by A. M. Hardin
My mother glares at me. “You don’t need to be so crude.”
I sigh, closing my eyes. “Just because I’ve agreed to having you guys here to ‘help’ doesn’t mean that I’m going to agree with your choices. I’ve always had different tastes than you, mother. This is nothing new. Please, try not to pick something that I would never wear. If I ever meant anything at all to you, at least give me that.”
“You’re my daughter, Crystal. You mean everything to me.”
I snort at the blatant lie. “Right.”
My sister glares at me. I close my eyes again, too tired to deal with their bullshit right now. “You should be more grateful, Crystal. We’re taking time out of our day to help you with this. There’s no reason for the attitude.”
I sigh inwardly and a small chuckle slips out.
“What’s so funny?” Rita asks haughtily.
Keeping my eyes closed, I reply, “You. Bitching about being grateful and not having an attitude. That’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.”
“I’m not the one that disobeys my family with every breath I take. You have forsaken the crown that you were born with and you abandoned your family,” my sister snipes back, clearly offended.
“You’re right,” I say with a shrug, opening my eyes and meeting her gaze head on. “I did abandon all of you and the crown. And I’d do it all over again. I was happier in the human realm than I’ve ever been here.”
My sister’s upper lip curls in disgust. “You’re a disgrace.”
I smirk. “And I’m proud of it, sister dear.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Crystal
I glance at the clock on my nightstand and sigh.
A half hour until midnight.
Time to get going.
Levi leans against the wall near my closet. “Why do you keep looking at the clock?”
“Because I’m bored. I’m sick of being cooped up in my room. There’s not much else to do besides sleep and stare at the clock,” I tell him immediately as I move to the vanity where two glasses are sitting with a bottle of wine. “I know you’re technically working, but would you like some? It’s not like anything is going to happen. I think it’s safe to assume those that sent the assassins after me have given up completely on trying to kill me. At least for now.”
He looks at the glass before moving to my bookshelf to study the books there.
I quickly reach into my bra and pull the sleeping potion out. Opening it, I pour it in one of the cups and top it off with enough wine to cover the flavor, but not enough for him to turn down drinking any.
I fill my own cup and grab his. I step beside him and offer it to him. “I didn’t put a lot,” I assure him when he hesitates. “I’m not going to get you blind drunk.”
He chuckles softly, but the sound is strained as he grabs his glass. “Thanks.”
“Are you okay?” I ask quietly, my head tilting as I study his tense body language.
He shakes his head, then takes a quick drink of the wine, almost drinking half of it before he looks at me. “No, I’m not.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, taking his hand and leading him to sit on my bed beside me.
“I’m so fucking sorry I brought you back here, Crystal,” he says quietly, his eyes glinting with an inner turmoil that I don’t fully understand.
“You were following orders, Levi,” I tell him with a shrug. “I think I always knew in the back of my mind that you would end up coming back for me. It was always a toss-up on if it would be because my parents actually wanted me home or if they just wanted me home so they could kill me for running off.”
He drinks the rest of the glass before looking at me. Self-condemnation glittering in his gaze. “A part of me was glad that your parents asked me to get you. It meant that you were finally coming home. I’ve missed having you here. I know that you left because you couldn’t handle the abuse anymore. I’ve never blamed you for that. I hate that I was put in the position of bringing you back, though. There I was, the one who brought you to safety, only to take you back. Against your will for the most part.”
“Levi.” I say his name softly. “You don’t think I blame you for my being back here, do you?”
“Don’t you? I blame myself.” He yawns and shakes his head, almost as if trying to keep himself awake. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t exactly make me feel better. I still brought you back here and because of that they hurt you again.”
I shrug and smirk at him. “It’s not like I didn’t expect it when I agreed to come with you.”
He yawns again and frowns. “Why am I so tired all of a sudden?” I don’t answer. I stay quiet, watching him as he blinks rapidly, trying to stay awake.
He looks at me, his eyes narrowing as shock fills his gaze. “You drugged me, didn’t you?” His words are starting to slur together now.
I sigh and stand up, moving in front of him. I push gently on his shoulder until he lays back. “It’s just a sleeping potion.” His eyes flutter shut for a moment before he forces them back open. “I’m sorry, Levi. I have to leave. By the time you wake up, we will be long gone.”
“Crystal,” he groans, trying to sit up, but his energy is completely gone, so he slumps back on the bed. “Don’t do this.”
I lean over him and murmur, “I’m sorry.” I press my lips to his in a lingering kiss. By the time I pull back, he’s lost the fight against the potion. His eyes are closed as his breathing deepens.
I glance at the time.
Twenty minutes.
I bite my bottom lip as I decide the best course of action. Should I go out the door where it’s guarded to the teeth, or should I take the balcony and pray I don’t run into any guards that way?
That’s a no brainer. Balcony.
I open the doors, thankful that my father didn’t order them to be completely inaccessible while I’m locked in my room. Stepping out, I watch as a few guards walk below.
