Page 3 of This Prince Is Not Charming

His eyes bugged out farther, which I didn’t think was possible for an owl. “Prince Cillian, we’re already late.”

“I know, but⁠—”

“We don’t have the time. I’m telling you, this is bad. There are whispers from the servants that you weren’t in your bed chamber this morning.”

I winced, wondering whether it was my gossiping painting who spread those particular rumors. I’d have to have a chat with Margaret about being more discreet.

“How do you think you’re going to manage all this after today?” Fargus asked, eyeing me through the small spectacles perched on his beak.

My chest tightened. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“I won’t portal you outside Fairwitch Isle again. I cannot keep breaking the rules. It’s giving me too much anxiety.”

Panic seized me. I needed that portal. Without it, I couldn’t leave, not when our city was at the top of a mountain and the nearest town was a three-hour walk.

I blew out a breath. It didn’t matter. Fargus was just being Fargus. At the end of the day, I always managed to convince him to portal me, no matter how much the faerie protested. He said this was the last time every time, and it never was. I clutched the vial tighter so that the cork dug into my palm.

“This is going to be quick. We’ll just dash out into town. Lickety split.”

Fargus lifted a wing, and a swirl of blue and gold magic formed into the size of an apple, swirling fast as it grew bigger and bigger.

“Fargus, stop,” I said, voice firm, but the faerie ignored me. I groaned. “Let me at least close the curtains.”

He paused at that, tipping his head. Maybe I could jump out the window. I strode toward it, heart pounding, and I reached toward the navy curtain, thin and filled with holes. My gaze scanned the window for a lock, latch, anything, but I froze when a shadow outside caught my eye.

I squinted at the small alleyway my window faced. A maroon hood and cape fluttered and disappeared around the corner of the wooden inn. I shook my head, not sure I’d actually seen it, but . . . no. I was imagining things. Probably a result of this awful hangover pounding through my head.

“Enough,” Fargus said from right behind me. “You’re stalling.”

I tried to step away, but the portal tugged me toward it.

I turned to see the magic once again alight, circling round and round. “As your high prince, I command you to stop.” The portal grew bigger, sucking me in. “Fargus, don’t! You don’t understand.”

The glittering ball of magic became even bigger. Eventually it was tall enough to step through, a whirling mass of shimmering light.

It was too late. The familiar whoosh and whirl of wind surrounded me like a vortex. It stretched and tugged my insides, and just when I thought I was about to burst wide open, the magic disappeared, and I landed back in the familiar setting of Fairwitch Isle, right outside the border. Tall trees surrounded me, canopies thick and blotting out the sun. The forest stretched on as far as the eye could see. Anyone who stumbled to the top of this tall mountain would have no idea that there was a hidden kingdom up here, protected by ancient and powerful magic.

I glared at Fargus, who sat there staring at me like he hadn’t just forcibly ripped me away when I’d commanded him not to. I’d make him take me back later . . . or something. I’d figure it out. I had to.

A slight shimmer wavered through the air, the faint outline of a city behind it. The barrier that had kept us invisible and protected for so long was the weakest it had ever been. The only thing that kept us safe was how remote our current location was—at the top of Kiln Mountain, surrounded by thick foliage and steep cliffs. But a remote location hadn’t stopped the brotherhood from finding us before, and it wouldn’t stop them now. We needed to fix this weakened magic, and today was finally the day I would do exactly that.

My hand went under my collar to the small golden key tattooed on my skin that meant I could step through the barrier, that I was accepted by this magic. Everyone in Fairwitch Isle had one of these keys tattooed on their body.

“Are you ready for this?” Fargus’s voice was so severe, one would’ve thought I was marching to my death. Maybe I was.

“To go through the portal?” I snorted. “Too late for that question.”

Fargus sighed. “To get married, Your Majesty. Today is your wedding day, after all.”

Ceri’s face flashed in my mind. The one person I desperately needed to see after this horrible morning.

“I’m ready. I just need to make one small stop on the way.”

CHAPTER 2

Ceri

The scissors were flying again. I jumped to try and catch them as they lifted higher, my fingertips grazing the wooden handle.