Page 144 of Court of the Fae Princes

“So, think about it.” She grabs my bowl and hurries to the river near us to scrub out the dishes, while I just sit in shock.

This isn’t possible. If dream sharing requires a powerful fae, that alone should be enough to tell me that’s not what I’m doing. And yet, her explanation resonates with me. These strange dreams have felt so real, realer than anything I’ve ever felt before. Not because we’re mates. Not because I’m some powerful fae. But maybe, just maybe, because the princes have been reaching out for me, and they’re powerful enough on their own to make that happen.

Or what the tree spirit said about me is true.

More realizations hit me. All those dreams I had while I was kidnapped…the bear, the lake, Sulien’s bed…were real? We shared them? That means our intimate moments, our shared stories, even seeing Prince Zane’s home and learning how Prince Forrest got his scar, was real.

The feeling that I know them… that’s real too. As strange as it is. I’ve gotten to know them in an unusual way, but at least I’ve gotten to know them.

Then a chill rolls down my spine. Prince Sulien. The dream last night. That can’t be real too, can it? That would also mean that seeing Prince Forrest, Prince Cobar, and Prince Zane hurt and lost in those dark tunnels was real too.

Are they actually suffering like that?

Lady Nova comes back from the river, rushing along, and I finally understand why she might be in a hurry. Is that what she concluded? Faster than me?

I bolt off the log I’m sitting on. “Is it possible that Prince Sulien really is in trouble? Could he be hurt?” I ask with panic in my voice.

She gives me a pained look as she packs the rest of our belongings and begins to load them on our horses. “It’s very possible, but this is bigger than the prince being in trouble.”

Princes. I hadn’t told her the other dreams. Of the princes being tortured. Of Prince Zane’s ribs being broken. Of the illusions of bears they’ve sent chasing after Prince Forrest. Of Prince Cobar, blackened and blue, blood coloring his golden hair.

Tears sting my eyes. But she doesn’t know all of that. “How? How could this be worse?”

Her eyes lock onto mine. “Do you know anything about fae favors?”

“I know they’re dangerous,” I answer honestly.

She nods. “But favors between houses and courts are not, not typically that way. Usually, they’re just a way for us to play with one another. Humiliate one another, if you will. Sulien’s father once asked for a favor from the House of War. They had him wear nothing but the female armor from a fae of the woods, essentially golden leaves on his dick and nipples, and battle with the head of our house.” She was smiling, but her smile vanishes. “That’s how it always is. Nothing but stupid fun. I imagined the princes expected the same from the House of Death, but they had other plans.”

“To hurt them?” I ask, my voice cracking.

“To break them,” she responds, and I flinch at her words. “To break them so that they can’t keep the barrier around our kingdom in place. And the moment it falters, the iron demons will overtake our lands.”

This doesn’t make sense. “Why would any fae want that?”

“If there’s a war with the iron demons, there would be a lot of fresh dead. They’re stronger and can help the House of Death become more powerful. That, teamed with the princes’ enslavement to her, will mean that our kingdom will be in ruins. And if I were to guess, the Keeper of Death intends to use her dead to take over… and help her steal the throne. That seems to be what she’s laying the groundwork for anyway.”

The barrier and the war. That’s what he was talking about. All of it is beginning to make sense.

Lady Nova’s words sink in, and a knot forms in my stomach. As much as I didn’t like history, I remember many of the lessons. Especially the ones involving the days before the barrier, when the iron demons killed fae and humans alike. It’s true that in those days the humans held more power, or thought they did, than the fae, but when our numbers decreased, so did our power.

This time, I’m not sure humanity can survive the iron demons. The fae aren’t the warriors they once were, outside of the House of War, and the humans are broken-down servants rather than fighters themselves.

If this Keeper of Death succeeds, this very well could mean the end of us all. It’ll certainly be the end of anyone like my father and grandmother…. The thought makes me sick.

“She won’t really go through with it. No one can be this crazy.”

Lady Nova gives a harsh laugh. “If anyone doesn’t mind death, it’s the Keeper of Death.”

She must be demented. Sick in the head. That’s the only explanation.

Then something occurs to me. Something that makes my head feel light. “Why doesn’t she kill the princes? That would be the easiest route to take to gain the throne, right?”

Lady Nova shakes her head, looking grim. “The princes’ parents are still alive. If the princes die, the kings will simply have to step in and take over the responsibility of protecting the kingdom once more. And they have enough power to keep the iron demons out, so she wouldn’t get the war she desires. She has to break the princes down so the barrier falls, then she gets the war she wants.” Lady Nova puts the last of our things on her horse and mounts it. “We need to go.”

She’s right. We need to go. We need to stop a war, save the men I think I love, and fix the things I broke with my thoughtlessness. They put the fate of the entire realm on the line to save me, and now I have to do the same. I have to save them.

All I can hear is the sound of my heart beating. It thunders hard in my chest. The reality of the situation settles into my bones, and I take a steading breath. The Keeper of Death wants a war? She’s going to get one, just not the one she expects.

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