Fae men are territorial when they fall in love. It can’t be avoided and despite our wisdom, we’ve never managed to overcome it. I meet her gaze and stare resolutely at her. “I don’t know if I can trust even my own men,” I say finally.
She raises a brow suspiciously. “Alright.”
“Good,” I sigh, taking a step back. The tension has eased somewhat, but I know I won’t ever be able to get this out of my mind.
“Can I go now?” She asks, pushing away from the tree and stepping around me.
“Go,” I manage to say, even though every cell in my body is straining against the words. Stay. Stay. Stay.
But she leaves. Across the lawn, she glances at me over her shoulder. I imagine I see a flicker of a smile on her lips before she disappears into the castle. I run my tongue over my teeth and dig my claws into the dirt before I throw myself into the sky. It takes only a moment to find the man who touched her as I follow his scent around the castle grounds.
I find him in the courtyard of the barracks, beside Navi. I land heavily beside him, not bothering to slow to avoid colliding with anyone. He doesn’t appear surprised to see me. I stare at him, marking that my paw is the same size as his face. How easily I could crush him, even with all that armor.
Navi glances between the two of us but doesn’t interrupt. The soldier salutes me, snapping his spear to his side. “Your Grace,” he barks.
“Don’t ever touch her again,” I growl. “If you touch her, I will tear the offending limb from your body without a second thought.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the soldier says, his eyes boring holes into the wall.
I snap my teeth at him, enjoying the way his face pales. “Leave.” The soldier obeys without another word and I turn to Navi. “I want him reassigned. Latrine duty or something equally unpleasant.”
She stares at me, amusement twinkling in her green eyes. “I’ll assign him to the boardwalk.”
The boardwalk is a small quarter of Desmarais, the eastern docks. It’s a cesspool of crime and the heart of Desmarais’ underground. Navi has been trying to clear it out for much of her time as the Captain of the Guard, though with little success. Verity will never see that soldier if he’s stationed there.
“Good,” I concede.
Navi grows serious. “I’ve found no evidence of the spy, Altair.”
“None?” I narrow my eyes. “Keep looking. If you must, have your most trusted men and women question everyone in the palace.”
“I will, but I doubt we’ll find anything.” Her fingers wrap around the hilt of her blade tightly.
“Why not?” I ask.
“I haven’t found anything of use yet, and I fear that the spy may have already left or is much more well hidden than I thought. We can’t trust anyone. Not even Verity,” she says slowly, carefully.
I scoff. “Verity? You truly think Verity might be the spy? That she may have organized her own kidnapping?”
“Perhaps.” Navi shrugs. “We know little of her. It’s only a theory, I will keep searching.”
“Do. And Navi?” I flick my tail in irritation. “No unclaimed men or women in Verity’s personal guard.”
Navi cocks a brow and smirks. “Really, Altair? Don’t you find that extreme?”
“No,” I growl. “I truly don’t.”
Before Navi can reply, I leap onto the roof of the barracks and then into the air. I spread my wings and catch myself, soaring along the currents of the wind into the sky. Navi’s words echo on my head as I fly across the palace grounds. I huff, I’m not being extreme. But it would be best if Verity doesn’t know why I made rearrangements to her personal guard.
I find myself drifting towards the library, where I know she’ll be. As I glide past, I see her, searching through a stack of books by the window. She glances up as my shadow falls over her. My heart lurches as our eyes meet, but soon she’s out of my sight as I follow the curve of the castle walls.
These feelings are new to me. I’ve never felt this sort of possessiveness, I scoffed at the Fae who acted this way. But now, I understand all too well. I don’t want to lose the warmth and light that I feel when I see Verity. I want that light only on me. Though I’m not sure that she feels the same way, and the thought is devastating to me. Sighing, I make another round around the castle—hoping for another glimpse of her.
I hope that soon she will crave me as much as I crave her. I hope that she will bind herself to me before it’s too late.
Chapter 18
Verity
I waddle away from the castle door and towards an unoccupied part of the lawn with the cauldron in my arms. It’s heavy; iron, I’m guessing. My muscles are screaming as I carry it, wishing one of the Fae in my guard would be willing to help. But the Fae have sworn off magic, and they don’t appear too keen on my practice.
With a grunt, I heave the cauldron onto the ground, careful not to crush my fingers. I catch my breath, hands on my hips, before turning back to the castle. I need to gather the ingredients for the potion I’m making. A potion of unbinding, I thought perhaps it could unbind Altair from the curse. I jog up the castle steps, catching a glimpse of Altair’s wings disappearing over the gable.
I grin to myself as I tread down the halls. Altair has spent the day watching me, I wonder if he thinks he’s being discrete. I saw him every time he passed the library window, his eyes locked onto me. I’ve never met a man as territorial as Altair, but there’s something particularly animalistic about it. And something very appealing.
In the kitchen pantry, I run over the list of
