Page 96 of This Prince Is Not Charming

I had to hurry. I had to get help before this escalated and someone got hurt. Or died. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if one of these brave, amazing women got injured. I used my elbows to keep crawling across the floor, splinters of wood poking into my stomach and legs. I winced and ignored the pain, pushing myself forward.

The door was still at least twenty paces away, and I was going slowly, but I feared if I quickened my pace, I’d draw someone’s attention. My gaze flicked to the side, where Clio was throwing fireballs at Lor, who deflected each one with his magical axe. Ronan had thrown Lila off his back, but she was holding her own against what looked like just a regular sword in Ronan’s hand. He’d had to have brought some kind of magical weapon. They wouldn’t risk coming here without their most powerful magic. I gritted my teeth when Siobhan screamed, and my head snapped to the side. Leena had grabbed hold of her wings and was yanking them backward, Siobhan’s face twisted in pain.

I gritted my teeth and jumped to my feet, not even thinking as I barreled into Leena and knocked her off Siobhan. The woman fell to the ground with a cry, and I turned to Siobhan.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

The faerie nodded. “Thank you. Now she’s really made me mad. No one touches my wings without my permission.” She nudged her head toward the door. “Go. Now. Make a run for it.”

I looked at the door and back at the chaos behind me, where everyone was still engaged in their fighting.

Okay. I could do this. Siobhan charged at Leena, drawing her away so the woman’s back was to me.

I took a deep breath and ran for the door, arms and legs pumping. Closer, closer. I was so close to the opening, and then I was through it, on the other side and out of that room. Sunlight and fresh air surrounded me, and I ran right through the invisible barrier protecting our home. I needed to get my bearings and figure out which direction to go, but first, I wanted to get away from this door, far enough away that if any of the brotherhood finally noticed my absence, they wouldn’t be able to find me.

I began jogging deeper into the forest, looking behind me the entire way to make sure no one was emerging from that room. I slammed into a hard body and whipped my head forward, finding Lor standing there, holding his axe.

I backed away, heart leaping into my throat. No. I was everyone’s only chance. If the brotherhood overtook us, we’d be doomed. “Lor.” I backed away as he held out his axe. “Please.”

“How is Cillian?” he asked.

“What?” I shook my head, not sure what he was saying.

“Cillian,” he said again. “I don’t have a lot of time. Tell me how he is.”

“He’s . . . fine, he . . .” I stopped backing away, peering at the tall, muscled warrior who was scowling down at me. “Wait. How did you know something was wrong?”

I thought about what Cillian had told me just a few weeks ago. How he’d seen Lor, and I’d dismissed him, telling him he was wrong.

“It doesn’t matter. I just want to know if he survived.”

“Have you been visiting him?” I asked. “Was he telling the truth about seeing you?”

Lor squeezed his eyes shut, and it was clear he wouldn’t reveal anything to me.

“He’s okay,” I said, softening my tone.

“He really loves you, you know. He always has,” Lor said.

“I—I know,” I said. “I love him too.” The sun glinted off his axe, reminding me of who I was talking to: not Cillian’s brother but an enemy. I braced my legs. “And that’s why I will fight you. I’m no warrior. I’m just a dressmaker. But you will have to kill me to stop me from trying to get to Cillian and warning him.”

Lor swallowed, then lowered his axe. “Go,” he said.

Every part of this conversation with him was confusing me. But this might have been the most shocking thing he’d done yet. “You’re letting me go?” I asked.

He was already pushing past me, walking toward the invisible barrier, which shimmered, glimpses of the hidden city behind it revealed with each wave of the air. He didn’t even look back as he disappeared back into Fairwitch, back to the fight my friends were waging right now.

I didn’t understand any of what had just happened, but it didn’t matter. I had to do what I’d set out to. I took off into a run.

CHAPTER 42

Cillian

“Well, this is one of the more awkward dates I’ve ever been on,” Marsten said from beside me on Ceri’s couch, her father sitting in a chair by the crackling fire, staring at it with an absent look in his eyes.

“This isn’t a date,” I said.

As soon as Ceri had disappeared, I’d come here. I’d wanted to be the one to tell Mr. Morgane myself. He’d taken it about as well as I’d expected, breaking down as I’d held him and assured him it would be okay. He’d finally stopped crying, but now he was sitting in his chair, just silent, staring. I promised Ceri I’d take care of him, and I already felt like I was fucking this up. If I couldn’t even do this, how could I convince Ceri that we could be together? That we could weather any storm that came our way.