Page 136 of Court of the Fae Princes

Happiness. What a strange idea. Haven’t I always been happy with my father and grandmother?

My gut turns. In a way, yes, but life was hard. Different from what the spirit is describing. I can imagine that kind of happiness even less than I can being queen. I'm just not built for happiness. Starting your life off with the death of your mother doesn't quite set you up for a lifetime of shits and giggles. It set me up for a life of hardship and servitude.

I shake my head and try to pull my hand away, but the spirit won’t let it go. His branches tug my hands into place with a little more force as he stares intently down at the glowing lines.

“There’s more. Do you want to hear it?” He traces another line, and four rays of light shine out from it.

“These are the four children I see in your future.”

Four? My vagina is not ready for that!

Four children. Is it one for each prince? I have to let that one settle in. All I’ve ever wanted was to be able to take care of my family–the one that made me. I’ve never considered making my own family.

“You can have it all, Cassia Withers, but you have to be brave. A lot of good is coming, and only if you are brave will you receive your true destiny. Follow your heart, but only after you quiet the fear. Your fear screams so loudly I hear it in the wind too. Muffle it, and you’ll see clearly.” He lets go of my hands, and the golden light dims.

I stare at my hands. A future I’ve never tried to fathom exists…if I marry the princes, I suspect.

“Does that mean my only path to happiness is with the princes?”

“I never said that.”

I frown. “Does this mean that no matter what our marriage will be… good? Will they treat me well? Will… any lies that have been told stay buried? Will they be happy with me?”

“Read in between the lines.”

That’s not good enough. “I need to know if they’ll hurt me. Will they break my heart? Will they leave me? If I have children with them, will they be good fathers? Will they make sure we don’t suffer? Will they love me if everything we’ve built is built on a lie?”

“Read in between the lines.” He yawns.

I feel a tear roll down my face. “No, you have to tell me. I have to know for sure. I can’t give them my heart and have them rip it into pieces. I can’t handle it. If they do it, they’ll break me, and I won’t be able to pull myself back together enough to take care of my family.”

His eyes close, and he blends in so much with the tree that I can no longer tell where he is.

“Please. I need to know. It’s too much of a risk. Please.”

“Be brave, Queen Cassia,” he says, the words no louder than a whisper.

Then the spirit fades entirely into the tree, and I’m left looking at nothing but bark. He’s left me alone with the heaviness of everything he told me resting on my shoulders. Why does everything have to lead back to the princes?

I huff at the tree that’s just a tree now. What does a spirit know about me and my future, whispers from the wind or not?

I can’t think about any of that now. There’s no future for anyone if I don’t go save them first. I turn around and head back to camp.

It’s strange. As safe as I felt following the sound, that’s as unsafe as I feel now. Perhaps the magic of the music is gone. Maybe it’s the darkness of the night or how far away the glow of the campfire seems to be, but I’m rushing, feeling nervous, remembering that I can’t afford to run, trip, and hurt myself out here.

Then I hear it. A low growl. A sound that sends every hair on my body standing on end. I’m not alone out here. There’s something in the darkness.

The growl comes again, closer, behind me. I whirl around and see it. Red eyes in the darkness. Eyes that belong to… a wolf. It creeps ever closer, stalking me, and I wonder if I should shout for Lady Nova. No, I’m close to camp. I can make it.

A chorus of growls rise up around me, making my stomach sink, and I whip my head left and right, seeing eyes in the darkness on all sides of me. Fuck. A pack.

I’m running now, not as worried about falling as I am about being torn to pieces. Wolves are dangerous in the best of times, and these are certainly not the best of times.

Of all the stupid ways to die.

Then eyes are ahead of me too. I slide to a halt, heart in my throat. “Nova!” I scream, no longer caring about embarrassing myself. “Nova!”

Grabbing my dagger, I yank it out. Even knowing how little it’ll do against a pack of wolves, I know it's better than nothing. These creatures won't find me easy prey.

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