Page 68 of Bride of the Fae Prince

“Stella,” he replies, his voice low.

“I don’t wish to be flustered right now. That is my thought. Now, if you would be so kind as to not purposefully try to induce anxiety in me, I would be grateful. These last few days have been enough by themselves.”

I turn and continue marching forward in the direction he’d been heading, but not before I catch his expression. Thinned lips, without a trace of amusement, and a creased brow. Then he’s at my side, and we walk together through the forest without touching.

“This way,” he says, gesturing for us to skirt a tree, and I wonder if he made up the wholepaththing, but I follow anyway.

We perform the rest of our walk in silence. I almost want to ask what he’s thinking, but that would invite more conversation—and I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet.

Before I know it, the forest changes. The ground becomes littered with mushrooms, white and red spotted ones, others brown or gray. The farther we walk, the larger the mushrooms get, and the brighter the colors. They shift slowly enough that I don’t notice it at first, until there is a very distinct mushroom the color of lapis lazuli before me, almost as tall as my knees.

That’s when I realize the trees are also getting taller. Much, much taller. Unease trickles down my spine. I scoot a little closer to Ash, wishing I was brave enough to either face this with straight shoulders or grab hold of my husband’s arm.

“Why are these mushrooms so big?” I whisper.

Ash glances sidelong at me. “They’re normal sized.”

Normal tohim, perhaps.

He hesitates then, stealing another glance my way.

“What?” I ask, wrapping my arms around my middle and trying to hide from the deepening sense of premonition.

Ash gives his neck a quick scratch. “I suppose I should probably inform you that as we enter this colony, we’re actually . . . shrinking.”

“Shrinking?” I blurt, and then look around at the mushrooms now tall enough to reach my waist, the trees towering to the heights of heaven above us.

What makes the panic hit past my wall of disbelief is when I look down and discover how large the pine needles are—long enough and fat enough for me to pick one up and use it as a toy sword.

I stop walking. My vision starts to go black.

“Whoa now. Easy there.” Ash’s arm slips around my waist, catching me as I slump, my head falling onto his shoulder. “Forgive me, my love. I forgot this isn’t normal for you humans.”

What won’t be normal is the shape of his nose after I regain my strength enough to swing a blow at him.

Where didthatthought come from? It’s hardly a dignified response for a princess.

Despite clinging to consciousness like a barnacle on a turtle’s shell, I mumble against Ash’s neck, “I have the strangest urge to punch you.”

“You wouldn’t be the first,” he replies, scooping me up into his arms.

The next thing I’m aware of is a crackling voice permeating through the fog of my awareness. Wobbly, but kind and warm. “Do you want smelling salts for the girl? Fainting is not a good sign, Prince Trenian. Poor thing must be taking the adjustment hard.”

“She’s taking it quite brilliantly,” comes Ash’s voice, oddly close. So close, I’m feeling it more than hearing it. “She has a practical head on her shoulders, especially for a princess. It’s very admirable.”

“I never thought I’d see the day our prince was wed, much less to a human. My boy was honored to serve you all these years. He had nothing but good things to say of the kind master you were when he came to visit.” That crackling voice breaks slightly, punctuated by a sniffle.

My eyes won’t open. I frown.

“Calver was faithful in his work. You should know that he faced his end bravely. He didn’t beg, and his last thought was for you.”

The sniffles grow.

The warmth around me shifts, and a chair creaks. “Here,” comes Ash’s gentle urge.

“Oh, thank you,” is the return half-sob. A loud nose blow follows this.

“I’ve made arrangements with Prince Rahk,” Ash continues, despite the soft weeping. “He will take you to Orawyth, and you’ll be safe there. It’s a human land, but completely disconnected from our continent, like those beyond the Veil, and Faradir does not have access to either of the doors to that world. Once I’m High King, you can return, and you will be under my protection.”

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