I wait patiently for them to get far enough away that they won’t hear me. I use the vines that I had pulled close to the balcony before when I had snuck out and smoothly climb down them, careful to pause every few feet to make sure no guards are coming.
Four feet from the ground, I jump, landing nimbly on my feet. A shadow moves in the window in front of me and I quickly step back, pressing myself against the castle walls. The window opens beside me, making me tense. My heart hammers in my chest.
“That’s odd. I could have sworn I saw someone out here,” a feminine voice muses. Most likely one of the maids.
“Everything okay?” a male asks.
“Yeah, I must be seeing things.” The window closes and the shadows slowly disappear from the light.
I heave a breath of relief. That was close.
Ducking into the shadows, I quickly make my way to the courtyard on the other side of the castle. I almost run into three other guards but managed to hide myself before they saw me. By the time I get to the edge of the courtyard, I inhale deeply, trying to calm my racing heart.
“What are you doing out here?”
I jump, whirling around with a soft gasp. “Julian. You scared me.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Why are you skulking around in the dark?” He tilts his head. “For that matter, why are you here? Your parents told me that you were away until the wedding, relaxing and being pampered.”
I snort, unable to stop it. “Uh, yeah. I came back early,” I lie easily. He narrows his eyes at me—clearly not believing me—but he doesn’t call me on it. “I’m just going for a stroll. I don’t want the guards catching me, because they’ll insist I go back to my room or won’t let me finish my walk in peace.”
He glances at the courtyard behind me. “And your friends are going with you?”
I shrug. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get out together. My mother wouldn’t let them come with me, and with her rule that they couldn’t come to the balls or really anywhere anymore, I’ve barely seen them.”
/>
He nods, meeting my gaze once more. “Alright,” he says slowly, the wheels in his head turning. “I’ll let you get back to it, then.”
I give him a small smile. “I’ll see you later, Julian.”
His mouth quirks as he moves a little closer. “I’m sure.” He presses a soft kiss to my lips. “Be safe.” Without another word, he turns and walks away.
Heaving out a cleansing breath, I ignore the pang in my chest at leaving my guards and Julian. I move toward Celeste and Jade.
“Everything go okay?” Jade asks quietly.
I nod. “Yeah, almost got caught a couple times. What about with you guys?”
“No one paid us any attention,” Celeste informs me. “I can get us to the edge of the forest but won’t be able to get us much further. I can’t handle the distance that we’d need to get to the nearest unblocked portal with all three of us. After a few minutes, I’ll be able to transport us again further away, but it’s literally going to be quite a few jumps before we can get to another kingdom in any case.”
“That’s fine. Let’s go.”
* * *
I swallow hard as I step through the portal. Unfortunately, it’s going to take a bit of time for us to get back to our homes. We’re almost three hundred miles away.
“Are we going home?” Celeste asks softly. “I don’t know if it’ll be safe for us to stay there anymore, Crystal.”
I sigh and nod. “Just long enough to grab essentials. We’ll need to pack light. So just a couple outfits and toiletries for now. I’ll make sure to stick around long enough with you guys to get settled somewhere, but I’ll have to keep moving.”
Jade glares at me. “You’re not leaving us. Where you go, we go. Don’t argue,” she snaps when I open my mouth. “You need us just as much as we need you.”
“Plus, we’d miss you too damn much,” Celeste adds with a smile.
I can’t help but smile back. “I love you guys.”
“We love you too, sweetie. Let’s get going. We don’t have much time before they discover we’re all gone,” Celeste says a heartbeat before transporting us a few dozen miles away.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ezra
I open Crystal’s bedroom door, expecting to find her pacing back and forth as she’s been doing since she became trapped in her room.
I frown when I don’t see her and don’t hear movement in the bathroom. She’s not in here.
My eyes move to the bed and my frown deepens when I see Levi passed out on top of the covers.
What the hell? Since when does he sleep on his nights in her room?
I move to his side and shake him gently. “Levi, where’s Crystal?”
He groans and turns to face me, his eyes slowly fighting to open. “Gone,” he whispered.
My entire being freezes at that single word. “What? What do you mean ‘gone’?”
“Drugged me,” he grunts as he rubs frantically at his eyes. “She’s gone. She left.”
“What?” Maxwell says from behind me, sounding shocked.
“She drugged you?” I ask, amazed. Wow. I knew she wanted to leave. I never imagined she’d go so far as to drug one of us, though.
“Yeah. She said she’s sorry, but that she’s leaving.” He sits up and puts his hands in his hair, gripping it tightly. “I couldn’t do anything. By the time I realized it, the drug had hit me hard and I was damn near useless. All I could do was talk.”
“Did she say where she was going?” I ask.
“Has anyone heard anything from her friends?” Maxwell asks. “Maybe they’ll know where she went.”
“Her friends are gone,” a voice at the door says, the tone a little mournful. I turn to the door to find Julian standing there, his fists clench at his sides. “They left with Crystal last night.”
