Page 11 of Fae King's Forbidden Love

I didn’t recognize her voice, and I willed my eyes to open, despite the heaviness forcing every part of me down, keeping me in place.

Too much saccharin flooded my nostrils now, making me gag slightly.

Cookies? Waffles?

The idea of food right now made me sick, but the bizarreness of the odors made me want to see, and I finally managed to wrench my eyelids open, my foggy vision resting on a set of curious eyes and a wide, happy smile.

She was so pretty, matching the weirdness of what was already overcoming my confused vision. Her blunt, straight hairwas chopped over her even forehead, and long, dark eyelashes framed innocent, wide irises. To me, she looked more like a cartoon character than a real fae, making me wonder if I was dreaming.

My gaze traveled lower toward her hoodie, an emblem I didn’t recognize emblazoned in gold over the off-white breast. It was impossible to make out her figure, but she was slight, tiny. Certainly smaller than me.

“Oh, good!” she breathed, clapping her hands together. “You’re awake!”

She fell back and sank onto the mattress at my side as I turned my head, realizing that I was no longer in the stinking hotel room in downtown Copehaven. Somehow, this miniscule creature had managed to move me.

Alone? Or was someone else here?

I shifted my head the other way and found myself staring out of a lovely window overlooking an endless forest. Dread shot through my heart, despite my gorgeous surroundings. I longed for the mildewed sheets of the stank motel by the border. I wished I hadn’t left my brother’s apartment in Geldon. I didn’t care now that Saint wanted to marry me off. Anywhere had to be better than where I currently lay, unable to move.

“Hello? Are you in there?” the stranger tittered. “Can you hear me?”

“W-where am I?” I rasped, my question followed by a fit of coughing. My throat was too dry, and I couldn’t stop the hacking now that I’d started.

“Oh!” the brunette mewled, jumping up from the bedside as I struggled to do the same. “Hang on. I’ll get you some water. Sorry. That stuff can be really potent.”

What stuff? What the hell did you give me?The coughing prevented me from asking her anything else.

She hurried away from me, across the huge suite, toward an adjoining doorway as I composed myself.

What the hell was going on?

I heard water running, and a moment later, she returned with a glass of water in her hands, placing the lip to my mouth. “Here,” she encouraged. “Have a sip.”

I didn’t trust her, but my mouth was so dry, and the liquid was so cool against my parched lips. The water spilled along my arid insides, and I exhaled when she pulled the glass away, her broad smile never faltering from her tiny features.

“Who the fuck are you?” I yelled, again forcing myself upright. But the effort was futile. I was tied down somehow. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Invisible chains! She had me locked in a spell!

Now I could smell the sulfur, overtaking the sweetness of the sugary foods nearby. This fae was rife with it. She was flooded with dark magic, and I was at her mercy.

Furiously, I strained, knowing that my efforts were useless, but as I worked, I conjured a spell in my mind.

“Don’t bother, Elix,” she told me with a disappointed sigh, as if she could read my mind. “I’ve put a blocker on you, as well as the chains.” She raised a hand and smiled at me nervously. “It’s not forever. Just until we can trust one another.”

A magic blocker? How powerful was she?

I shuddered inwardly, but I didn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing my fear. Instead, I scoffed loudly and rudely, falling back to glower at her as I took her word as the truth. “Are you kidding me right now? Trust you? You kidnapped me and now I’m locked up. Who the hell are you, anyway?”

“Lysandra,” she explained, her smile widening as she nodded expectantly. Continuing to stare at me, she waited, but when I didn’t react, she added, “You might have heard of me?”

I stared at her balefully, gnawing on the insides of my cheeks as I tried to figure out how I had gotten here without anyone noticing.

It’s not like the clerk at the front desk was taking any notes. Anyone could have done anything in that place, and no one would have given a shit. Dammit! Why wasn’t I more careful?

It was too late for regrets now. I just needed to figure out how to get out of the mess I was in.

I fixed my attention on Lysandra.

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