Page 78 of Fae Mates

A jolt of alarm shot through my insides. We couldn’t go there. Queen Titania would kill me with her lightning strikes, but not before she tried to kill Pokeweed.

Prince August stepped forward. “My brothers and I will accompany you to the palace. Unity will return to the academy.”

The duke stepped back through the ring of guards, who closed in around us. “No, Your Highness. All six of you will face the king and queen.”

My brows drew together. Why was he walking away? In the blink of an eye, the balls of light expanded into a circle.

“They’re going to entrap us!” Prince August retracted his wings.

Pokeweed swooped me into his arms and launched himself into the sky, but a dome of light stretched overhead, trapping us in the clearing. I glanced down, and the enchantment expanded across the ground, encasing us in the light.

“What is this?” I yelled.

“A light sphere,” said Prince Rory. “It’s the kind of magic that keeps the realms separated and inescapable.”

“It’s also a method of transporting dangerous criminals,” said Prince August.

Pokeweed stamped his foot on the ground, and shoots grew through the light, only to turn brown and crumble into dust. Prince Caulden threw a ball of ice into the light, but it sizzled into vapor. I turned to Prince Rory, whose wind attacks didn’t shift the enchantment.

It didn’t matter that I was in the presence of five powerful princes. If there was magic strong enough to prevent Queen Maeve from escaping the Otherworld, the magic encasing us was probably impervious to the attacks of my mates.

The band squeezing my chest tightened. We were beyond screwed.

* * *

Before we could think up another plan, the sphere flashed, burning my retinas. I blinked several times to focus, hoping that one of my mates had broken us out of prison. The light faded, revealing a huge throne room.

The space was over twenty times larger than the academy dining room with marble tiles arranged in hypnotic circular patterns. High fae dignitaries stood against the walls as still as the statues in the academy stone garden but infinitely more colorful in their velvet and silk faerie outfits.

Prince August turned to one end of the space and bowed, and all the brothers, including Pokeweed, followed his lead.

Bobbing into a deep curtsey, I swept my gaze up to a grand staircase, where a mezzanine level formed a bay of arched, floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the mountains. Within this vast space, the king and queen sat on thrones that glittered in the moonlight.

Queen Titania rushed to her feet, sparks of lightning crackling from her fingertips. The silver light reflected on her gown, which I suspected was made of Emporium.

She hissed, baring gleaming white teeth. “You!”

My breath turned to ice, and I clutched my hands to my chest. She would probably want me dragged around the levels of the Mound and then quartered.

Prince Bradwell pulled me into his embrace, and Princes Caulden and Rory stepped in front of me, blocking my view of the queen.

“How dare you bring that wretched creature to my home,” she screeched.

Lightning illuminated the throne room and sparked off the walls. Queen Titania wasn’t just powerful, the faerie seemed deranged. My wings trembled, and I rested my head on Prince Bradwell’s chest.

“Isn’t that the girl from the beauty contest?” asked King Oberon.

“Not her,” snapped the queen. “Pokeweed.”

My head snapped up, and I spun to find Pokeweed standing strong and defiant. He stepped forward with his moth wings spread wide.

“She’s going to kill him,” I whispered.

“His Majesty won’t allow it,” murmured Prince Bradwell.

“I don’t follow,” said the king.

All manner of shit would break loose the moment Pokeweed told the royal court the identity of his father, and I couldn’t let the assassin hurt him with something even more deadly than nightsbane.