Page 3 of Fae Trials

A jolt of fear shot through my heart. I ducked my head and muttered, “What on earth are they doing here?”

Sicily flicked her head toward the waterfront, where an ogre raised his massive body from the lower dock and produced the Apple box. I studied the logo and frowned.

“Clear a path.” Prince Caulden waved his hand, and a line of frost stretched from his feet to the box.

Without a word, everyone shuffled out from under the thin ice. I clenched my teeth and turned my gaze to the peacekeepers, urging them to speak up, to tell them that these consignments were gifts for us, the humans.

But they remained silent, as did everyone else.

Resentment burned through my sinuses. The chances of that box containing an iPad were low, but it was the principal. Those Princes split their time between their fancy academy and the palace and never had to work. They ate from golden plates and lived in luxury while the likes of us survived in slums and lived on the charity of the UN.

I clamped my lips together. Less than half a century ago, a human could be struck blind for speaking out against a high faerie. Who knew what would happen now if I defied one of the princes? My life wasn’t worth an iPad or whatever was in that box.

“Fetch the special consignment,” said Prince August, his voice brimming with excitement.

He gestured to one of his guardsmen, who walked through the crowd of kneeling commoners. From the lack of points in his ears, he was probably a half-breed like Elijah, my… I shook away thoughts of my sort-of boyfriend and glared at the guard’s back.

The ogre fetched five more boxes, and the guards pushed the pile over the ice and into a second carriage. When the door slammed shut, I turned back to where the ogre continued piling boxes on the wharf. None of them had the apple silhouette.

As Prince August stepped into the carriage, Prince Caulden lingered for a moment longer, his lips curling into a cold smile. “As you were.”

We all remained silent, watching the horses launch themselves into the air and the carriages fly back toward the Mound. As soon as they were out of earshot, I muttered, “So much for those iPads.”

Grumbles filled the air, and the crowd rushed toward the floating container. I pulled myself to my feet and helped Sicily up.

With a thud, a wet ogre landed from the dock and up to the wharf and threw up lungfuls of water, but everyone’s attention was on another ogre carrying boxes from the container.

“There’s no more of them Apple boxes!” he bellowed.

Shouts of outrage spread across the wharf, and I shook my head, swallowing the bitterness rising to the back of my throat. It was common knowledge that the cream of the UN deliveries went to the royals, but this was the first time I’d heard of them braving the saltwater to steal from right under our noses.

“Everybody out!” The peacekeeper sergeant shot a flare into the sky, which exploded a cloud of orange gas.

His soldiers pointed rifles at the crowd. Everybody scattered. Iron might be deadly to the fae, but pellets flying at bullet-speed were equally as harmful to humans.

Sicily and I trudged up Knockout Hill. By now, the sun had risen above the sea, casting its light on the Mound, a series of mountains that stretched the entire length of the Isle of Fae. Snaefell Palace stood at its highest pinnacle, overlooking the castles and mansions of the high fae who lived in the exclusive Prudence district.

“I guess rumors spread fast,” Sicily said in a tight voice.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, I gave her a comforting squeeze. “They’ll feel like a bunch of dickheads when they realize that they went to all this trouble to steal apples.”

Her eyes bulged. “What makes you think it was fruit?”

“There were two leaves on that apple logo and no bite.”

“So?”

“Do you remember that DVD of the Kardashians where Kris was making up invitations for the Christmas Eve party? They were using Apple macs, and the logo was completely different from the ones on the boxes.”

Sicily paused, her brows furrowing. A moment later, she broke into a smile. “Promise?”

I grinned and stuck up two fingers, confirming the number of leaves. “Totally.” I looped my arm through hers, and we walked back up Knockout Hill. “Elijah’s coming round tonight with the latest DVD of Real Housewives. If there’s anything worthwhile on that cargo, he’ll make sure we get a share.”

Chapter 2

At this time of the morning, vendors teemed through the town of Doolish, loading their goods through the cobbled streets onto their wooden stalls. Doolish was the largest human settlement in the Isle of Fae. It was nothing like the stately, white buildings occupying the highest levels of the Mound or anything like the grand mansions or high-rises from the DVDs of the outside world.

The only way to describe our town was ramshackle. Ancient stone buildings stood next to wood-framed structures in a hodgepodge of styles. We stopped to say good morning to Mrs. Yates, the magazine lady.