Page 41 of Fae Unashamed

I pointed a finger in Ostara’s direction. “As a matter of fact, Faust has been defeated.”

I said defeated as if we didn’t kill him. His blood was on our hands. I should have felt worse about the situation, but I was still in the midst of a panic. I’d just gotten Rhoan back. The urge to fling myself back into the other domain nearly dragged me away.

Somehow, I kept my feet rooted to the stone floor. The castle needed me.

Pressing my eyes closed, I asked myself what Ness would have done. I wanted my lover more than anything. The only reason I’d come back with my head this high was because he’d been at my side.

Without him, the castle was still oddly hollow even though it was brimming with more life than ever.

Taken aback, Ostara asked, “Then where is the knight? Have you sent him on another mission?”

My nose wrinkled. Tal watched me curiously. He’d been there when we defeated Faust. He’d seen the castle and how the domain had welcomed Rhoan.

“What happened?” I asked Tal.

He grimaced. “I don’t think you’re going to like the answer.”

Before I could force Tal to go on, Feri reappeared. He leapt on Ostara’s skirts and skittered up to her shoulders so that he could be eye-level with the rest of us when he spoke. I’d hadn’t even noticed when he’d left. He’d been so quick and efficient that I gave him a look of appreciation.

Like hell would I thank him. He would hold it over my head forever.

“Rhoan has informed me that he is incapable of leaving the domain. Since you left his side, he has attempted to travel both here and to the mortal realm. So far, nothing has worked. He is stranded in the domain of nightmares.”

Ostara hissed in shock.

I spun towards Tal. “How do we get him out?”

Before Tal could say anything, the castle rumbled. I reached out with my arcana, but it was too late. A tower at the west crumbled before I could pull it back together.

“Why is everything falling apart now?” I exclaimed.

Tal cleared his throat. He raised both brows as if to say that it was my fault, and he was somewhat right. Why couldn’t I have a happy ending, though? Why did my story have to be so damn fraught with trouble? It seemed to be obstacle after obstacle.

I had a tower to put back together. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back and fought tears of frustration. Someone touched my arm. Snapping my eyes open, I found Ostara at my side.

Seeing her beside Tal sent me back to the newly uncovered memory. I recalled how she’d clutched me close to protect me. Though she was a bit of a flighty mess, she’d stayed here unlike Foxglove.

“Rhoan’s new castle changed itself to fit him,” I said, turning to Tal. “It also conjured pillows and cushions when we…”

I trailed off. My face turned red-hot. There was no way that I would finish that statement. Not a soul could have dragged it out of me in that moment.

Tal shook his head as if trying to eject what he’d just discovered.

I cleared my throat. “Is there any way I can use the magic of the domain to fix the castle?”

And summon a coffee maker? I need some caffeine. A whole espresso machine would be really nice right now, but I’d settle for a little percolator coffee maker if I had to.

While we went outside so I could touch the earth of the domain, Tal and Ostara filled me in on all that’d happened while I’d been gone. Some of Foxglove’s soldiers had defected to join our cause. They were the ones who’d fought on the roof with us. I had a feeling they’d fallen in love with the beautiful dryads fighting beside them that day because Ostara informed me that there would be new dryads joining the court in nine months.

The fae worked fast.

I paused. Rhoan and I hadn’t exactly taken any precautions earlier, either. I could have easily gone inside and brewed a potion for effective birth control, but my arcana made it easy to reach into my own body and prevent his seed from finding anything to fertilize. It took barely a moment, and the task was done.

Maybe I would want children in the future, but now was not the time. The last thing I needed to worry about was a small life that never asked to be a part of this war. I wanted nothing to do with this, so there was no way I could ask an innocent soul to walk into danger with me like that.

Later, I would ask Rhoan how he felt about my arcana and what I could do. We needed to discuss what family meant to either of us, and what we expected of the future. That meant getting time together, though.

On my hands and knees outside, I could see the fallen tower to the west. I moved my arcana from within my body and pushed it into the ground. The domain greeted me warily. It was exhausted from Beryl’s assault and angry that I haven’t been around to help.

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