She smiled at him and offered her hand. “Victor.”
Her took her hand and bowed low toward the ground, barely brushing a kiss over the back of her fingers. “Welcome home, Princess.”
Chapter 16
Astrid
“Princess?” I looked from her to Victor and back again.
“Don’t look so surprised.” She gave me a half smile. “We all have our secrets.”
I was as speechless as the others for a second. “I know, but princess?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been called worse things.”
Victor chuckled and took a step to the side. He swept his arm, giving us a perfect view of Windelos. My jaw dropped. We weren’t at the top of the mountain, we were in the damn mountain. Like a dormant volcano, the steep rocky walls rose up around Windelos, forming a protective wall hundreds of feet high. Bright blue moonlight glinted off the multiple waterfalls that flowed down around the outside of Windelos. Gentle winding rivers flowed through the town and around the castle that stood at the center it.
I didn’t know what I was expecting, but this was not it. Maybe I wanted buildings carved out of stone or thatched houses. But this was so much more. The castle stood at the center of it all, tall and gleaming, like it was honed completely out of platinum meant to catch the moonlight. It was all smooth curving lines and windows the size of houses. Trees and plants sprung up between all the different wings that made up the castle, as if it was built around nature and not through it. At the very top of the highest point on the castle was a round diamond that look like it perfectly matched the one in Ashryn’s sword.
The diamond caught the moonlight and reflected it all around the town to smaller diamonds, like mirrors catching the sun. Everything glowed a brilliant blue that chased away the shadows of nightfall and made it seem like the castle and the town were part of the sky, blending in seamlessly like stars.
Giant trees spread throughout the area, standing tall and proud, many of them making me feel like an infant compared to their long lives. To my shock, their leaves had barely begun to change colors, when on the way up here, any tree that wasn’t an evergreen had already lost its greenery. But these seemed to have just begun to show the first touch of fall in the dark burgundy, yellow, and brown coloring. The town too was made of sleek-looking platinum buildings that mirrored the beauty of the castle in a much simpler manner. They were all built around the trees or completely in between them. Not a plant or root was disturbed by the way the elves lived.
Just below us, I could see the people who lived there walking around, engaging with each other. They didn’t carry cellphones or flashlights. Instead they carried diamond lanterns that held the light of the moon to guide their way. They too wore traditional clothing, with the women in skirts or dresses, and the men in butter-leather pants. Some looked to be more made for war than for peace, with swords or arrows strapped around their bodies. Even the warrior women moved with cropped vests and shorter skirts.
I looked down at myself. “I didn’t know I could rock fighter elf, I thought I had to do, you know, princess elf.”
I would’ve loved to wear one of those leather vests that stopped just at my ribs and a low-slung skirt that only covered the top of my legs. It was both deadly and sexy as hell at the same time. Victor clasped his hands behind his back and moved to walk next to Ashryn. They began walking down a twisted set of stone stairs set into the side of the wall surrounding Windelos. It was wide enough for two, or even three people, but I chose to hang back behind them, with Nova beside me, and Beckett bringing up the rear of our party.
Ashryn motioned to the castle. “We will need ‘princess elf’ as you call it. Especially if we’re going to get the tracker.”
A scoffing laugh burst from Victor’s lips, and Ashryn narrowed her eyes at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“So many things.” He turned to her and gave her a dazzling smile.
“Tell me now,” Ashryn demanded.
“But that would be so much less entertaining.” He snickered, and I almost wanted to laugh with him. Where Ashryn was all stern and cold, Victor seemed to have a light friendliness about him. He smiled more, and his words were more animated.
“I do realize we aren’t children anymore, but I can still flog you.” Ashryn said this in such a matter-of-fact tone, I couldn’t tell if she was playing or not.
