Page 72 of Fae Games

I dipped my head. “This is my first time doing anything like this.”

“Being courted?” he asked.

I nodded through shallow breaths.

“Unity.” He walked around the table and knelt at my side. “You might not believe it, but you’re worth a hundred of the spoiled females who would rob a friend of her magic to cheat fate.”

“Thanks,” I murmured.

His lips pursed with frustration. “I mean it. Your story is incredible. There isn’t a single person I know who would go to such lengths to support her sister and a friend she’d only known for a few days. Even though your encounter with the dark ones resulted in tragedy, I’m glad that you arrived at our academy,= cursed with glowing wings.”

“There’s a way to help Helen and my sister,” I said.

Two forest-green wood sprites flew in from between the trays, holding dishes covered in domes. Prince Bradwell returned to his seat and beckoned them over.

They crossed the water and served us roasted peafowl with wild rice and baked artichokes. When they left, he leaned forward. “Are you referring to the ritual the seeing hag gave us?”

I hook my head. “The wishbone.”

Prince Bradwell paused, his face going still. “Such a thing exists but is only given to the queen upon her coronation. Even if you accepted me and managed to win over August, it might take centuries for His Majesty to relinquish the throne.”

“Oh.” My brows drew together.

Throughout the meal, Prince Bradwell and I made conversation about what life was like as a human living in Doolish. In exchange, he described the workings of the Royal Court, which consisted of those aligned to weather, such as Queen Titania whose father ruled the Court of Lightning, and the seasonal courts, which had been unoccupied since the fall of Queen Maeve.

I couldn’t help thinking about the wishbone. Pokeweed spoke as though it was something I would obtain soon after mating with all four brothers, as did McVittie. I wondered if they were mistaken, or they knew something that Prince Bradwell didn’t.

After a desert of cloudberries and meringues with a rich coffee made from roasted hazelnuts, my pulse quickened at the memory of milking Prince Bradwell to a shuddering climax. He seemed like too much of a gentleman to allow me to touch him like that after the first date, but I held up my hopes for a steamy night.

He stood, and the pulse between my legs exploded into action. “The sprites have prepared you a chamber in the palace.”

“Where will you sleep?” I whispered.

He swept his arm toward the source of the water. “Further up the stream is a waterfall, and behind it is a cave. I have a bedchamber set up there.”

I pulled myself onto legs that wouldn’t stop trembling. This whole romance thing was new to me, and I was probably ruining things by not playing coy. Even with this supposedly untouched, fae body, I longed for that flesh-to-flesh connection.

Tamping down the butterflies in my stomach, I asked, “Can’t I stay with you?”

His face blanked. “Unity, are you sure about this?”

I walked around the table and placed a hand on his chest. “Please.”

The word seemed to light a fire in his eyes. That, or he’d been staring at the lanternflies for too long. Without a word, he picked me up and soared over the water. This time, the only lurching was my hungry core, yearning to be filled.

The stream curved around the foot of a tall hill covered in low bushes of white flowers that glowed in the light of the moon. As we rounded the corner, the sound of running water became louder, I turned around in Prince Bradwell’s embrace.

Water roared out of an opening in the hill, hitting the stream in a cloud of foam. The light reflecting off the spray caused a rainbow effect that was more romantic than it was magical.

Prince Bradwell raised a hand, and the waterfall parted to reveal a deep cave. He flew inside, and the water closed as we landed on the hard, stone floor.

“My chamber is further in,” Prince Bradwell shouted over the noise of the waterfall. “It’s not as well-appointed as the suite in the palace—”

“It will be fine.” I grabbed his hand. Our stone house in Doolish was one of the nice homes, but it looked like a hovel compared to the remedial dormitory. I doubted that anywhere Prince Bradwell stayed could be unimpressive.

We walked through a narrow passageway that muffled the roar of the water.

“That’s better.” Prince Bradwell paused and placed both hands on my shoulders. “Unity, I want you to know I’m not expecting anything tonight.”