Page 12 of The Crown the Fae Forgot
“So, this is what’s been keeping you so busy?”
I slammed the book shut in surprise, glad that the sound of it drowned out the shriek I managed to muffle, but not to entirely stop from crawling its way up my throat. There’d be no stopping Zev from feeling the way it made my heart skip more than a couple beats, however.
I glared up at Finch’s grinning face. “You better be careful or Zev’s going to come running, ready to kill if you pull something like that again.”
“I’ve faced Zev before, he’s a worthy adversary…but I’ll gladly accept the consequences if that day ever comes, rather than miss out on the opportunity to see the way your face looks when you’re really, genuinely happy to seeme.”
It took me a moment to understand what he meant, my cheeks coloring as I struggled to compose my face once I did. “Even if it’s just opposed to something worse?”
Finch shoved his hands in his pockets as he contemplated what I said for a moment. When he looked me in the eyes again, that mischievous glint was back in full force.
“I’ll take what I can get, Princess.”
My eyes widened, and for a second, I looked for Vestele in a panic. Thankfully, she was taking longer than usual to find something else for me to read, and wasn’t nearby enough to overhear Finch’s all-too-literal pet name for me. I had my suspicions that it may not be to my disadvantage for the lady ofthis court to find out who I was, but I wasn’t sure enough to take that gamble willingly. At least, not yet.
Finch took my momentary distraction as an opportunity to take the book from my hands and set it on the table. “It’s wonderful that you’re getting so enlightened about fae life, but I think it’s time for a break.”
Before I had a chance to argue, he took my hand and pulled me up to stand before slowly walking out of the library with me in tow.
It took me a moment for my words to catch up with my footsteps.
“We should let Vestele know that we’re leaving,” I said, neck craning back as I looked for any sign of the still dutifully hunting the bookshelves for me. “I don’t want her to worry.”
Finch only shook his head. “Let her worry about herself. She’ll find you later.”
He led us through the court along unfamiliar roads before we arrived at a canal sparkling with an almost unnaturally turquoise shade of water. The water in it moved lazily from one canal to the next up ahead, the waterways slowly branching out towards the southernmost end of the city. We stopped at the top of one of the arched bridges leading over the canals, Finch’s hand only letting go of mine so that he could rest both his forearms on the bannister and lean out to look down at his own reflection in the water below.
All along the waterways, fae paddled along in small boats as fish darted underneath them in as many colors as the birds that fluttered overhead. I had no idea how much of what I saw was real and what was illusion, but it didn’t matter. The effect stole my breath away, a fact that made Finch’s grin grow even wider.
“I’m glad you like it, because that’s what I brought you here for.”
He nodded towards the boat closest to us, where two fae females lounged, packages purchased in preparation for the upcoming Midsommer tucked under their arms as an unseen force carried them along the canal.
Finch led me—more willingly, this time—down a few paths until we arrived at the edge of one of the smaller canals branching off from the main one. Off to the side of the dock, a boat was tied up, waiting to be released. Finch slowly helped me into it before climbing in after me. He rowed us gently through the waterways, the boat needing little guidance as it drifted along with the water’s current. More than that, however, was a sort of heaviness that saturated the air above the surface of the water. It was as if something else flowed alongside it, another current, this one of a glamour that helped nudge the boats along, keeping them from colliding with one another or into the edges of the canal.
It wasn’t long before the ache of days spent hunched over books in the library got to me, and I finally settled back into the tangle of blankets filling the bottom of the boat. I let my head lull back and my eyes drift to the edge of the canal.
Soon after, apparently satisfied himself that the boat wasn’t about to embark on a collision course of some kind, Finch set down his oars to retrieve the knapsack he’d carried with him. He pulled out a loaf of crusty bread, wine, and fruits that looked so fresh I could practically taste it before I even had the chance to smell it.
I found it easy—almost strangely so, as we floated down the river—to simply eat, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company. For a brief moment there on the water, all the rest of our troubles seemed to disappear. It was like the first time we’d been together, on those long days and nights spent journeying along the roads that eventually led us to Icarus and his Wildness.
Just the memory of that, however, was enough to sober my thoughts once more.
I’d been careful to only sip the faerie wine, and even then, only so much as to get a taste. Even Finch had moderated himself. He’d only drank one and a half of the two bottles he’d brought along. He was just reaching for a third, his voice rambling on about something to do with one of the children’s fables he’d caught me reading, when he suddenly stopped.
“What is it?” he asked, his brows knitting together. He sat up from where he’d slipped down into the other end of the boat, his head swiveling as he scanned the river up ahead for something that might have caused my own sudden, if subtle, shift in mood. When he looked back at me, concern was forming deep lines across his forehead. “What’s wrong, Aurra?”
I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong,” I said. “I just… all of this, it’s so sweet. This wasn’t just a spur of the moment thing. I’m surprised Zev let you come without him.”
“Ah, well,” Finch said, batting his hand dismissively. “Zev knew he’d probably tip the boat, so…”
I let out a mock gasp of surprise. “Are you telling me Zevknewyour plan to seduce me, and he just let you do it? Did he put up a fight at all?”
I half expected Finch to put on an even more dramatic show of mockery, but he was surprisingly genuine when he leaned forward and took my hand. “He didn’t have to put up a fight because this isn’t a plan to seduce you, dear Aurra. Unless…of course…it’s working?”
The outer corner of his mouth turned up, his eyes sparkled, and all that mischief and mockery was returned.
It was surprisingly refreshing, the look of it banishing the momentary knot that had started to form at the back of my throat.
