Fae Prophecy (The Fae Prophecy Series Book 1)

by Toni Cox

  “You can come out now,” Ronan said gently, lifting the edge of the tablecloth.

  “Thank you.” I smiled up at him.

  I clambered out from beneath the table and then followed the old librarian to the far end of the main room. There, he climbed a tall ladder that was attached to a balcony that encircled the entire room.

  I followed him up, thinking that this was probably where he had been when I came in, which is why I had not seen him.

  With practised ease, Elder Ronan searched through a row of books and pulled down a dusty-looking volume bound in purple leather. The faded markings on it gave me shivers.

  “This, my dear, is what you are looking for,” he said.

  Wiping the dusty book down with a cloth he produced from within his robe, he took a seat on a bench along the balcony.

  “Arianna has not been seen in these parts for many years,” he continued. “And, you should not be seen with her, either. If what you say is true and you must go to her, be careful. I entrust you with this. It is a spellbook. Learn as much as you can before you reach her so you can protect yourself.”

  “Why? Who is this Arianna?”

  “Not who, what. Arianna is a witch.”

  Chapter 3

  A witch? Fae did not mingle with witches.

  After stuffing the mysterious book safely into the backpack, I stepped out into the market. It was even more crowded now. Flags fluttered, roosters crowed, women shouted their wares.

  Feeling safe amongst the many fae doing their morning shopping on the large square, I wove my way between them, buying a cone of blueberries along the way.

  “Don’t move, Princess,” a voice hissed by my ear as an iron grip clasped around my right arm.

  Panicked, I dropped the blueberries and tried to wriggle out of the man’s grip. I did not fail to notice him to be one of the city guards from the library.

  The other guard immediately came to assist, and took my other arm, forcing me into stillness between them.

  “We mean you no harm, Princess,” the city guard who had spoken first, said. “We have orders to take you back, that’s all.”

  “You can’t make me.” I wriggled again, to no avail. “I command you to let me go.”

  “We’re sorry, Princess.”

  I didn’t know many of the city guards, and I didn’t know these two, so I wondered how they had recognised me. My hair had probably dried; its fiery red glowing in the morning sun.

  We exited the market, and they marched me up a broad main street. A different one to the one I had taken to get here.

  Word of my capture seemed to be spreading fast, for more and more people stopped along their way to stare at my misfortune. I didn’t know if they recognised me, but I lifted my chin defiantly.

  Around another corner, the palace came into view; its towering spires pearlescent against the blue sky.

  Suddenly, all blood drained from my face as I realised that I still carried the spellbook in my backpack. If the councillors caught me at court with such a forbidden object ~ especially in light of the attacks ~ I’d be done for.

  Frantically, I thought of a way to get rid of it. I would need it if I found a way out of this situation, but better to be rid of it than to be accused of treason and to be locked up alongside my father. That would achieve nothing.

  Moaning, I pretended to be uncomfortable in the guards’ grip. It wasn’t all that far from the truth, anyway. At the same time, I tried to shrug out of my backpack, letting the straps slide down my arms.

  The plan was just to let it drop the first chance I got.

  “Here, let me carry that for you.”

  Oh, Goddess, is nothing going right for me.

  “No, no, it’s fine.”

  Too late. The guard shouldered my pack, and they continued to march me forward. The palace came ever nearer, and the people continued to stare.

  Then, I saw her. Alyssa’s pale face stared out at me from amongst the crowd lining the pavement as the guards marched me down the cobbled street. She pushed her way between two women and stepped out onto the road.

  If the guards found out she had been helping me, they would arrest her, too. They might even arrest her father, and he was the only one providing an income for their family.

  I could not let that happen. I shot Alyssa a warning look, shaking my head at her, before wriggling again to distract the guards. When I looked again, Alyssa had disappeared back into the crowd.

  We briefly turned onto the broad, tree-lined avenue that led to the palace gates, before the guards took a right turn down a narrow lane into one of the wealthiest areas in Draeguard ~ the Lily District.

  I started to struggle again. It was one thing being taken to the palace, but this didn’t feel right. Where were they taking me?

  There were no people along this road, and their absence made me nervous. I glanced over my shoulder, but the street behind us was empty.

  We stopped at a house, built with the red marble from Sicily, with an ornate ivory door. I thought one of the councillors lived here.

  One of the guards raised the golden knocker on the door, and a servant in a white coat soon admitted us. The interior was cool and surprisingly bright.

  “Princess, I am glad you could join us.”

  Councillor William. My heart fluttered in my chest. I never liked him, but I did not suspect him of anything evil. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

  He stood stiffly in his white suit; the gold trim along the hems as pompous as his house. He looked down at me over his angular nose.

  “Thank you,” he said to the guards, “my servants will take it from here.”

  Promptly, two male servants came forward and took me from the guards. I tried to shrug out of their hold, but although they didn’t hurt me, their grips were firm.

  The councillor tut-tutted as the servants took me away down a long passage full of family pictures. It was odd to think of this stiff man having a wife and kids.

  The servants pushed me into a room at the far end of the corridor. Before they closed the door, one of them handed me my backpack, placing it firmly back in my hands.

