Page 15 of Prince of Never

‘Is there anything that doesn’t put him in a mood?’I paused in my dusting, chewing on a question before finally turning around.‘Have you never thought about escaping this place and going back to the human world?’

She contemplated the question for a moment, a sad smile on her face.‘When I was young, I used to dream of going back there and meeting my family.I dreamed they’d sweep me up into their arms and we’d live happily ever after,’ she said.‘But as I grew older, I understood why that can never be.I wasn’t just taken, I was replaced.My parents have a daughter, and she isn’t me.If I went to the human world, I’d be alone, and I wouldn’t know how anything worked.How would I survive there?’She gave a little shrug, her face softening back into that warm expression she always seemed to wear.‘The fae realm isn’t so bad.You might even come to like it once you get used to the way things work.’

I felt a strange sense of guilt then.Here she was, making the best of a shitty situation, knowing she could never know her parents, while I actively avoided my own parents, unable to forgive their transgressions.‘I think you’re the only thing about this place that I do like so far,’ I said.

‘Well, perhaps I can help you find some others,’ she said brightly, as though she’d accepted it as her own personal mission to make me happy here, and I couldn’t help smiling back at her.I watched as she pulled a bucket of water off the trolly and popped a tiny bead into it.Almost immediately, the thing began to bubble and fizz, until the whole top of the bucket had a frothy head on it.At her laugh, I looked up.‘It’s like you’ve never seen soap before,’ she said, her slender shoulders shaking with mirth.

‘Well, that does it,’ I said, scooping the bubbles up in my hand.I blew on the frothy mass and it drifted into the air like tiny clouds, surrounding Sarah, landing in her hair and on her clothes as she tried to swat them away, laughing harder.She retaliated quickly, the bubbles seeming to reappear each time they were scooped out, and soon the room was filled with tiny bubble clouds and childish laughter, a sound I could hardly remember ever making.For a blissful moment, nothing else existed.

And then I felt that familiar sense that someone was watching me.I shot my gaze to one of the doorways, catching sight of Tarian’s dark eyes, his face perfectly still.

‘What in the name of the gods are you doing?’a shrill voice cut through the air, stealing my attention from the prince.Madam Hetia’s skin was turning redder by the second, as if she was so shocked she could barely breathe, let alone speak.I snuck my gaze back to the other doorway, only to find it was now empty.

‘Clean this mess upthisinstant,’ Madam Hetia trilled, sounding more like an old shrew than a crow now.‘If I catch the two of you at this sort of foolishness again, it will be the cane.Do you understand me?’

‘Yes, Madam Hetia,’ Sarah and I muttered together, and I followed her lead, dropping my head, though it made me grind my teeth.I didn’t want to be responsible for Sarah suffering such a savage punishment.

All the tales I’d ever heard said the Fae Realm was a magical place, but it only seemed cruel and brutish to me.I definitely needed to find a way to get home.

Chapter 8

Imogen

Thecrowhadwatchedus for the rest of the day, shooting a glare our way any time we so much as opened our mouths.If ever there was a person to completely disprove the point Sarah was trying to make about this place, it was Madam Hetia.

I did, however, take comfort in the fact that I hadn’t seen Tarian again for the rest of the day.Maybe he thought working me until I couldn’t move would prevent any further escape attempts.The man was an evil mastermind.

I’d barely plonked myself on my bed at the end of the day before a knock sounded at the door.I groaned loudly, but there was no way I was getting up.‘What?’I grumbled.Ladylike?Not really.Did I care?Absolutely not.It seemed absurdly rude that anyone would come to demand something of me when my limbs felt like jelly and my muscles burned as if acid had been pumped through them.

The door opened slowly and a head poked in.‘It’s only me,’ Sarah said hesitantly.

‘Oh,’ I said, forcing myself to sit up.‘Is something the matter?’

She slipped inside and closed the door behind her.She was carrying a dress in her arms, a conspiratorial look in her eyes.‘Here, put this on,’ she said, thrusting the garment into my arms.

‘Why?’I asked cautiously.

‘I told you I would change your mind about this place, and we’re starting tonight,’ she said.

It was possible that this sweet girl was far more devious than she let on, and a rebellious little part of me liked that about her and didn’t want to disappoint her by refusing.I had always been the girl who hid herself away; better to be safe at home than risk the night.But I was fairly sure that the prince keeping me captive was worse than anything else I would come across in the dark tonight, and Sarah didn’t exactly strike me as the sort to put herself in danger.

‘Alright, let’s do it,’ I said, and Sarah’s grin widened, her eyes sparkling with delight.I didn’t know what she had in store, but her excitement was catching.

After dressing in record speed, Sarah led me through the castle, taking me down what she said were the servant corridors.I was beginning to think that the only way to escape was to jump out the windows, because how else would I be able to find my way through this maze of a castle?

Finally, we spilled out into the night and that fear of getting caught began to subside.‘Okay, now comes the tricky part,’ she said.

‘The tricky part?’I almost squeaked.

‘Just try not to say anything,’ she said before dragging me along the path towards an enormous gate that looked like it was designed to scare people away.There was a gatehouse next to it, with a man standing guard, looking almost bored, and Sarah offered him a warm smile.‘Good evening, Aiden,’ she said brightly.

‘Evening, Miss Sarah.Going out for the night?’

‘Yes, it’s been a busy day, we need to unwind a bit.’

Aiden leaned out and stared at me and I offered him a smile, because what else could I do at that point?My stomach knotted violently as I waited for him to drag me back inside and report to Tarian that I’d tried to leave the grounds.Again.

But he turned his gaze back to Sarah.‘You didn’t want to go with the others?’

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