Page 40 of The Crown the Fae Forgot
The Eastern Court.
We had to reach it before anyone else did. If we weren’t already too late.
Our commandeered horses continued running for many miles without stopping, moving far out of the reach of the Southern Court. Our haggard breathing soon joined theirs until together, our broken breaths were the only sound accompanying the sound of their pounding feet.
There was no point in bothering to conceal our presence.
We stopped only for the briefest of breaks to let the horses gather their breath and drink from the canteens we’d stolen from the guards. Half of these we’d discovered were laced with fae wine, which we drank to dull our own pounding fears.
I’d never ridden like this before, not but for the short ride that had taken us once straight into the depths of Icarus’ Wildness. It was a journey that felt so long ago now, it was nearly impossible to believe it had only been weeks.
But then again, even this morning felt like it was slipping into a hazy memory. Everything that happened before my mother’s spell was lifted from me had begun to feel like that.
By the time evening came, the fields had started giving way to more rocky, barren ground. The fields of crops were replaced by shrubs and scrub brush, and the softly rolling hills by rocky crags and pebbled mounds. The mountains were rising ever closer, the path that led us to them flying underfoot at a speed only finely trained fae horses like the ones we’d stolen could possess.
It would be too easy to fall into a sense of comfort, to think that the worst was already behind us.
But I had to remind myself that these horses were only moving at a speed unusual tome.The whole Southern Court could be at our heels with steeds of their own, to say nothing of a certainwingedlord. My only reassurance was that the last time I’d seen Icarus, he was in no fit state to travel by horse or carriage, to say nothing of by flight.
We rode through the night and into another day, my fae body giving me a strength the human one that had cloaked me never had. But still, even in my new body, I had my limits.
It wasn’t long before I’d begun to grow truly weak with exhaustion, my muscles cramping to the point of sharp pain, but I bit my tongue, refusing to be the reason we stopped too soon.It was all my fault we were running in the first place.
I might have gotten us out of the Southern Court unscathed, but if I’d had even a smidgeon of sense, we easily could have gotten out of there without running at all. The many hours of riding had provided ample enough time for me to retreat further into the guilt I’d felt when I first cast my glamour over the court. Instinct or not, it was reckless of me. Far too reckless of me.
I’d more than risked everything.
I’d ruined everything.
It had always been a race to see if Shiel and the others could get me to the Eastern Court in time, but I’d been more than just the one to set the timer. I’d been the one to warn the other contestants, too.
One thing that apparently hadn’t changed despite my physical transformation, however, was my complete inability to keep a single emotion off my face. I’d been fighting grimaces of pain for the better part of the afternoon, but by the time the sun had started setting on the second day of our journey, I finally let a full one slip.
No sooner had my lips pulled apart then Shiel, riding at my side, was suddenly tugging back of the reigns of his own frothy-mouthed mare, claiming that he was too tired to go on. His eyes flickered away from me when he told the bold-faced lie, but for once, I was grateful for it.
Even if it was useless, when the moment Shiel complained, both Zev and Finch looked at me, concern formecreasing their faces, not for their lord.
But I was the last one to argue.
My muscles were past the point of simply aching. Every movement burned as I dismounted at the mouth of the cave Zev found for us.
At least, it seemed, I wasn’t the only one who was exhausted. I was just the only one completely unable to hide it…right up until I wasn’t. All four of us came to a clumsy halt. Shiel andI practically fell to the ground the moment we stepped beneath the rocky outcropping, our faces both red and lips wind chapped from the ride. Finch collapsed against one of the sidewalls a moment later, barely staying up as his horse started wandering a few paces off to pick agitatedly at the short grass growing between some of the rocks.
Zev alone stayed on his feet. He walked in small uneven circles, his arms above his head, his eyes taking on a far-off look as he lost himself in thought. Together, we sat in silence for a while, just the sound of our uneasy breathing filling the space.
We sat there like that, another silence stretching on, until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper out, the words filling that unbearable emptiness.
Finch waved his hand out in front of himself. “Phyrra had it coming to her…too full of herself for her own good.”
“It’s probably better this way,” Zev said, too, finally stopping his anxious pacing to peer down at me.
“And why is that?” I asked.
“Because,” Shiel cut in after a moment of searching Zev’s face, “there’s no telling what Lady Phyrra had planned for you. She might be angry now, but at least this way she’s been reminded of what your power truly is.”
He paused for a long second. “It’s been a long, long time since the courts were reminded. Maybe a little reminder is what we need to keep this kingdom from falling apart.”
