Page 74 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

“I’ll go with you,” I say, trying to hide the bubbling of my curiosity. I’m supposed to be a traumatized boy, so I keep my shoulders scrunched as I follow Rahk out of the carriage.

He smiles down at me. As though he’s proud of my bravery.

We stand on the farmland waving with grass at the edge of the great, dark Wood. Knights in heavy armor stand at attention beside Queen Vivienne, who wears a shawl around her delicate shoulders. Rahk goes directly to her. I hang back, mussing my hair and slouching my shoulders even more. I don’t want to go anywhere near her for fear she’ll see through my disguise at once and recognize me.

So I stay with Edvear by the carriage.

“What’s going on?” I ask, nervously.

“The border of the Wood has begun receding.”

“It has?”

“It seems the queen is asking our lord to inspect it.”

The prince leaves the group then. He strides through the tall grass, his white hair falling between his shoulder blades and sweeping around his face as the wind picks up. He doesn’t slow until he reaches the edge of the Wood.

Queen Vivienne stays where she is, her chin lifted as she watches Rahk.

It hasn’t even occurred to me that it might not be safe for humans while it is receding. I’ve just been going in and out as I please. The prince turns around, beckons Edvear to come. His eye catches mine and his eyebrow lifts—giving me the option to join if I want to.

It’s probably a bad idea, but my curiosity gets the better of me. I follow Edvear out to meet the prince.

What I see takes my breath away.

The ground at the edge of the Wood isn’t green like the rest, but sparking with a chorus of golden glows. As though millions of fireflies hover just above the soil. The wind, always strong near Caphryl, blows my hair in every direction.

I stop where I am. The prince beckons me closer. “It’s safe.”

“What’s happening?” I ask.

“The forest is receding, but the land left behind is still saturated with magic.”

I look up in alarm. “Will it always be this way? Will we get hurt if we get too close?”

Rahk shakes his head. “No, on both counts. The remnants of magic will fade as the human cycle of death overtakes it. It won’t be long. It won’t hurt anyone. Not the ground itself, that is.” He says it with a dark furrow of his brow. “Though perhaps now the queen will be open to a dialogue about the Wood.”

I stay where I am as he leaves to speak with the queen.

The land is being returned. After all these years.

But the Wood won’t give back all it took.

I grit my teeth. Foolish as it may be, I cannot wait until my next raid. I walk back over, staying out of close range but within hearing distance just as the prince is saying to the queen, “I would be honored to attend your luncheon.”

“Two days,” says Queen Vivienne. “One discussion, and no more. We do not need fae here.”

Rahk bows cordially. “I understand.”

ThenextunexpectederrandRahk takes me on is to a sparring yard. I have no idea why he takes me, and not Edvear, but when he asks me to accompany him, I cannot think of an excuse fast enough.

The sparring yard is out of town again. I recognize the place as belonging to Baron Cranswick. My hackles rise as we step onto what seems to be a glorified courtyard, complete with barrels of weapons and an alarming number of shirtless young men.

Young men thatI know.

There is Sir Alsbee and his crew, laughing and lounging on a few benches. There is Lord Oliver Cranswick, tossing aside his sword as he jogs to meet us. And beyond him, sitting fully clothed with no sign of exertion, is Lord Boreham.

Saints have mercy on me.What is Lord Boreham doing here?

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