  “No, you can’t…” the door locked behind them with a click, “…lock me in here,” I finished lamely.

  I dropped my backpack and rushed to the door. My fists made a solid, satisfactory sound against the light-coloured wooden door as I beat them against it.

  “Let me out. You can’t do this. I am the princess.”

  Silence. The servants had gone. I stared at the door; tears threatening my eyes. For a moment, my body trembled as I suppressed the tears, then my anger surged up again.

  I kicked the bottom of the door; the loud thunk instantly gratifying.

  “Now, now, Princess,” the councillor’s muffled voice came through the door, making me jump. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself. Calm down.”

  “Calm down? You just locked me up. What do I stand accused of?”

  I heard him chuckle on the other side of the door. Throttling was very high on my list of things to do right now.

  “You ran away, Princess. Is there something you are hiding?”

  He wasn’t going to fool me into a confession.

  “You threw my father into the dungeon,” I spat at him, instead. “What would you have done in my stead?”

  The councillor laughed again. “We know you went to see your father in the dungeon. Very clever. What did he tell you to do, Princess? Are you to continue his work with the evil that has befallen this kingdom?”

  I was temporarily too dumbstruck to speak. Did the councillor really think that’s what was happening? The man truly believed my father to be behind these attacks. It was ridiculous.

  “My father has nothing to do with this. Why don’t you stop wasting your time with me and start looking for the real problem?”

  “So naive,” he chuckled. “Princess, your father is hardly a saint. He has brought this upon us as surely as I am councillor. And,” he rapped his knuckles agai
nst the door, making me jump, “you are just as much of a threat, so you must stay put, for now. I only want what’s best for the kingdom.”

  “You got it wrong.” I doubted my sulky voice was loud enough for him to hear through the closed door.

  “I will be back later, Princess. Someone will see to your needs.”

  His footsteps retreated down the corridor, while I stood by the door, undecided. What now?

  Picking up my rucksack from the floor, I went to sit on the bed. Its white bedspread was embroidered with white carnations, and several fluffy pillows leaned against the white headboard.

  Curious, I looked around the room. The councillor was obviously convinced of my father’s treason ~ and my involvement in it ~ yet he found it necessary to lock me away in a lovely room like this.

  From the look of it, it could easily be the councillor’s daughter’s room; if he had one. So, I was dangerous but important enough to be looked after. I wondered if I could use that to my advantage.

  Something the councillor had said floated to the top, disbanding all other thoughts for a moment. So naive. Your father is hardly a saint.

  What had he meant by that? Was he suggesting that I did not know my father? Or, was he just trying to plant doubt in my mind?

  The councillor, as well as many of the other councillors and advisers, had been with my father for longer than I had been alive. Could it be possible that they knew things about him that I didn’t?

  Great. If doubt had been the councillor’s plan, he had achieved it. I now found myself thinking about my father’s calm acceptance of my magic. I had been dreading to tell him ~ magic of another kind was strictly forbidden amongst the fae.

  If this Arianna woman was really a witch, then how did my father know her in the first place? Fae and witches never mingled, and their magic was so very different from one another.

  It now started me thinking that what if this dark magic I felt every time there was an attack came from the witches? What if my father was sending me there as an offering to stop the attacks?

  And…a shudder passed over me…why was I the only one who could feel this dark magic during the attacks?

  “Stop it, you’re freaking yourself out,” I scolded myself.

  No, I would not let this councillor dictate my thoughts. I would seek out Arianna to learn what I could, and then find an answer to all of this. My father had to be innocent, and I would prove it.

  I got up from the bed and moved to the window. They had locked the door, but I was not your average princess. Climbing out of windows was not beneath me.

  Testing the lever, I found it to be unresisting. I pushed it open and slowly stuck my head out. My heart sank.

  On the other side, there was an enclosed, manicured garden ~ down a ten-foot drop. No wonder they weren’t worried about the window.

  Pulling my head back into the room, I pursed my lips, thinking. The walls around the garden weren’t so high that I wouldn’t be able to climb them.

  The drop to the ground was likely to twist one of my ankles if I wasn’t careful, and I’d get scratched to pieces by the rosebushes below. All of the flowers in the garden where white; it was pretty.

  If I got out, I’d have to leave Draeguard immediately, and I would not be able to go back to Alyssa’s for supplies as I had intended. I’d be on the run with just the clothes on my back and a witch’s book.

  They say redheads don’t always use logic when making decisions, and this applies to fae redheads, too. My father, this kingdom, it all was more important at that moment than my comfort.

  I whirled around the room, opening cupboards. Definitely a girl’s room. Pretty things.

  The tall cupboard revealed the winter blankets for the bed, which I promptly pulled out and threw out of the window.

  The cupboard with the mirrors yielded clothes, of which I stuffed two, or maybe three, items into the rucksack. A shawl draped over a chair also disappeared into the bag.

  From the commode, I took a comb, a hair clip, and a vial of perfume ~ I didn’t know when I would be able to bathe again ~ making me feel like a thief. I shook the thought off, though, for I was sure the councillor could afford to replace any of the items I took.

