Page 91 of Fae Mates

As Prince Caulden encased us in ice, I told McVittie the whole, sorry tale of how Queen Titania had become enraged at the sight of Pokeweed’s true face that she stabbed King Orlando in the back with iron. I didn’t bother to tell the cat about the queen’s misadventures with Emporium and subsequent transformation into a misshapen, horse-faced faerie.

“Did you get the wishbone?” asked the cat.

“Not yet,” I replied.

“It’s on your crown.” Prince Bradwell pointed at a spot at my forehead. “The diamond in the middle is attached to it.”

“Oh.” I fumbled around, feeling the outline of a wishbone shape. “Do you want me to break your curse, now?”

Someone knocked on the sphere, and Prince Caulden made a small opening, letting in the sound of a cat’s yowl. McVittie stiffened and turned his head to the source of the sound.

Prince Rory stuck his head through the gap and grinned. “You need to see this.”

“Do you think you can let me out?” said McVittie. “There’s a cat in heat, and she’ll probably need protecting from all the randy toms.”

I pressed my lips together to suppress a smile and lowered the black cat to the sphere’s floor. “See you later. I’ll expect she’ll need your… protection all week.”

McVittie padded to the curved wall of ice and tapped. “Just a little opening will be fine.”

Prince Caulden released the sphere, and McVittie dashed through Prince Rory’s feet and into a low bush.

The Autumn prince frowned. “Where did the cat go?”

“Don’t ask,” I said.

He grabbed my hand and rushed toward the sycamore tree, giving me no option to jog alongside him to keep up. Pokeweed and Mistress Ellyllon hadn’t emerged from behind the trunk, and Prince Rory seemed happy enough. Maybe Lady Gala had tried to mate with a plant or something equally as humiliating.

As we rounded the tree, a familiar voice said, “I’m not letting go.”

Quickening my pace, I found Coltrane standing by a cloudberry bush, cradling a naked Lady Gala to his chest. She looked… radiant, much like I had after wearing the Emporium dress. She curled her lips in a satisfied smile with pearlescent liquid drizzling down the sides of her mouth.

My feet stopped. I clapped a hand to my chest and inhaled a shocked breath. One of my mates bumped into me from behind but held me steady around the waist.

“What in the Otherworld is that?” muttered Prince Caulden.

Prince Rory turned to me and smirked.

My mouth dropped open. “Did she—”

Coltrane turned around with the same toothy grin he’d given me that night he had tried to extort tug-a-lug from me in exchange for finding Sicily. “I see you ensnared the princes and a king.”

“What have you done?” I whispered, my gaze fixed on Lady Gala’s eyes, which widened at the sight of my crown. The blissful expression on her face faded, and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Coltrane bristled. “I told you I had a plan. Do you know how to make a centaur king?”

“Yes,” snarled Pokeweed. “But until now, no powerful fae female was foolish enough to approach a centaur during her heat.”

Coltrane shrugged. “Gala’s going to birth the King of Centaurs, who will lead us into a new era. I’ll bring her back if she survives the birth.”

“She will lose her magic,” said Pokeweed.

I walked over to Pokeweed and wrapped my arms around his middle. “It’s too late for her if she’s already carrying a foal. It’s the least she deserves after stealing Helen’s magic, damaging Lady Gazania’s magical pathways, and enslaving your brothers.”

“Hear, hear,” said Prince August.

The other princes muttered words of agreement.

Pokeweed’s shoulders sagged. “Make sure she sees a reputable midwife.”