Page 101 of Until the Stars Fall

“The fae are growing restless, and that stunt of yours with Lieke didn’t help matters, unfortunately.”

“Shit, I was hoping for the opposite.”

“Yeah, well, maybe in time it can work in your favor, but at the moment, it’s backfiring badly. We have Griffin’s family riling up those in Linley, convincing them that the crown cares more about protecting the humans than the fae. If we don’t do something soon, they may try to hunt down the rebels themselves.”

“So we go on another tour?” I asked, already dreading the lumpy beds and stale ale and endless days of traveling from town to town. Add to that the innate danger of taking Lieke out among the fae, and the idea had no appeal.

But Matthias didn’t seem to agree. He nodded slowly, his grin widening.

“Would you be joining us this time?” I asked.

He grimaced. “Why? Do you two need a chaperone?” My eyes fell to the floor, and he laughed. “What happened? Do I even want to know?”

I jerked my face up. “You’re as bad a gossip as the staff, you know that?”

“Yes, but you love me more. So…?”

“Nothing really. It’s just awkward having to touch her”—his eyes lit up—“hands, asshole. Her hands. Pretending to be smitten isn’t hard, but…”

Matthias hummed thoughtfully, running his fingers over his chin. “So you take separate horses, stay in separate rooms—”

“Is that wise though? The separate rooms, that is. If the fae try to do anything—”

“Then sleep on the floor.”

I scrunched my nose. The floor would be worse than the straw mattresses.

Matthias’s expression became mischievous. “You can always shift before you sleep or learn to deal with the uncomfortable floor. But to answer your original question, yes, I would plan to join you as usual. Well, maybe not as usual. I’d like to bring some of the guards too.”

At this, I nodded, warming up to the plan.

But in the back of my mind, I wondered if anything I did would be enough to keep Lieke from finding trouble.

CHAPTER 48

Lieke

Even if I hadn’t been angry with Brennan, and even if I hadn’t been wanting to get as much distance from him as possible, I still would have been excited for the journey around Emeryn. When I had traveled with Raven’s family, we’d steered clear of the main roads and villages, so this would be my first time visiting any of the towns. The first stop was less than a day away from the palace, to the south—a village named Linley.

“Does Matthias always travel with you?” My question broke the long and uncomfortable silence that had settled between us since our departure a few hours ago. My horse, Honey, seemed as eager as I was to be out and about. We traveled beside Connor and his mare, Rosie. Matthias and two guards rode ahead of us and four others followed behind. Despite our easy pace, Connor didn’t bother to look at me when he answered.

“Usually,” he said, the single word clipped short, as if talking to me was some ghastly chore.

I wasn’t going to let his bad attitude ruin mine though. Half-smiling, I nodded toward the general. “Is he your bodyguard or something?”

A short, breathy laugh came from Matthias, though he didn’t look back at us at all. The two men beside him appeared to be laughing quietly, their shoulders bouncing slightly.

“No” was all Connor said.

“What’s wrong with you today?” I asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance. He slid his gaze to mine for a moment before returning his attention to the trees around us.

“Nothing,” he muttered. I was about to call him out on his bullshit when he amended his answer. “Couldn’t possibly be that I’m riding through a dangerous forest with a woman most of my subjects want to see dead, heading for a village where…”

His jaw tightened, and I waited for him to finish. But he didn’t. Instead, he went back to riding silently and acting as if I wasn’t with him. Well, if Connor wasn’t willing to tell me, I’d ask someone else.

“Matthias?” I called.

“Yes, Lieke?” The prince’s friend turned his chin over his shoulder.

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