Page 169 of Bride of the Fae Prince

I shake my head, my hair flying into my eyes. “The only thing he cares about is his throne, and it’s not as though I can drag his throne before him and threaten to chop off its legs if he doesn’t behave!”

“Stop being purposefully dense. Thinking like that will land us in war. A war that will lead to all of us being killed and Faradir still reigning. Stop reacting and start thinking.”

Then Rahk marches through the portal, which bursts into bright white light as it swallows him whole. I stand there a second longer, huffing, both furious and yet . . . maybe a twinge hopeful. A touch less desperate.

Why did Rahk have to get all the steadiness, all the unmovable strength of the two of us? All I got was rebellion and a flare for drama.

Then again . . . perhaps that is what I need to bring down Faradir. A knee that refuses to bend and something to mislead him—a way to lie to him while always telling the truth.

Stella’s face flashes before my eyes, beautiful and distraught and fiercely stubborn.

I shouldn’t have sent her away.

Mountains of Ildrid, I was a fool to let my fear overcome me like that. She has that brilliant glamour magic of hers, and it might be just what I need. Though not in the way I’d originally planned.

The gate swallows me in dazzling white as I step through it.

My feet land on smooth rocks beside a moonlit sea of glass. Rahk waits a pace away, his face like the jagged edges of a cliff. His presence always gives me the courage I need to press onward.

Our eyes meet, and then I’m in motion, heading toward the bridge that leads to the cliffside palace of Valehaven. “We need to find Stella and bring her back. Immediately.”

Rahk gives one nod and falls into stride beside me, matching my quick pace. Hardly a minute later, before we’ve cut through shrubbery instead of minding the winding path, Rahk’s head whips up, his nose twitching.

“Edvear is coming,” he announces.

“Toward us?”

“Toward us. He’s running.”

Dread like nothing I’ve ever faced clamps hold of me, chains my ankles and wrists. “Oh, Great Kings have mercy.”

I break into a run, Rahk on my heels, my desperation quickening my pace. Then I come to a sudden halt, nearly getting rammed in the chest by Edvear’s horns. I grab him by the shoulders, restraining him as he gasps for air.

“Lady Stella!” he chokes out, his cat eyes ringed in white. “The High King!”

“He has her?” I demand, then shake Edvear when he doesn’t answer fast enough. “Does he have her?”

“Yes!” And then he crumples into sobs as his limbs give out.

“How?” I tighten my grip on him, so he hangs like a ragdoll with his buckled knees. “How did he get her?”

“It doesn’t matter—” Rahk tries to tell me.

Because we both know. We both knew the moment Edvear started crying.

“What. Did. You. Do?” I seethe, bringing my face to Edvear’s. “You betrayed her.”

“The High King made me!” Edvear cries out in pain as my nails dig into his skin. “I never—”

“Let him go, Ash!”

“When?” I demand. “Tell me when!”

“While you were gone at the Small City!” Edvear babbles. “He caught me, and I thought he was going to kill me but—”

Rahk grabs my wrist in one hand, my elbow in the other, and pulls at a threatening angle. “Let. Him. Go.”

I ignore him and his threat to break my arm. “You betrayed Oleria! You’re the reason she—she—”

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