Page 96 of Desire

“We won’t, Princess. Thank you.”

He kissed me quickly, and I released him.

After he disappeared around the side of the cottage, I turned and found Maeve standing behind me. Although only a little over a month had passed, she looked nothing like the vibrant woman I’d known. Barefoot, hem covered in dirt, and twigs stuck in her long grey hair, she’d aged several decades.

“‘Ello, dearie,” she crooned with a kind smile that showed missing teeth. “If not for the noise, I would have missed this haven.”

“I doubt that, Maeve,” I said.

Slowly, she straightened from her stooped stance.

“Your eyes gave you away,” I said. “While the rest of you has changed, those have not. Have you come to take me home since the men you sent failed so abysmally?”

Through Eloise, I’d learned the danger of provoking Maeve. Yet, I dared not pass idle time with false pleasantries when any of the brothers could return abruptly.

She considered me for a long moment.

“No, I don’t believe it wise to return you to your sister. It is best to keep you here. You have much to learn.”

“Oh?”

“Your cool regard spared you in the past. We will see if it continues to serve you well in the future.” She plucked the best apple from the basket she held and offered it to me. “Eat the apple and spare your sister. Refuse it and I will unleash such horror onto Eloise that she will forget her own name. The choice is yours.”

Without hesitation, I took the apple and bit into it.

Maeve’s wicked grin grew as I swallowed the bite.

“Sleep well, Kellen,” she said.

The spell coursed through me, settling into my bones. Everything went dark, and I collapsed to the ground, still very aware.

Fingers brushed the hair back from my face.

“You are truly a beauty. If you ever wake, no man of worth will ever want you. This, my sweet daughter, will be your greatest fall.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I listenedto the swish of Maeve’s skirts fade as she retreated. After several moments, I cautiously opened my senses. Her energy entered the forest and continued to move away from the glade. I wanted to weep with relief that she’d left before anyone else returned…until I remembered how she’d distracted my protectors.

An ache filled my chest as I focused on the cave where Darian, Brandle, and Eadric worked to remove the rocks that blocked the opening. Inside, Daemon, Edmund, Liam, and Garron struggled to do the same. I felt their fear, and it fed my own.

It would take little effort for me to move the rocks, but would Maeve sense if I cast now? She was still so close, and I couldn’t risk her returning.

With little else to do, I focused on the spell she’d cast on me. I felt where it had settled. Sticky like sap, it coated me from the inside and made it impossible to move. The paralysis felt familiar. Had the previous times also been due to Maeve?

A span of time later, a shock of rage, not my own, screamed through me. It came from the spell. I checked Maeve’s progress and saw beasts running in her direction. Not Father, though. Hewas close to the clearing, watching me from the shadows. Had he seen Maeve?

Once the nearby beasts had fled, he howled long and low.

Father, quiet!I thought frantically.If she returns, we could all die.

The howl continued, and I felt Darian’s attention shift away from the rocks.

“Kellen?” he called.

His concern grew and became my own as he rounded the corner of the cottage.

“Princess?” He knelt beside me and carefully lifted me into his arms.

---