At the bottom of the stairs, we turned straight for the castle, and I sucked in a deep breath. This place was even more magical the closer we got. There were tiny creatures I’d never seen before, flitting about, leaving trails of sparkles in their wake. Foxes, bears, and wolves, animals that are normally considered wild, scurried through the town. Small elven children ran their hands over their fur and played games with them as if they were pets. The air smelled sweet and clean from all the waterfalls. They weren’t deafening, more like the most comforting rainfall ever.
“This place is amazing.” I wanted to pet a bear. Then my mind went back to the Beware of Bear signs I’d seen while in the mountains one year, and I decided I most definitely did not want to pet a bear.
“Amazing? Yes. But the dating pool is awfully small.” Victor sighed. “I mean, how many times can you circle through the same elves?”
“Last I heard, you were with Gorman.” Ashryn wagged her eyebrows at him. “He seemed to be quite the specimen.”
We were gossiping about boys now? I could not put my finger on Ash. One second she was stoic, and the next she was teasing.
Victor sighed. “We broke up. He was all brawn and no brain. Cute enough, but lacking in conversation.”
Nova chuckled. “I fail to see how that’s a bad thing.”
“At first, so did I.” His face fell. “But at some point, you’ve got to have love and a connection beyond the physical.”
I glanced over my shoulder and met Beckett’s eyes. His lips parted in that breathtaking smile that I loved, and in that moment, I wanted to drop back to him. To let him throw his arm over my shoulder and pull me into his side, so I could be enveloped in his fresh clean scent and feel his heat next to me. Instead, I kept our secret, knowing that he risked his soul for mine, and I had to stay standing next to Nova instead of with him. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Victor glanced back at me and gave me a quick wink before he stopped at the stairs leading up toward the castle. He gestured toward the steps. “They’re waiting for you.”
Ashryn groaned and began marching up the stairs. “Let’s get this over with.”
At the top of the stairs, two elf guards stood in that silvery armor. Their backs were ramrod straight, and their helmets were pulled low over their eyes. Ashryn held up her hand and waved to them. “Open.”
With quick dancer-like movements, they grabbed the door handles and pulled the blue glassy doors wide open. A cool breeze came in from the room, and I hesitated for a moment. There was no long hallway or winding stairwell. Instead, there was a single walkway with water flowing under it. In fact, the water seemed to be flowing all around the room in a deep river, with perfect platforms, connected one to the other, over it. It was like an abstract piece of art. I could not tell where the silvery walkways began or where the water ended. It all flowed and moved in an organic way that made me want to take pictures to show Tilly. My heart panged at the thought of her, and I suddenly wanted to know exactly what they were doing to find her or if they had already found her.
Ashryn gave me a little wave, drawing me from my thoughts. She walked over one of the pathways toward the center of the room where a round platform sat front and center. A small circular stage, with two steps leading to thrones, rose up at the center of it. My eyes widened; I didn’t know what to do. But there, in two identical opulent thrones, sat the king and queen. When the king’s eyes met Ashryn’s, he clapped his hands together and held them to his lips. He reminded me of a kindly older man but only looked to be about thirty-five. His sandy-blond hair was parted down the middle, and two braids streamed
back from his temples. A simple gold crown sat on top of his head. It too ended in a small “V” point in the middle of his forehead. His eyes seemed to water just at the sight of Ashryn.
Her mother, on the other hand, showed no emotion whatsoever. Her beautiful delicate features were even finer than Ashryn’s. She was a raven-haired beauty with intense forest-green eyes that matched Ashryn’s perfectly. Her lips were full and pouty—even I could see a bit of Angelina Jolie in her. Intricate braids fanned back from her face, keeping her long hair in a half up/half down look. The rest of her hair fell down past her waist and pooled in her lap and around the arms of the throne. A simple silver crown was woven in among the braids; it was more floral than the others, with glittering emeralds for leaves.
Ashryn stopped before them and gave a graceful bow that I tried to follow, but I failed miserably. When she rose, she held her head high. “Mother, Father.”
