Page 18 of Court of Winter
The prince’s eyes widened slightly as a hint of a smile ghosted the guard’s lips before he also brought a fist to his chest. “Haxil Hubberline, guard to the crown prince and son of Isalee Territory.”
I sat up straighter, the mysterious words from the fae females at the harvest market over the weekend returning. “Is it true the crops are dying in Isalee?”
All movement at the table stopped. The male by Sandus, the one I hadn’t met yet who had the long braid, lowered his drink as the prince’s eyes narrowed.
“Where did you hear that?” the prince asked in a voice so cold that it sent a chill down my spine.
I resisted the urge to fidget and clasped my hands in my lap. “I overheard two fae talking about it at Firlim’s market last weekend.”
The prince’s eyes turned to slits. “What did they say?”
“That the plants are black, the soil is gray, and the fae in Isalee are starving. She said our land’soremis failing. That the celestial events aren’t replenishing it, and we’re all going to die.”
Prince Norivun and his guards all gave one another side-eyes, and if I hadn’t already been curious about the rumors, I wasdefinitelycurious now.
“Is it true then?” For the first time, genuine alarm pulsed through me.
“How many others have spoken of this?” the prince asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Have any fae in your village or in Firlim spoken of being discontented?” Haxil asked, the earlier warmth radiating from his round cheeks gone.
My brows pinched together as all of them watched me intently. “No, not that I’m aware of.”
Haxil’s shoulders relaxed, and I wondered what in the realm was going on. “Is something amiss in Isalee? Is theoremthere—”
A door burst open to the side of the lodge, and a female fairy came stumbling over the threshold. My breath sucked in when blood dripped from a long slash down her wing. She nearly fell to the floor but caught herself on a chair.
“My prince!” she called. “Please, I beg of you. Help me! He’s going to kill him tonight. I’m sure of it. He won’t stop!”
Milis rushed forward, her arms going around the female as she hushed her. “Not here, Mealow. This isn’t the place. Alert the patrol.”
The female grabbed onto Milis’s arms. “I tried, but they’re busy with a snowgum.” The female gripped the bartender tighter. “I don’t know who else to turn to. He’s full of leminai and angry tonight, Mil. So angry, and I heard the prince had come.”
The prince let out a long tired-sounding sigh.
“Want us to handle this, Nori?” the guard with the braid asked. He had angular cheekbones and looked as though he’d been crafted from a steel arrow.
“No, Ryder. It’s my duty. Not yours.” Prince Norivun rose from his seat and approached the female. Milis gave him an apologetic look, but all he said was, “What’s amiss?”
The injured female fell to his feet, blubbering and crying. “Oh, my prince. It’s my son. He’s lipped off to my husband again, and he’s got my son pinned to a wall, using his affinity to hold him. My son can’t fight back. Not even to defend himself. He’s going to kill him this time—I’m sure of it—and I’m not strong enough to stop him.”
Haxil, Nish, Sandus, and the fairy with the braid—apparently named Ryder—circled around the prince.
Prince Norivun placed his hands on his hips. “Your husband’s committed these acts?”
“Yes, her husband’s a real brute of a fae,” Milis said under her breath. “When he’s drunk on leminai, he’s dangerous and cruel.”
The female with the torn wing cried louder. “I tried to stop him, but his claws—”
“What’s his affinity?” Nish asked as a swirl of magic flowed around him.
“Ice bear.”
My stomach dropped. Of course it would be one of the large animal affinities and not something easier to contend with like a superficial affinity.
The prince muttered something under his breath, then nodded toward the door. “This’ll be messy. Let’s go.”