  Satisfied that there was nothing else I could do, I closed the rucksack and secured it tightly on my back. I pulled the chair alongside the window and used it to step up onto the windowsill.

  Standing on it, the drop looked even higher. I suddenly doubted my resolve.

  “Ten feet, it’s nothing,” I told myself.

  A noise outside the door then decided for me. I guessed it was the servants coming to see to my needs. There was the clink of dishes and the low mumble of voices.

  I looked down once more. My hands held onto the white window frame with a white-knuckle grip and did not want to let go. Then, I heard the sound of a key inserted into the lock.

  I had to jump. Now.

  Letting go of the frame, and my nerves, I jumped. A red-hot pain shot through my left arm just before I dropped to the ground, making me yell out.

  I crashed to the bottom, the winter blankets breaking my fall and protecting me from the thorns of the rose bushes.

  My right hand immediately went to my arm, and I flinched at the pain. Blood seeped through the tear in the sleeve of my top. I looked up at the window to see what could have cut me, but couldn’t see anything.

  I could, however, hear voices. Hurriedly, I clambered across the blankets, leaving bloody smudges behind. Once on the lawn, I ran across it to the nearest bush and hid behind it.

  A moment later, two women appeared in the window. When they saw the blood-smeared blanket below, they wailed then debated heatedly. Finally, their heads withdrew.

  I had to leave. Now. I ducked out of my hiding place and hurtled towards the nearest wall.

  This, too, was marble, intricately carved with designs of birds and flowers. Hydrangea and Jasmine climbed its way up the wall in places.

  I decided that the creepers would give me a good foothold and chose one of those spots to leap at the wall. Now that I was so close, I realised that the wall was taller than I first thought.

  In general, there weren’t many walls in Draeguard. A massive wall encircled the entire kingdom, and then another wall surrounded the palace. Smaller walls around private properties were rare. There was no need.

  I smacked against the wall with a huff, sliding down it pitifully, tearing down some of the creepers with it. The wall was so tall; I couldn’t even look over it.

  Turning around, I went back several steps. There I stood, taking deep breaths in preparation for my next jump. I had been too hasty the first time, not given it enough thought.

  I now looked at it properly, looked at the relief of the carvings, the thin ropes that held the creepers, the shape of the vines themselves. It all could aid me to get to the top.

  With measured steps, I ran at the wall. One foot here, one there, a hand on the rope, the other on the vine. My body strained, but I wasn’t unfit. Only my left arm quivered with the pain that had been inflicted when I jumped out of the window.

  I reached up and clawed at the top of the wall. Holding on, I threw my other arm around the top and heaved. Almost there.

  I kicked with my legs and then pulled my upper body onto the top of the wall, looking over it, feeling accomplished…until I saw what was on the other side.

  The palace gardens.

  Chapter 4

  A sob built in my chest as I looked over the wall into the palace grounds. No wonder Councillor William wasn’t too worried about me escaping through the window.

  My heart sank further when I heard noises behind me. Someone was coming into the councillor’s garden, no doubt looking for me.

  I needed to make a decision. Drop back down into the councillor’s garden or climb over the wall into palace property.

  I’d be right back where I started, but at least I knew my way around the palace gardens. Maybe, I would have a chance.

&nbs
p; As the noises behind me got louder, I hauled myself up and threw my legs over the wall. I hung on the edge for a moment, then dropped to the ground on the other side.

  I bent my knees to cushion the impact of the landing, but my left arm burned from the strain of climbing the wall and then hanging from it. I would need to take a look at it first chance I got.

  For now, I needed to lie low. I could now hear two men talking on the other side of the wall, and I ducked underneath some bushes, for in case they looked over, searching for me.

  “She definitely climbed up here. See the blood?”

  “The councillor will not be pleased that she is hurt.”

  “We should worry more about the fact that she is missing.”

  “Well, we cannot go after her. We’ll have to alert the palace guards.”

  “Yes, let’s hurry.”

  Their voices subsided, but I stayed until I could not hear them at all. Then, I scrambled out of the bushes and stepped into the open to orientate myself.

  If they went to alert the guards, I wouldn’t have much time before there would be a manhunt underway for me. The gardens would no doubt soon be swarming with guards.

  Here, I had the advantage, though. I grinned. I had been playing in these gardens since I was a baby. From the moment I could walk, my favourite game had been to hide from my minders.

  The moment I came into my double digits, I used to sneak out of the gardens to visit Alyssa. We’d play outside in the forests all the time.

  Once I got my bearings, I darted back under cover of the trees. Now that I knew what part of the garden this was, I knew where to go. There was a pavilion not far from here, which would be my first stop.

  The pavilion was a favourite picnic spot for those who lived at court, and so it was always stocked with flasks of water. It was one of those that I wanted to get on my way past.

  I hurried, ignoring the branches that scratched my face. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, stinging my eyes.

  Finally, the pavilion came into sight through the trees, and I took a moment to make sure it was deserted. I hurried down the pebbled path and ran inside to raid the shelf for a flask.