Her mother snickered. “Well, if it isn’t my wayward child and her… projects.”
This is off to a good start…
Chapter 17
Maze
“This better freaking work.” Ophelia leaned up against a tree with her hands strapped behind her back. Or as close to strapped as she’d let us.
I took one of several brown paper bags and opened the top. The smell of crispy fried goodness filled my nose, and I fought not to dive in and eat my share of the take. Instead, I turned the bag upside down and dumped two dozen chicken nuggets at her feet. It pained me not to pick them up, blow them off, and eat them. “I want it to work just as much as you do.”
Odin trotted up to the pile, grabbed a nugget, and took off up a tree before I could stop him. His black oily fur shone under the bright moonlight. He dropped the nugget on the branch next to him. “Demons love nuggets.”
“Hey,” I pointed a finger up in his direction, “she’s not a demon.”
“Is too.” He grabbed the nugget and took big bites while his mouth steamed from the heat of it.
“Dude, you gotta face facts. Your girl is a demon, and that’s okay.” Cross too was up in the trees, only he fumbled with the thick ropes that held the magically enforced cage high above the ground. “The first thing to do in your position is accept her for who she is.”
“Good advice, babe.” Ophelia rolled her eyes. “Don’t believe all his bullshit. It took him years to come to grips with me.”
I grabbed two more bags and dumped more nuggets around her feet, piling them over her shoes. An involuntary sound of pain escaped my lips. “This better work.”
“Take me, for example. I have accepted that my soulmate is a sociopath with homicidal tendencies, and things are going great. I mean, it would be nice to wake up one morning without a knife pressed to one of my body parts, but baby steps.” The cage rattled and shook as Cross finished tying the quick release.
“I already told you, only rookie idiots do not sleep with weapons. Get used to it.” Ophelia rolled her eyes again.
“Enough, you two. Do you know the plan?” I narrowed my eyes at O.
“Duh, the smell of chicken deliciousness brings her closer to me, and when she tries to throw me again, I shove her back just enough for the cage to drop down on her, and, boom, demon trap sprung.”
“And I drop this thing on her before she can throw Ophelia at me again,” Cross called down from the tree above our heads.
“I’ll be waiting with the reinforced cuffs—to shackle her.” I held the thick cuffs out to the side. They were four inches wide and about an inch and a half thick. Mountain trolls couldn’t break the damn things. “Just in case.”
I opened the pocket of my army pants and let one of my cards fly out.
I am Strength, embrace the beast within…
Yeah, buddy, I’m embracing. I grabbed the card and let my magic flow over it. It illuminated the area with bright green smoke. I slammed the card into my chest and felt my body turn hard as rock. Then, I took it off my chest and smacked it against the cuffs. “One way or another, we’re getting her. I promised Astrid.”
A branch off to my left snapped, and my head jerked up to find two glowing eyes heading our way. I leapt back behind a thicket of bushes. Odin lifted his nose to sniff the air. “Incoming!”
I really hope this works…
Before she moved silently through the woods, now she made no effort to hide her footsteps. Branches crashed and leaves crunched as she ran toward us. I felt her moving toward me. It was unnerving to be so in tune with her emotions—the turmoil rolling through her was staggering. Confusion wracked her mind, and hunger drove her toward us now. She could scent me on the wind, yet she didn’t stop.
Ophelia grew very still with the chicken nuggets around her feet. “This better work.”
“What better bait than food and aggression mixed together?” I whispered in her direction.
Ophelia smacked her hands together, and a thin layer of metal covered her hands all the way up to her elbows, like gloves. She smiled down at her arms. “It worked.”
“What the hell? You’re going to hurt her.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, she’s kind of indestructible.” She snickered. “You want her in the cage, these will get her there.”
