attack me, but it didn't, so I studied it some more. It was absolutely beautiful-smaller than a regular horse, with a completely white coat and sky blue eyes. The spiraling horn looked as if it were made from pure gold.
'I suppose you're going to tell me that dragons really do exist, too,' I said after another moment of stunned silence.
The unicorn didn't reply.
'You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a gateway to the human realm around here, would you?' Maybe I'd gone a little crazy from all the panic and fear. I was probably headed into a new mental category altogether.
The unicorn moved away and began to graze on a patch of grass and blue flowers at the base of a tree. I looked around me for the first time. The forest was so thick I couldn't even see the sky. It felt like dusk in here, quiet and dark, and it smelled fresh and alive.
To the far side of the tree was a small creek that led deeper into the forest. The unicorn moved over there after nibbling on the grass for a moment and bent its head to drink. I walked over to the creek, watching where I stepped since I was still barefoot, and when the unicorn didn't run away I tucked my purse under my arm and stroked its pure white mane with a shaky hand.
'What am I going to do?' I asked, feeling tears getting ready to fall again.
'Unicorns don't talk, actually,' a voice said and I froze in place. 'And it's a bit late, but I should probably let you know it's against our laws for an outsider to touch one.'
I turned slowly.
A guy leaned against the tree I'd hidden behind. At first glance I could tell he was very cute, with cropped chestnut brown hair and dark brown eyes. He wore tan-colored leather pants and a canvas tunic.
Tension flowed through my body again as I immediately put up my guard. 'Who are you?'
He tilted his head as he took in the sight of me. 'I was about to ask you the very same question.'
'I'm Nikki.' I held on to my shoes so tightly now that the straps were leaving a red imprint on my skin.
'I'm Rhys,' he said. 'Nikki, you look absolutely petrified.'
He said it very coolly, very casually, but it didn't set me at ease. What did he want? What was he doing in the forest?
But he was correct. I was frozen in fear and that wasn't going to help at all. I forced myself to calm down.
The unicorn wandered away from the creek and deeper into the forest, apparently unaffected by the anxiety that must have been coming off me in waves.
'What are you doing here?' Rhys asked.
I glanced around. 'I'm. . I'm hiding from someone. I didn't have anywhere else to go.'
His eyebrows raised. 'Hiding from somebody who wants to hurt you?'
I nodded shakily. He studied me so intently I felt even more uncomfortable for a moment. But he didn't make any move to come closer to me; instead he stayed by the tree, leaning against it as if he were hanging out at the mall food court having a casual conversation with somebody passing by.
'I think I know who you are,' he finally said. 'It took me a minute, since you're better looking than I thought you'd be, but I think I've got it.'
My cheeks flushed. 'Look, Rhys, can you help me find a gateway to the human realm? I have to get to one so I can figure out what to do next.'
'You're the princess, aren't you?' he asked.
I blinked at him.
'King Desmond's secret daughter,' he clarified, as if I didn't know what he was talking about. 'Gossip gets around quickly in these parts.'
I nodded cautiously. 'That's me. Who are you?'
He crossed his arms. 'I already told you, I'm Rhys.'
'Do you live here?'
'I do.'
I looked around again. My feet were growing damp from standing on the cool mossy ground. 'This is the faery realm?'
'That's right.' He looked up at the tall, thick trees that surrounded us. 'This forest is the very edge of its north border and the kingdom is several miles south. Nobody from the Shadowlands or beyond ever comes in here.' He crossed his arms and smiled at me. 'I'm actually very surprised to see that you did, especially considering who you are.'
I craned my neck to peer through the thick trees and out to the clearing again. Maybe Rhys could help me. He studied me intently, as if he'd never seen a teenage girl up close and personal before. I guess I could work with that.
He was so relaxed and friendly that just being around him was beginning to put me a little more at ease. Not much, but a little.
'The guy who was chasing me seemed afraid to come in here,' I said.
I remembered what Michael had told me about the faeries. How they were territorial and fierce, but not evil. I held on tightly to that thought.
'I imagine that he was afraid.' Rhys stepped away from the tree and took a few steps closer to me, and then I could see his wings. Maybe it was because my head had been too filled with worries and stress to have clued into the truth yet.
I swallowed hard. 'You're a faery?'
'Good guess.'
His wings were very different from demons' wings. Where mine and my father's were black and leathery, Rhys's were fine and thin, white and delicate.
Beautiful, really. Like something out of a fairy tale-which made a lot of sense, now that I thought about it. The surface of his wings glistened in the small amount of light filtering through the leaves above and showed different colors swirling around on the surface in an opalescent blend-pink, blue, green, purple.
'My realm is rarely bothered by unwanted visitors,' Rhys said.
'Your realm?'
He casually ran a hand through his short brown hair. 'I'm the king here.'
My eyebrows went up. 'You're the king? But you're so young.'
'You're not the first person to say that.' Rhys grinned. 'Faeries are known to live for a very long time- hundreds of years, actually. But I'm only sixteen.'
'Me, too.'
I took another moment to look at him from hair to feet. He was barefoot just like I was. Other than the wings and the slightly pointed tips to his ears, he looked like a normal human teenager.
He laughed and turned around slowly. 'Like what you see?'
My cheeks warmed again. 'Look, Rhys, I have to go. I can't stay here any longer. Can you help me find a gateway to get home?'
He drew closer until he was only an arm's reach away. I watched him cautiously but didn't feel afraid of him anymore. He was even better-looking close up.
He reminded me of Michael a bit with his earnest but guarded gaze. Michael wasn't quite so quick to flirt and joke around, though.
Rhys narrowed his eyes and peered at me. 'You live in the human realm?'
'Uh. . yeah.'
'I've never visited there before. I've always wanted to.'
'Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm in a lot of trouble. I have to-' 'Is it Elizabeth?' he asked. 'She's responsible for all of this angst you're experiencing, isn't she?'
