Page 95 of This Prince Is Not Charming

Liadan walked over to a statue of a man standing tall, holding a sword. She yanked the sword from his grip. “Yep.”

She twirled the sword this way and that.

“I would impale myself if I tried that,” I said. “Is there maybe a smaller sword or a dagger somewhere?”

Wood splintered as the door cracked, and Lila let out a scream, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

“We need to come up with a plan—and fast,” I said, gaze flicking toward the door. More wood splinters flew from it, the shiny edge of an axe showing, the telltale sign of magic glittering and shimmering from it.

Just as I’d predicted, they’d brought an arsenal of their magical weapons. They would be prepared for this, and we were woefully unprepared.

Liadan adopted a fighting stance, legs braced and sword raised. Clio’s fiery form, which still slightly resembled a human, flickered. Lila looked at the dagger Liadan had handed her and pointed it toward the door.

“I just discovered what it’s like to be pampered, and I am not about to die before I get to be fed grapes again,” she said.

The door broke in half and a boot crashed through it, breaking it completely open. I shielded my face from the wood careening through the air.

I whirled to face the group. “Do you all think you can hold them off long enough for me to get help?” I asked.

Liadan nodded. “We can do it.”

“You’ll have to distract them,” I said. “So they don’t see me sneaking away.”

The figures stepped inside, a woman and two men. The tallest man in the front removed his hood, and my mouth dropped open.

Lor Wolfgang. Cillian’s brother.

He nodded at me, and I shot him a glare, hating him with every fiber of my being for the way he’d hurt his family. I opened my mouth to speak, but he put a finger to his lips and gave a slight shake of his head.

“We’re in,” the woman behind him said, bright red curls spilling from her hood. “We did it, Butcher. We finally breached Fairwitch.”

“We’ve breached Fairwitch before, Leena,” the other man said. “And it didn’t turn out so well.”

She just laughed and gestured toward us. “We’re not up against the entire royal guard this time. I think we’ll be able to handle them.”

They didn’t seem surprised by the presence of the Fair Folk, and I wondered if the brotherhood knew about them. But how? The Fair Folk were invisible outside of Fairwitch Isle. They shouldn’t have known about their existence.

“Except we didn’t just breach Fairwitch Isle, Ronan. We also found the Fair Folk.” Leena gestured toward Clio, who bared her teeth.

“Enough chit chat,” Lor said, his voice like a growl.

He’d certainly grown into an adult in the twenty years since he’d gone missing. His dark hair reached his shoulders, a slight wave to it. Stubble covered his jaw, peppered in gray. But his eyes hadn’t changed. They were the same color as Wolfe’s, the same crescent shape.

“We have a job to do,” he continued. “So let’s get to it.” He gestured toward us. “Tie them up.”

“Over my dead body,” Lila said, surprising me yet again with her ability to do something other than cry over not being with her betrothed. She paused, straightening. “You know, I don’t even think I like men.” She shot a glare at Lor and Ronan. “You two probably don’t pamper your wives. Or husbands. You probably expect them to do everything for you. Just like Grayson.”

Ronan’s brows furrowed. “Who is Grayson?” He scoffed. “And of course I expect my wife to do everything for me. That’s why I married her.”

Lila’s face turned into the most ferocious scowl I’d ever seen in my life, and she mirrored Liadan’s stance, holding up her dagger toward Ronan. “That one’s mine,” she said.

Liadan let out a cry and charged the small group, and the room exploded into a burst of activity.

Siobhan lifted into the air, her wings fluttering as she jumped over Leena’s head and landed on the other side of the woman.

I dropped to the ground, hoping I could feign being injured, that no one would notice me. I looked up to see Lila on Ronan’s back as he thrashed, trying to get her off, but she clutched to him with fervor.

Lor had his magical axe and was fighting both Liadan and Clio at the same time. They were all distracted. My heart pounded as I crawled across the cold stone floor. Yells, clangs, and flashes of magic filled the room, everyone a blur of activity as the fighting intensified.