I didn’t want to see Tilly hurt, but Ophelia had a point. Tilly’s strength was enough to level a building. Just then, the crashing sounds of her moving through the woods stopped. Silence, dead silence, followed. She leapt into the small clearing, looking deadly as ever and sexy as hell. She crouched down, and her hand snapped out. She grabbed a chicken nugget and shoved it into her mouth. One after the other, her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk hording its food. It took less than a second for her to get it all in there. My kind of woman.
She shot to her feet and swiped her hand over her mouth. She tilted her head to the side like a cat studying its prey. Ophelia held up her hands, ready to defend herself. “Come on, I’m ready.”
Tilly struck out, and Ophelia swung up her arm, blocking the blow. She returned with one of her own, connecting with the side of her face. Tilly’s head snapped to the side, and she hissed at Ophelia. She leapt forward with her claws going right for Ophelia’s throat. Ophelia backed against the tree. She held out both of her armor-covered hands and caught Tilly. She leaned back and kicked her leg up into Tilly’s chest, sending her flying back.
Tilly skidded across the ground, stopping exactly where we needed her. Cross swung his blade at the rope, and the cage came crashing down around her. The metal clanked and rattled when it hit the ground, and for a second I thought it wouldn’t work. But Tilly popped to her feet and wrapped her hands around the bars, shaking back and forth. Nothing moved.
Cross dropped down from the branches and landed next to Ophelia. “Well done.”
“One demon-Tilly coming up.” She dusted off her hands.
Tilly’s hand shot out between the bars, reaching for Ophelia. Her body slammed into the side of the cage with a loud bang. She hissed in her direction. Ophelia held her hands out to her sides in a ‘What gives?’ gesture. “Dude, I thought we were cool.”
“If you want to be top predator, then eliminate the competition,” Tilly growled and went for Ophelia’s throat again.
“I can respect that.” Ophelia clapped her hands together, and the metal gloves disappeared. Then she smacked Cross and me in the shoulders at the same time. “How about that, boys? I’m more of a predator than the both of you.”
“Tell us something we don’t know.” I rolled my eyes.
O got too close to the cage and met Tilly’s eyes. “From one badass to another, respect. Also, I may forgive you when you’re you again.”
My heart panged. Would she ever be her again? If not, then this was all my fault. This demon-Tilly was my responsibility. I grabbed Ophelia’s shoulders and moved her around to the front of the cage. I needed one of Tilly’s arms, and there was no way she would give it up voluntarily. The second her hand shot out toward O from the right hole, I locked one of the handcuffs o
n her wrist. I snapped the other onto mine before she could yank back her hand. She pulled, I stayed still. She yanked again, and the Strength card held fast, doing the work it was meant to do.
“That’s one hellish kink you’ve got there.” Ophelia examined the handcuffs. “Can I borrow them? She did crush my other ones.”
I rolled my eyes. “No.”
“Party pooper.”
I eyed my Tilly closely. “I have things to fix—prices to pay.”
Chapter 18
Beckett
“Projects?” The word slipped from my mouth before I could stop it. I wasn’t used to swallowing my words. Traditions be damned, and respect for elders? Last I checked, respect was earned… not given. Yet I held myself still. I needed the tracker, and apparently, they had it. For Logan, I would take this and more.
The queen gazed down her tiny pert nose at me, blinked once, and turned to Ashryn. “They speak, as well.”
“You forget yourself, Mother. We are surrounded by two warlock heirs and one witch queen. Positions that demand respect in the world of Evermore—our world.”
“Do not speak to me of respect.” She shifted in her seat and crossed her legs, letting the long shimmering fabric of her emerald dress slither over her legs. “You left in the night.”
Ashryn shook her head. “I left in the day.”
“Without a word.” Her sharp eyes seemed to glow with annoyance.
“I told you I was going.” Ashryn sighed as if this drama was old hat for her.
“Never to return.”
Ash spread her arms wide in front of her. “Yet, here I stand.”
The queen made a sound of disgust in the back of her throat. “No doubt for a purpose.”
Wicked Curse (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 4) Page 11
