Page 122 of Kiss of Magic

“Hat?”

Sixty

Kam dispersed his pearly wings and settled down under a tree to wait. He had debated coming via horseback with a full entourage but in the end had decided against it. Instead, he’d come alone.

He leaned against the trunk and glanced into the branches. There was a time he’d have been in the tree rather than under it, he mused. He wondered briefly how Beast and Nat were doing.

The families who’d taken refuge in the Haven all those months ago had been surprisingly tight-lipped about the creature and his mate who’d taken them in. They clearly felt loyal to them.

But lately with the surprise reappearance of the faeries, there’d been rumours spreading about the benevolent monster in the Forbidden Zone – a fierce but gentle forest guardian and protector. Kam grinned to himself. Beast would be furious if he knew.

He peered through the Gate to the human world beyond. Every now and then a flurry of snow would sweep right up against it, though it could go no further. Warding spells kept the two realms physically separate.

The same was true of living things. Only those who were branded with the symbol of passage could come through.

He himself wasn’t branded. He had no desire to visit the human world. He wondered if it was all as cold as the part he could see.

He got to his feet as a figure appeared in the doorway. She was younger than he expected, with long blue hair and extraordinary turquoise eyes. She looked scared.

She approached warily, remembering at the last minute to curtsey. It was an awkward movement in the tight blue trousers and bulky coat she was wearing. He tried not to smile.

“Dani Archambeau of the Angelus Coven,” he said gravely. “Thank you for coming.”

“Your Majesty, why am I here?”

She was direct. He liked that.

“I wanted to personally thank you for your service to Nush’aldaam. Your selfless action saved countless lives. I was going to invite you to an official ceremony at the palace but given you’ve never set foot in Nush’aldaam before, I thought meeting informally first would be less daunting.”

He stopped. Dani was shaking.

“Are you all right?”

“I thought you were going to arrest me,” she stuttered.

“Arrest you?”

“I wasn’t selfless. I was the opposite. I ran away. You know I did. Everyone knows I did. You had to send someone to get me.” Dani’s voice was distraught. “If I’d followed my destiny as I was supposed to, all those people wouldn’t have died.”

“You think you’re to blame?”

“Whoelseis to blame? Everyone here was fighting demons, facing a terrible evil, losing people they loved, and what was I doing? Hiding. Looking out for myself.” She fought back tears. “I’m sorry, your Majesty. I’m so sorry. I don’t deserve a ceremony, I deserve to be locked up.”

Kam looked at her for a long moment. Then he sighed.

“Walk with me, Dani.”

He let her compose herself as they strolled across the meadow. The sun was high and warm on their backs, and theair was full of birdsong and the chirrup of crickets. Gradually she calmed. Kam clasped his hands behind his back and began speaking.

“I’m going to tell you something only I and my wife know. I’m trusting you to keep the secret. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course, your Majesty.”

“The secret is this: five thousand years ago, when the demons first appeared in Nush’aldaam, it wasn’t by accident. The angels drove them here.”

Dani gaped.

“The angels? I don’t understand.”

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