Page 92 of Prince of Never

‘It’s almost dark.’I shook him off.

‘From the state you’re in, I’d say you need more protecting than she does.Why don’t you just let her wander around in the Shadowmire for the night?If she survives, she’ll never leave your room again.’

I ignored him, pushing towards the door on legs that still felt unsteady.

‘As someone with a vested interest in the Unseelie throne remaining intact, I have to ask you, what exactly is your plan, Tarian?’

Pausing with a hand braced against the wall, I skewered him with a look.

He raised his hands in defence.‘I’ve enjoyed the whirl of chaos that seems to surround your Imogen, but I’m a little less fond of the fate she’s tied to.’

‘Who have you been talking to?’I said after a long moment.

‘Credit me with half a brain.That prophesy has been practically a bedtime story for most of the realm by now.It didn’t take much to put the pieces together.’He examined his nails and feigned carelessness, but there was an edge to his words that I didn’t miss.‘I quite like being an heir to the crown.Makes for excellent tavern bragging.I’m a tad concerned that there won’t be a crown to be heir to if you keep charging along trying to keep her alive when it really would be best for you if she weren’t.’

A drop of water fell from the ceiling and trailed down the back of my neck, the memory of an icicle that had hung there when Imogen had frozen the room.Had frozenme.And as I stared at my fair-weather friend of a cousin, I realised that beneath the fear of her being gone was something hot and whirling.I wasangrywith her.She’dleft.She’d attacked me and taken off, like everything that had happened between us was nothing.

And when I found her, she was going to tell me why.

‘Pick a side, Vesryn,’ I warned him.‘You can’t hedge your bets forever.Are you the queen’s man or mine?Because I’m not going to let you straddle the line until this all comes to a head, and if you pick my side, then you’re picking Imogen’s as well.Prophecy or not.’

His expression turned resentful; there was nothing like an ultimatum to put him in a bad mood.He hated being trapped.‘Does that mean you plan on unseating your mother?’he asked slyly.I just stared at him.I wasn’t stupid enough to answer a question like that.He folded his arms.‘You can hardly blame me for wanting to know the particulars.I don’t like you enough to get executed for you.’

‘I’ll take that as your answer.I don’t have time for this conversation,’ I said, heading for the door on much steadier legs than I’d had a few minutes ago.

‘Tarian,’ Ves called after me, stopping me at the threshold.‘She went east.’

A smile twitched at the corners of my mouth, and I nodded in thanks before continuing my way to the roof, the instinct to give chase already itching beneath my skin.

The Shadowmire was vast and quickly darkening beneath me.If I quieted my mind a little, there was a sense of Imogen deep in the dark of my subconscious, like a slender thread tugging me gently in one direction over another, which was interesting and unexpected.As much as Haddock had spoken of tweaking the bond between us to guide her back from the space between realms, I had thought that was mostly a metaphor.But the sting of fear for her had strung it tight enough that I’d become aware of it, presenting as a certainty in my heading that drew me forward.

But it became difficult to quiet my thoughts and focus as the sun withdrew from the sky and the Shadowmire awoke.As darkness crawled over the land, the creatures of the night were stirring, and Imogen was still out there.I grew desperate, grabbing for that thread only to have it slip away and leave me directionless.Melaie was tense and quivery beneath me, reading my tension and shrieking her displeasure loud enough to send a fachan hopping madly for cover below, single eye rolling upwards to fix on the predator above.

A tide of shifting shadow caught my attention ahead, a deep pit of darkness that writhed and moved like something almost solid, but not quite.It swarmed after a running figure.

I pressed into Melaie’s flanks and shifted my weight until we were plunging down towards the ground, soaring over the tops of the mass of shades and heading straight for their prey.I barely caught sight of a shock of white-blond hair before a shriek announced that Melaie had caught him in her talons and was hauling him high into the air, headed for a rocky outcrop jutting out over the landscape.

We landed on a narrow ledge, with Melaie dumping her captive unceremoniously before she touched down herself, and when I dismounted he was scrambling backwards on the ground, his eyes wide.Then he grimaced in pain and a hand went to rubbing at his shoulder.

‘Was that necessary?’He peeled back his sleeve to expose a ring of bright red skin where he’d been gripped tight.

‘Unless you wanted to be sucked dry by a hoard of shades, yes.’

‘Charming.I can see why she ran,’ he grumbled, and I suddenly realised where I’d seen him before.In the hunt with Imogen, yes, but also before then.The halfling from the mortal realm.

‘Was Imogen with you?’

‘Obviously, but she isn’t anymore.You’re too late.King Goldilocks nabbed her.’

‘What?’

He climbed to his feet and rolled his neck, testing his shoulders.‘I saw them disappear together.’He raised his hands as my expression darkened.‘Easy, lover boy, that had nothing to do with me.I was taking her back to the mortal realm, not ferrying her around to sample different high-fae bigots.’

‘Where did he take her, halfling?’

He straightened up and planted a hand on his hip.‘Okay, firstly, my name is Ethan, which is something you should know and use, since I’m Imogen’s bestie and you should be trying to impress me.Secondly, how the hell should I know?Do I look like I hang out with high fae kings and chat about their plans?’

‘You’ve spent too long in the mortal realm,’ I growled.‘You’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.You should never have taken her in the first place.’

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