, the night is still, the forest quiet but it’s easy to see the freshly trampled ferns on the path indicating they moved forward as planned.

Arion takes us further north, then cuts east on the old trader’s route he mentioned. With time moving differently here than it does back home, it’s darker in the fae realm and nowhere near dawn. It’s so dark that I find it impossible to navigate the path as silently as Bran does behind me. It feels like I hit every single fallen twig on the path and every crack makes me wince.

When we’ve been walking for at least a half hour, Arion makes us stop in a small clearing that’s surrounded by wispy cedar trees that perfume the air with their earthy scent. My brother instructs Baspin to throw up a protective barrier so anyone outside of it won’t hear or see us if they happen past.

“Let’s send two ahead to scout the path,” Arion orders once the barrier is in place. “We’re within Summer territory now so I want to be extra cautious.” He glances at Bran. “One fae and one vampire feel fair to you?”

“Yes,” Bran says. He breaks off from me to discuss with Arion the best vampire for the job. As we wait, Baspin takes his spot by my side.

“How are you doing, princess?” he asks me.

I notice he doesn’t use the royal styling of ‘your highness’ and I’m grateful for it.

With an exhale, I lean against a skinny birch tree and give him a half-hearted shrug. “I’m okay. All things considered.”

He nods and turns to me, his shoulder pressed into the birch next to mine. There is always a laziness to Baspin that I think is part of his mask, the way he hides who he really is. I think a lot of fae find ways to hide their truth, since they always have to speak it. Did the royal Winter Court ever feel that way? Or because they could lie with their words, they could be truthful with everything else?

Maybe that’s what drew my mother in. Maybe in the Winter Court she felt like she could finally be free.

“What are you thinking about?” Baspin asks me and the way he’s looking at me makes me think my thoughts have bled through. I never learned how to be anything but truthful. There was a time when hiding what I thought, who I was, what I might do, meant very little to anyone.

I’ll have to change that if I’m to become queen of an entire fae court. Not that there’s much left of it.

“Why do you want to join my court?” I ask him, dodging answering his inquiry.

“Because it’s home.”

“But what if I fail? Aren’t you worried about that? If you love your home so much, why not let someone else who actually knows what they’re doing take over? You owe me no allegiance.”

He pushes away from the tree. “And who would that be, princess? No one else has royal blood in their veins. No one else can wield the power of the Winter Court like you can.”

I huff. “I can barely hold on to my power.”

“Then let me teach you.”

I frown at him. “What, now?”

“Did you have something better to do?”

Of course not. But?—

“What do you know about Winter Court powers?”

“I served under your father.”

I straighten. “You what?” The words come out a strangled whisper. I know what I heard him say. I don’t need him to repeat it and yet I can’t quite grab hold of the full truth of it.

“You knew him?” I ask, swallowing, trying to quell the rapid thumping of my heart. I sense Bran’s attention on me, checking to make sure I’m all right.

Since I learned I was fae, I’ve barely thought of my father. I was always focused on my mother. It was the same way with my mortal mother. I loved my dad, but it was my mom who really raised me. I guess the same feelings transferred to my fae parents.

“Your father was powerful,” Baspin answers. “One of the most powerful fae kings I’ve ever met. But he was also greedy for more. It was his undoing, if I may speak boldly.”

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