“And you didn’t stop them?” Maxwell growls.
Julian looks at him, his jaw hard. “I knew Crystal was lying to me when she said she was going for a walk. The minute I saw her friends, it clicked into place. She was leaving. I don’t know if it’s just because she’s so against marrying me that she’d rather leave in the dead of night, or if it’s something else, but she’s gone.”
“Why didn’t you stop her?” I ask curiously.
“Because no matter the reason for leaving, I know she was not happy in this world. No matter my feelings for her, I will respect her wishes. She does not wish to be here. I was not going to stop her from getting her freedom.”
“Your feelings for her?” Levi asks. “So, you do have feelings for her, then?”
Julian nods. “As I suspect, the three of you do as well.”
I stiffen as the others tense. Should I tell them? I don’t see the harm in it if Crystal’s gone . . . but at the same time, it’s almost cruel to shoulder the burden of knowing she wants us only to be forced to let her go so she can be happy.
Maybe they should know, in any case.
“There’s something the three of you should probably know,” I tell them. “Crystal . . . she has feelings for all of us.”
Julian frowns. “When did you discover this?”
“The night that I forced her to tell me the truth. I used my powers against her in order to help her. She was losing control. She had just goaded her father, trying to lure him into a fight. I needed to know how to help her.”
“Did you find out how?” Levi asks, frowning. “I remember she couldn’t figure out how to gain control when she was younger when she was close to cracking.”
“That’s because she didn’t discover this method of gaining control until she had gone to the human realm,” I explain, not really wanting to go into the dirty details of our night together, but knowing they’ll find out anyway.
“She had seemed more in control over the last few days. I was wondering what happened,” Maxwell murmurs.
“What’s the method?” Julian asks, though he looks like he already knows.
“She needed sex.”
All three of them freeze.
“You mean you and she . . .” Levi starts, but stops.
I nod. “I had sex with Crystal that night. Not only because I didn’t want her to continue to lose control, but because I care about her. She was against it at first, thinking the only reason I wanted to sleep with her was because of her powers. She didn’t want to use me. That night, just before we . . . anyway, that night, she admitted that she had feelings for all four of us but could do nothing about it.”
The three of them exchange looks before Levi sighs. “I suppose that should have been expected. I have heard of that kind of thing happening to dark fae that needed help controlling their abilities.”
Julian and Maxwell nod. “Yes, it isn’t uncommon among us. Dark fae powers are a bit more difficult to control than light fae,” Julian explains. “It takes several years to be able to stop relying on that sexual release to control their powers.”
“My sister had issues with it,” Maxwell admits. “So, I’m not surprised that it’s how she’s managed to cope. A little annoyed that I didn’t consider it, but not surprised.”
Footsteps storm down the hall and all three of us tense. I watch the door, waiting to discover who is coming to Crystal’s room.
Inwardly cursing, I watch as the king practically stomps into the room. He glances around the bedroom, his face darkening with rage.
“Where is she?” he growls. None of us answer. “WHERE IS SHE?!”
“She’s gone, my lord,” Levi says as he straightens enough to bow to our king. “I apologize. I take full responsibility for this. I was the guard chosen to stay here last night. The princess had managed to drug me and put me to sleep before I could do anything.”
The kings face turns an unnatural shade of red. “All three of you will find her, immediately. And you will bring her back. If you fail to do so, all three of you will die.” He turns to the guard behind him. “Bring me her friends, now.”
“Her friends are gone,” Julian informs him blandl
y.
From where I’m standing it looks like the king stops breathing for a moment before he points at the three of us guards. “You will find her and bring her home. If you don’t, you will be tortured for centuries instead of killed immediately.”
All three of us nod our heads and say, “Yes, my lord.”
I don’t know about the other two, but I have no intention of dragging Crystal back to this godforsaken kingdom. Not after seeing how her family treats her.
“I will join them in the search,” Julian tells him. Crystal’s father nods.
“Good. Maybe she will be found sooner, then.”
With that, he turns and storms out of the bedroom, yelling orders at his guards to search the grounds and the portals of the kingdoms to be sure she wasn’t still skulking around.
“I don’t know about you guys,” Julian says slowly, “but I don’t intend to bring Crystal back here. I don’t like the idea of her being in her family’s reach any longer.”
“Then where will we take her when we find her?” Maxwell asks.
“We’ll go to my kingdom. She and her friends will be safe there. You three are more than welcome to come along as well. After all, who am I to deny Crystal of the other three who have her heart?”
I smile at that, relieved. “Let’s get our girl.”
THE END
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About the Author
A.M. (or Autumn) Hardin was born and raised in Holland, Michigan. She’s married with three girls. Her favorite books change depending on her mood, though her tastes are very eclectic. As long as it’s romance, there’s a good chance she has, or plans to, read it. When she doesn’t have a book in her hand or is spending time with her family, she can be found writing in either a notebook or on her computer.
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